COLA Predicted To Be 0.1%

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is predicting that the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits that will come into effect as of December 2010 will be 0.1%. If that is the way it ends up, it would hardly be worth the trouble of implementing.

Outing A Poet

Michael Astrue, the Commissioner of Social Security, has made no secret of his interest in poetry. I received an anonymous e-mail from a reader who believes that the Commissioner is an award-winning poet who publishes under the pen name of A.M. Juster. There is conclusive evidence that the reader is correct. A.M. Juster is an anagram of M.J. Astrue. There is a recording of an interview with A.M. Juster available online as well as a photo which includes A.M. Juster. The voice and the face are Astrue's.

Michael Astrue has not gone to great lengths to hide Juster's true identity nor does he have any reason to. The awards are real and meaningful. Books of Astrue's poetry have been published not by some vanity press but by the University of Evansville Press and the University of Pennsylvania Press.
The Commentary page on Juster's website, written by "Rhina Espaillat" (another pen name?), includes this description of Juster:

He is fairly sunny about other people and the world, in fact, not because he is blind to flaws, but because reason and maturity keep his expectations modest. He doesn't use satire to settle scores with "Them," but to attack, with self-deprecating humor, the traits, customs and practices that need attacking in all of us. He doesn't use lyric poetry to bewail lost hopes, wallow in envy, or complain of having been cheated by life. His keenest dissatisfactions are reserved for those systems and forms of thought that fail to put the human first and give it due weight, like those bureaucrats in "Moscow Zoo" who condone the murder of millions because it fulfills an ideological need.

Here is a epigram by Juster:

Rationale
Poems are best
when compressed

I detest
the rest.

Extended Service Team

A press release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency’s first Extended Service Team (EST) is open for business in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Little Rock EST will make disability decisions for state Disability Determinations Services (DDSs) that are most adversely affected by the flood of new initial disability claims resulting from the economic downturn and from counterproductive furloughs of employees at the state level. Later this year, Social Security will open additional ESTs in Madison, Mississippi; Roanoke, Virginia; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The ESTs are in states that have a history of high quality and productivity, as well as the capacity to hire and train significant numbers of additional employees.

“The strategy behind ESTs builds on our success with National Hearing Centers, where cases are handled electronically from all over the country,” Commissioner Astrue said. “These centralized units have reduced the hearings backlog and improved processing times at some of the hardest-hit hearing offices. This approach clearly works and extending it in this way can help us meet the challenge of unprecedented growth in our disability workloads.”

Social Security expects to receive more than 3.3 million applications for disability benefits this fiscal year (FY), about 700,000 more than in FY 2008. In addition, more than a dozen states are furloughing federally-funded state workers who make disability decisions for Social Security. The combination of increased workloads and state furloughs has resulted in a growing backlog of initial disability applications in state DDSs.

“More Americans than ever are turning to us for help,” said Commissioner Astrue. “I am grateful that Governor Beebe bucked the trend and recognized the value of more of our federally-funded jobs in his state. The opening of the Arkansas EST and our other planned expansions in Mississippi, Virginia, and Oklahoma will significantly benefit disabled workers and their families as well as create new job opportunities to these states during difficult economic times.”

Sunshine For Social Security

From Social Security:

Welcome to the Conversation on Open Government!

We’re looking for your input as we create our first Open Government Plan. Please let us know your specific ideas on how we can become more transparent, participatory and collaborative. We’ll accept your ideas on our Plan outline until March 19, 2010. We will post our Plan by April 7, 2010. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to this dialogue. We’ve received great ideas on how you would like to do business with us, what information you would like to see on our webpage, and how we can make our operations and programs more efficient. Thank you in advance for your participation in this discussion.

Pomeroy Reaction

Earl Pomeroy has reacted with delight to becoming the Chairman of the House Social Security Subcommittee. He told the Grand Forks, ND Herald that “In my mind, there couldn’t be a more important committee than Social Security.” He stated that his priorities were "reducing the backlog of disability claims, finding ways to better provide service to recipients, reinforcing Social Security’s 'position as an essential retirement safety net' and protecting against fraud and abuse." He is planning to conduct a series of hearings.

Pomeroy has also released an oral statement.

Healthfinder

A press release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the agency is providing helpful health care information and website links to the more than three million individuals who apply each year for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. The website links take disability applicants to two U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) websites – www.healthfinder.gov where they will find information and tools to help them better understand and cope with their conditions; and www.healthfinder.gov/rxdrug where they may be able to get help paying for prescription drugs.

“This year over three million Americans will apply for disability benefits. Whether they meet the statutory test and qualify for benefits or not, almost all of them are facing difficult economic and medical challenges. One of the advantages of our fully electronic system is that our notices can provide applicants with valuable information provided by HHS that might help them make good choices faster,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Twenty five years ago, I had the experience of filing for disability benefits on behalf of my seriously ill father. It would have been a blessing to have had easy access to this kind of important information.”

The website at www.healthfinder.gov provides detailed information about specific diseases. For example, an applicant with breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, or other diseases can go to the site to gather information about diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, ongoing research, and local resources available to people with those diseases. The website at www.healthfinder.gov/rxdrug links people to the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, which directs people to information on reduced cost or free prescription drugs offered by drug companies, state and local governments, and local organizations.

Executive Team In 1987

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.