New Non-Attorney Withholding Rules

Social Security published interim final rules in the Federal Register yesterday concerning direct payment of fees to some non-attorney representatives. The new rules contain numerous small changes.

New Online Social Security Search Webpage

The National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives (NOSSCR) has created an online search webpage aimed at those doing research on Social Security. It includes separate searches on Social Security's website, the Social Security Act, Social Security regulations, Social Security rulings, Social Security acquiescence rulings, HALLEX, POMS and Google Scholar.

Roundup Of Debt Ceiling News

Today's news on the debt ceiling impasse that threatens to delay Social Security payments:

•  The House Republican leadership is putting extraordinary pressure on its members to accept its debt ceiling hike bill, pressure that  included an order to "get your ass in line." This is not sitting well with some prominent Republican supporters. The pressure may allow the House to pass the bill sometime today, although that is not assured.
• The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 199 points yesterday. and was down 378 points on the week as of yesterday's closing bell. The market is up a bit this morning on good home sales news.
• The Onion has a preview of the change that debt ceiling pressures may bring to Social Security.
• Ezra Klein, who is an astute observer, says that the Democrats may not be able to win this one but that they will have their chance in December 2012 when the Bush tax cuts are set to expire.
• The New York Times has a story on what the U.S. Treasury will do in case the debt ceiling isn't raised. According to the Times "Officials have said repeatedly that Treasury does not have the legal authority to pay bills based on political, moral or economic considerations" and is likely to pay bills in the order in which they come due.
• What is the difference between the debt ceiling bills in the House and the Senate? According to TPM they are pretty similar except the House bill would give authority to borrow $900 billion now and another $1.6 trillion next year but only "if and when Congress passes, and [the President] signs, legislation to reduce the deficit by $1.8 trillion." The point of this is to force dramatic cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and also to deflect attention away from the Ryan budget plan which would effectively end Medicare and Medicaid.

SSR 11-1p Not Intended To Affect Cases Where New Claim And Appeal Already Pending

I am hearing that Social Security has decided not to apply Social Security Ruling 11-1p, which prohibits the agency from taking a new claim while an old one is pending on appeal, to cases where a new claim and an appeal are already pending. I am also hearing that there will be an Emergency Message to Social Security employees on this new procedure shortly, perhaps today. Since it may be some time before this Emergency Message appears on Social Security's website, I would appreciate it if someone could forward a copy to me. I don't think this is intended to be any sort of secret.

New Ruling Will Prohibit New Claim While Appeal Is Pending

From Social Security Ruling 11-1p which will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow:

Under the new procedures we are adopting in this Ruling, generally you will no longer be allowed to have two claims for the same type of benefits pending at the same time. If you want to file a new disability claim under the same title and of the same type as a disability claim pending at any level of administrative review, you will have to choose between pursuing your administrative review rights on the pending disability claim or declining to pursue further administrative review and filing a new application.

On an initial cursory look at this Ruling, I do not see any statement concerning cases where a new claim and an appeal are already pending. I do not understand how Social Security could issue this ruling without stating what it intends to happen on cases already pending.

Update: The reason I did not see any statement concerning cases where a new claim and an appeal are already pending is because the Ruling does not address this situation. In important respects, this Ruling appears to have been drafted hastily with no consideration of history.

Roundup Of Debt Ceiling News

Today's roundup of news concerning the debt ceiling that threatens Social Security checks -- and the U.S. economy:

• The New York Times reports that the Treasury can probably continue to pay its bills for several days after August 2, probably until August 10. Great news. We can keep this crisis going another week!
• Republicans in the House of Representatives are in the sort of disarray normally seen among Democrats. The debt ceiling bill proposed by the Speaker of the House turned out not to save as much money as he had said so it is being revised. More important, the chances of passage of that bill in the House, even after revision, are looking worse and worse as the debt ceiling crisis reveals fault lines within the Republican party. Floor action on the bill has been delayed. If the House cannot pass the Boehner bill, Republican bargaining power decreases and the chances of default increase.
• To rally their troops in the House, Republicans played a video clip from the movie The Town. In the clip Ben Affleck says "I need your help. I can't tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we're going to hurt some people." He and another character then put on hockey masks, bludgeon two men with sticks and shoot a man in the leg.
• The Dow went down by 91 points yesterday.

There's Your Problem

From a 60 Minutes interview of John Boehner, shortly before he became Speaker of the House of Representatives:

J. BOEHNER: We have to govern. That's what we were elected to do.

STAHL: But governing means a -- compromising.

J. BOEHNER: It means working together. It means find...

STAHL: It also means compromising.

J. BOEHNER: It means finding common ground.

STAHL: OK, is that compromising?

J. BOEHNER: I made clear I am not going to compromise on -- on my principles, nor am I going to compromise...

STAHL: What are you saying?

J. BOEHNER: ... the will of the American people.

STAHL: And you're saying I want common ground, but I'm not going to compromise. I don't understand that. I really don't.

J. BOEHNER: When you say the -- when you say the word "compromise"...

STAHL: Yeah?

J. BOEHNER: ... a lot of Americans look up and go, "Uh-oh, they're going to sell me out." And so finding common ground I think makes more sense.

Roundup Of Debt Ceiling News

 Here's what's going on this morning:

• The President, as you know, spoke to the nation last night warning of the consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling and calling for compromise. Congressional websites crashed after the President asked the public to contact their members of Congress. They are still crashing this morning. I cannot access House Committee websites. 
• The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives spoke to the nation. He did not speak of compromise. He called upon the Congress and the President to accept a Republican plan to raise the debt ceiling.
• Robert Greenstein of the Center of Budget  and Policy Priorities believes that the Republican plan would require deep cuts in Social Security and Medicare for current retirees in the near future.
• Negotiations are still going on behind the scenes in Congress. 
• The Washington Post has an article that says that higher than expected tax receipts may extend the date that the government runs out of money to pay its bills by up to a week. The Treasury has not yet sent out a press release in response.
• The Dow was down by 88 points yesterday and has opened modestly lower this morning.
• Some analysts regard a downgrade of U.S. debt issues to be inevitable.