Remember Oklahoma City

Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 16 Social Security employees. Here is a quote from President Clinton's State of the Union address in 1996 that still seems timely:

Our federal government today is the smallest it has been in 30 years, and it's getting smaller every day. Most of our fellow Americans probably don't know that. And there is a good reason: The remaining federal workforce is composed of Americans who are now working harder and working smarter than ever before, to make sure the quality of our services does not decline.

I'd like to give you one example. His name is Richard Dean. He is a 49-year-old Vietnam veteran who's worked for the Social Security Administration for 22 years now. Last year he was hard at work in the federal building in Oklahoma City when the blast killed 169 people and brought the rubble down all around him. He reentered that building four times. He saved the lives of three women. He's here with us this evening, and I want to recognize Richard and applaud both his public service and his extraordinary personal heroism.

But Richard Dean's story doesn't end there. This last November, he was forced out of his office when the government shut down. And the second time the government shut down he continued helping Social Security recipients, but he was working without pay.

On behalf of Richard Dean and his family, and all the other people who are out there working every day doing a good job for the American people, I challenge all of you in this chamber: Never, ever shut the federal government down again.

Thanks to Tom Shoop at Fedblog for this memory.

Obama Backs Increase In FICA Base

From Reuters:

President Barack Obama on Tuesday backed boosting the amount of individual income subject to Social Security taxes, one of the first concrete proposals he has endorsed to put the retirement program on a stronger fiscal footing. ...

"For the vast majority of Americans, every dime you earn, you're paying some in Social Security," Obama said at an event with college students in Virginia. "But for (billionaire investor) Warren Buffett, he stops paying at a little bit over $100,000 and then the next $50 billion he's not paying a dime in Social Security taxes."

Actually, I think Warren Buffett does not make $50 billion a year (that would be his net worth) and most of his income is from investments and would not be covered by FICA anyway but let us not quibble.

Heading To The Supreme Court?

From Schafer v. Astrue (4th Cir. April 12, 2011):

Don and Janice Schafer married in 1992. Don died the next year. With the help of in vitro fertilization, however, Janice gave birth to W.M.S., Don Schafer’s biological child, a number of years later. Janice Schafer then applied on W.M.S.’s behalf for survivorship benefits under the Social Security Act.

The Social Security Administration rejected W.M.S.’s claim. Because under its view natural children must be able to inherit from the decedent under state intestacy law or satisfy certain exceptions to that requirement in order to count as "children" under the Act, W.M.S. was not eligible for survivorship benefits. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 416(h)(2), (h)(3)(C). The district court agreed. On appeal, Schafer contends that undisputed natural children such as W.M.S. plainly fall within 42 U.S.C. § 416(e)(1)’s basic definition of "child," making their state intestacy rights irrelevant.

We shall affirm the judgment. The agency’s view best reflects the statute’s text, structure, and aim of providing benefits primarily to those who unexpectedly lose a wage earner’s support. And even if the agency’s interpretation were not the only reasonable one, it falls well within the range of permissible readings entitled to deference under Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984).

This opinion is at odds with Gillett-Netting v. Barnhart, 371 F.3d 593, 597 (9th Cir. 2004) and Capato ex rel. B.N.C. v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., ___ F.3d ___, 2011 WL 9368 (3d Cir. Jan. 4, 2011). The issue is also pending before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals at the moment in Beeler v. Astrue.

This issue does not break down easily on liberal-conservative lines but we cannot completely dismiss that as an issue, especially when talking about the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which has been highly ideological and right wing in recent years. The Shafer opinion was written by Judge Wilkinson and joined by Judge Agee. Judge Davis dissented. Wilkinson was appointed by President Reagan and Agee by George W. Bush. Davis was appointed by President Obama. A majority of the 4th Circuit's judges are now Democratic appointees. This is a dramatic change since President Obama took office.

I have not talked with the attorneys representing the mother and her child so what follows is just my speculation. I have to expect a motion for rehearing en banc, that is by all the judges on the Court. Rehearing en banc is uncommon but this is an uncommon case and the 4th Circuit is in transition. If the case is not reheard en banc or if it is reheard and the decision remains the same, I expect a petition for certiorari, that is a request that the Supreme Court hear the case. I would expect that petition for certiorari to be granted since the Courts of Appeals would be in disagreement on the issue and that normally gets a case heard at the Supreme Court.

Union Newsletter Contains Account Of Danville Assault

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union local that represents most Social Security employees has released its April 2011 newsletter, Unity, which contains this account of the recent assault at the Danville, VA Social Security field office:

In less than a minute, Anthony Burtt’s life changed forever.

A Service Representative in the Danville, Va. Social Security Office, he recently helped to subdue a man who allegedly stabbed security guard Jason Alsbaugh four times.

“I’d just come off break,” Burtt told UNITY, “and we were actually celebrating the guard’s birthday. I saw the suspect (Byron Clements) stab the guard in the neck and then I ran through the vestibule and hit the suspect in the head with my right elbow.”

In the melee that followed, a number of other people also came to Alsbaugh’s rescue, and Burtt remembers trying to get the guard’s handcuffs while Alsbaugh went to get medical help.

“He was bleeding pretty badly,” Burtt said. “He was really hurt!”

At that point, Clements apparently tried to run away, but Burtt hit him a second time with the back of his hand and the suspect fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Then he managed to get up again,” Burtt recalled. “He stood straight up and I was on top of him, and I’m a pretty big guy, so he was really strong.”

Clements then attempted another escape and it took three people to subdue him. He was eventually handcuffed, arrested by the police, and is now accused of malicious wounding.

Burtt, 38, is the Assistant Area Coordinator for AFGE. ...

Updated Fee Payment Numbers

Updated numbers from Social Security on payments of fees to attorneys and others who represent Social Security claimants. These fees come out of claimants' back benefits.

Year 2011

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-11	34,467	$113,459,847.04
Feb-11	33,305	$107,796,771.38
Mar-11	34,885	$112,463,768.46

ALJ Leopold Dies

I regret to pass on the news that Administrative Law Judge Richard L. Leopold of Charlotte died this morning of an apparent heart attack while playing golf.

Bad Time For a 25th Anniversary?

The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is planning a big celebration on June 8 for its 25th anniversary. There will be a dinner honoring Marty Ford, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Arc of the United States, Virginia P. Reno, Vice President for Income Security at the National Academy of Social Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Economist at The Urban Institute and James N. Ellenberger, President of the AFL-CIO Retirees Association.

NASI deserves to celebrate its anniversary and these fine folks certainly deserve to be honored but it is hard for someone who believes in the concept of Social Insurance to be in a celebratory mood at this point in our nation's history. The Social Security Administration's operating budget has been cut to the point that it is on a glide path to collapse. The whole concept of Social Insurance is under assault as never before. We are looking at serious Republican proposals to end Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. There are other proposals to dramatically cut Social Security and Unemployment Insurance benefits, almost certainly as a way station to ending them altogether. Many Republicans are pledging to do anything short of violence to achieve their ambitious agenda, including destroying the nation's credit.

The one thing that gives me hope is the conviction that Republican have greatly overreached and are bound for electoral disaster.

Bad Axe Service Gets The Axe

From the Huron, MI Daily Tribune:

BAD AXE — County officials learned April 1 the Social Security Administration no longer will send representatives to the county building on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month to help residents with Social Security business.

“Because the administration is cutting back on travel, they no longer will be sending a representative twice a month to the court house,” explained Huron County Board of Commissioners Executive Secretary Jodi Essenmacher, who received notice April 1 that effective that day, Social Security Administration (SSA) representatives no longer would be coming to the county.

Instead, the county on Tuesday entered into an agreement to allow SSA to set up a video terminal to service county residents.