Yesterday's Hearing

Federal News Radio has an article about yesterday's Congressional hearing as does the Imperial Valley News.

The Subcommittees involved have posted a number of charts used at the hearing. The one I found most interesting is to the left. Click on it to see it full size.

Videos from the hearing are also available online.

• Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Earl Pomeroy
• Income and Security Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott
• Congressman Bob Filner
• Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue
• DanBertoni of the Government Accountability Office
• Social Security Inspector General Patrick O'Carroll
• Nancy Shor, Executive Director of National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, speaking for the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities
• Administrative Law Judge Randall Frye, speaking for the Association of Administrative Law Judges
• Harris County Deputy Sheriff Eddie Willrich

Social Security's plan to reinstate the reconsideration step in the ten states in which it had been eliminated is quite controversial. This came up in the remarks of many of the witnesses.

Another ALJ For Omaha

From the Omaha World-Herald:

The Omaha hearings office that reviews appeals from most Nebraskans and western Iowans expects to hire a judge soon to fill a slot that has been vacant since last year, said Michael Astrue, commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

The new judge should hear cases by the first week of July, Astrue told The World-Herald on Tuesday. His comments came after he testified before Congress about the continued backlog of disability claims nationwide.

"A Rare Computer Error"

WSPA in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC is running a story about a man who was approved for Supplemental Security Income but who did not receive his back benefits for more than a year. Social Security blamed the delay on "a rare computer error" but Social Security's Inspector General testified yesterday before a Congressional committee that there were a number of other people in the same boat. My experience is that delays of this sort are vastly more common than what the Inspector General found.

Witness List For Today's Hearing

The witness list is out for today's joint hearing of the Social Security and Income Security Subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee:

PANEL:

• The Honorable Bob Filner, a Representative in Congress from the State of California

PANEL:

• The Honorable Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner, Social Security Administration

An excerpt:
In Michigan, an economically hard-hit State, we have concluded that too many cases are needlessly going to the hearings level from the DDSs. Therefore, we plan to reinstate reconsideration in Michigan next fiscal year. ...

[W]e are also looking at reinstating reconsideration in Colorado, at the request of the Governor. ...

By the end of FY 2010, we expect to have 2,800 more DDS employees on board than we did at the end of FY 2008 ...

We are in-sourcing verbatim hearing reporting to further improve ALJ productivity. [Note that he appears to be talking about replacing contractors with federal employees.] ...

To assist with decision writing and case preparation in our hearing offices, we will establish National Case Assistance Centers (NCAC) in McLean, Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri. The McLean NCAC is scheduled to open in May 2010 and will perform decision writing only. The St. Louis NCAC will be co-located with the new St. Louis NHC, opening in July 2010, and will both write decisions and prepare cases.
PANEL:

• Dan Bertoni, Director for Disability Issues Education, Workforce & Income Security Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office
• The Honorable Patrick P. O’Carroll, Inspector General, Social Security Administration

An excerpt:

As devastating as the wait for a decision can be, it is perhaps more troubling that, even once a claim is approved, there can be a delay in SSA actually issuing the funds awarded to the claimant. In conducting the survey described above, we discovered that some individuals whose claims were allowed were never paid. As a result, we have commenced an audit entitled Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Claims Approved But Not Paid. In this audit, we are examining the extent to which this occurs. Although not completed, our review of almost half a million 2006 disability allowances in the Title II and Title XVI programs revealed initially that 61 deserving claimants had never been paid, and that another 19 did not begin receiving payments as early as they should have.

• Nancy Shor, Executive Director, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on behalf of Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Social Security Task Force
• The Honorable D. Randall Frye, Administrative Law Judge, Kings Mountain, North Carolina on behalf of Association of Administrative Law Judges

An excerpt:
We are presently informed that in some hearing offices cases are assigned out of rotation and reassigned from one judge to another. We believe such a practice must be discontinued as it is inconsistent with the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] and legal precedent and is detrimental to the American people.

• Eddie Willrich, Deputy Sheriff, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Houston, Texas, accompanied by Carol Durkin, Special Agent and Team Leader, Cooperative Disability Investigation Unit, Houston, Texas

Like Getting Beaten In Football By 40 Points And Calling It Success

From the North Platte, Nebraska Telegraph:

Can't work because you're sick or injured? What if your claim for disability benefits is denied?

In Nebraska and western Iowa, you have two choices: Accept the decision or appeal for a hearing at the local Social Security office - and wait about 18 months.

Tracking with improvements nationwide, the average wait at the hearings office in Omaha has declined by nearly four months from its all-time high in 2008. But that wait remains three months longer than the national average - and nine longer than in the nation's fastest office, in Middlesboro, Ky. ...

John Garlinger, a spokesman for the agency's regional office that covers Nebraska and Iowa, said the situation in Omaha remains unacceptable.

"Is it where we want to be? No, of course not," he said. "But it's moving in the right direction." ...

The Omaha office now has about 3,000 pending cases, people waiting for a hearing.

"It's a huge toll on their families and them," said Omaha attorney Tim Cuddigan, who represents Magill and hundreds of others seeking disability benefits. ...

Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., called the situation an "embarrassment" to Social Security officials. Terry has written letters decrying the delays in the past. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has pushed for more funding.

Terry said he'd like to turn up the heat on those in charge and scoffed at any suggestion of success with wait times hovering at or around 18 months.

"If that's success - that's like Nebraska touting success when Missouri beat them by 40 points - geez, we still scored 20?" Terry said. "Come on."

FIFO

In response to a Congressional request, Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has done a recent audit to see how closely Social Security is sticking to its First In, First Out (FIFO) policy when it comes to holding hearings and issuing decisions to Social Security claimants. The audit shows no major problem.

Unfortunately, the audit was limited to 55 cases at three hearing offices.

Making It Tough To Live Overseas?

The Living In Guanajuato blog discusses issues of interest to Americans living in Mexico. Here is an excerpt from a recent post that gives some information that I find surprising about some issues that come up in my practice from time to time:

If you are retiring here know that the American government does not trust direct deposit into Mexican banks. If you get Social Security and want it deposited into a Mexican bank, this can be done. But, here is how it works.

What SSA does is transfer it to the bank of the American Embassy in Mexico City. From there it is sent to your Mexican bank account. ...

Well, I can hear you pontificate, I have my Social Security deposited to my bank account in the States.

Well...I respond...the US Feds will eventually figure out that you do not really live in the States and will snatch your account right out from underneath you.

For real, I am not joking. Unless you live in the States, and they will verify this, you have to have a Mexican Bank account and will have your American bank account seized. You have to live FULL TIME in the States to maintain your American Bank account. If you put your daughter's address, or whoever, down as your place of residence, and someone's American phone number, they will check this out. ...

Now, let's say you get your SSDI or SSI payment on the third of the month. According to the SSA Rules, when your payment date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, that is the third of the month falls on a weekend day, then you should be paid on the Friday before your payment date. Get that? If you get your check on the third and the third falls on a Sunday, then you'll be paid on the first which would be a Friday. ...

If your payment date falls on the third of the month and the third is on a Saturday or Sunday, you will not get paid on the first which would be a Friday. You will get paid sometime that following week and when exactly is anyone's guess.

I am concerned that the person writing this may not know what he or she is talking about. I was unaware of any problem with receiving direct deposits of U.S. Social Security benefits to U.S. bank accounts while living overseas. The issues may be different in other countries. I expect that the U.S. does make direct deposits to banks in Western Europe, for instance. Having the U.S. Embassy in Mexico re-forward direct deposits to Mexican bank accounts sounds bizarre. I guess my advice in the future will be to check with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate about the process for receiving U.S. Social Security benefits while living overseas.

Update: I have received e-mails telling me that Living in Guanajuato has everything wrong. Americans living abroad have to let Social Security know they are still alive each year. Otherwise there is no problem with Social Security direct deposits to either U.S. or foreign banks. I am sorry to have posted another person's nonsense.

We Have a Winner

From FedBlog:

So it wasn't exactly an episode of Iron Chef. But it was a lot more fun. The Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday hosted its first "Feds Get Fit Cook-off," as part of the agency's governmentwide initiative to promote healthy living among the federal workforce. Melissa Knoll of the Social Security Administration walked away with the top prize, wowing judges with her tomato curry coconut soup with shrimp.