Pomeroy Is New Social Security Subcommittee Chair!

A press release from the House Ways and Means Committee:

Democratic Members of the Ways and Means Committee yesterday unanimously approved the following changes to their subcommittee memberships:
· Representative John Tanner (D-TN) will now serve as Acting Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade
· Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) will now serve as Acting Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security

This was caused by Charlie Rangel's resignation as Chair of the full Committee. I had figured that Representative Tanner would not want to move to a different subcommittee since he is retiring at the end of this Congress but what do I know?

Pomeroy would be described as a moderate Democrat. Tanner is a very active member of the Blue Dog Caucus which puts him somewhat further to the right politically.

New Addresses For Service Of Process

When you sue someone you must serve them with a copy of the complaint as well as a summons, which is a document telling the person being sued that they have been sued and had better defend themselves. Social Security gets sued by thousands of disability claimants each year. The agency's Office of General Counsel (OGC) has previously published a list of where they want these summons and complaints sent. Different OGC offices serve different areas of the country. Social Security will publish in the Federal Register tomorrow a new, changed list of where they want these documents sent.

The First Recipient Of Social Security Retirement Benefits

Ernest Ackerman, a Cleveland streetcar motorman, received the first Social Security retirement payment in March 1937.

Astrue Wins Award

From a press release:

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue is the recipient of the Alzheimer's Association's 2010 Humanitarian Award. The award is given each year to a public official who has made a significant contribution to help those who are struggling with Alzheimer's disease. This year, the award will be given to Commissioner Astrue in recognition of his exceptional leadership in creating the Compassionate Allowances Initiative and the decision to include early-onset Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in that initiative.

How Does This Happen?

I recently received a printout of the cases I have pending with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). The oldest request for hearing date for a case that has not yet been scheduled (and for which there is no other explanation for it taking so long) is February 18, 2009, about thirteen months ago. The newest request for hearing date for which a hearing has been scheduled (and for which there is no other explanation for the rapid scheduling) is February 4, 2010. The one where the hearing was just requested a month ago has been scheduled for May 7, 2010.

I am happy that the oldest case is less than 13 months old. Not long ago, my oldest case would have been well over two years old. I still have to ask, how does it happen that one claimant is still waiting for a hearing to be scheduled after thirteen months while another gets a hearing scheduled within a month after a request for a hearing?

Compassionate Allowance Cases To Be Given Priority

A recent issuance in Social Security's Program Operations Manual Series (POMS) gives some details on processing of compassionate allowance cases. One important detail is that these cases are to be given priority at all levels or review.

Fee Payment Stats

Social Security has released updated statistics on payments of fees to attorneys and others entitled to direct payment of fees for representing Social Security claimants:

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-10	32,227	$111,440,046.23
Feb-10	29,914	$105,708,101.59

Union Contract Negotiations News

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union represents most Social Security employees. Since last summer, AFGE and Social Security have been in negotiations over a new contract. I just discovered that AFGE is posting regular updates on the status of the negotiations on its website. Interesting reading.