Social Security Checks At Risk In Debt Limit Impasse

From USA Today:

Social Security payments to millions of retirees and people with disabilities could be threatened if President Obama and Congress can't agree to increase the government's debt limit by Aug. 2, a new analysis shows.

Although the Treasury Department likely could avoid delaying Social Security checks, the analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center points up the depth of the cuts that would be needed if the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling isn't raised.

It shows that in August, the government could not afford to meet 44% of its obligations. Since the $134 billion deficit for that month couldn't be covered with more borrowing, programs would have to be cut.

If Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, payments to defense contractors and interest payments on Treasury bonds were exempt, that would be all the government could afford for the month. No money for troops or veterans. No tax refunds. No food stamps or welfare. No federal salaries or benefits.

 If the threat seems abstract to you, consider this from Ezra Kline:

The best advice I’ve gotten for assessing the debt-ceiling negotiations was to “watch for the day when the White House goes public.” As long as the Obama administration was refusing to attack Republicans publicly, my source said, they believed they could cut a deal. And that held true. ...  But today they went public. The negotiations have failed.

New ALJ Training

Could anyone provide me with a list of the recent trainers of new Administrative Law Judges? I wonder who they are. Note the "Feedback" button to the right.

NADE Newsletter

The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), an organization of the personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on Social Security disability claims, has issued its Summer 2011 newsletter. Here are a few excerpt from NADE's summary of Commissioner Astrue's remarks at a NADE regional training conference in April:

The DDS accuracy rate has increased from 94% to 98% over the last decade. ...

SSA continues to try to make the work process easier, such as eliminating step 4 ...

Commissioner Astrue acknowledged the mounting concerns regarding the disability process and, in particular, fraud involving treating physicians, abuse of the childhood disability program, and issues involving Medical Improvement process for CDRs. [Continuing Disability Reviews] Due to the differences in rules at the DDS [Disability Determination Services, where NADE members work] level and those at the hearing level, it is often impossible to remove some beneficiaries from the rolls when they are reviewed for medical improvement. These are all issues to hopefully be addressed in the future of this program.

By the way, as a survivor of the 60s, I love their ad for their training conference coming up in Los Angeles. I think I had something like this on the wall of my dorm room 40 or so years ago.

Social Security's IT Changes Run Counter To General Trend

From Information Week Government:

While a number of federal agencies are moving toward more centralized lines of IT  [Information Technology] authority under the CIO [Chief Information Officer], the Social Security Administration appears to be headed in the other direction. Last Friday it broke up much of the CIO organization and scattered its authority across several offices. ...

 While Social Security CIO Frank Baitman and the CIO's organization will remain, they will do so with a significantly trimmed role, and without a series of key deputies who have moved to other organizations or have left the agency....

While Social Security has just moved much of the CIO's authority elsewhere, to the Office of Systems, numerous agencies are headed in the other direction. Several agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Interior, have consolidated CIO authority in recent years. 

Interesting

Binder and Binder, the largest entity representing Social Security claimants, is now owned, at least in part, by a private equity company, HIG, headquartered in Miami. They were acquired in a leveraged buyout last August.

The Koch Brothers Echo Chamber

I am told this video is blocked for those on Social Security's network. This is the first time I have heard of this happening. Are they blocking all videos or just this one?

By the way, notice that octopus image. Anybody know who that image was used for many decades ago?

Media Picks Up On Social Security Reorganization And Personnel Changes

Federal Computer Week, Federal News Radio and Executive Government have picked up on the Social Security reorganization and personnel changes reported here yesterday.

Former Social Security Commissioner Hardy Still Active

From a press release:

Dorcas R. Hardy, former Commissioner of Social Security, has been named Chair of the National Advisory Board for Early Bird Alert Inc. (EBA), the company dedicated to improving health and connectivity for seniors and the chronically ill, it was announced today.

Ms. Hardy, who served under President Ronald Reagan and is president of DRHardy & Associates, a public policy firm in Washington, D.C., will lead experts in the fields of aging and disability services to advise EBA in the development and implementation of EasyConnect™, its new in-home communications device and service designed to help seniors and patients with chronic medical conditions take better care of their health.