ALJs Still Issuing Decisions For Pipeline Cases -- Also, ALJs May Be Able To Issue Bench Decisions Without Staff

     I'm hearing that Social Security Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) may be issuing a fair number of decisions this week but almost all of these are decisions that had been drafted before the government shutdown but not yet been finalized. Of course, that pipeline will soon run dry.

     I'm also hearing that even without staff, ALJs may be able to get out bench decisions. This could be a big help for claimants whose favorable decisions might be delayed because of the government shutdown.

That October 17 Deadline You're Hearing Isn't Exactly Accurate

     In the media coverage of the government shutdown-debt ceiling crisis one thing keeps bothering me. Reporters keep saying that the government may remain shutdown until we reach the debt ceiling on October 17 and Armageddon will follow. Armageddon will follow if we ever get to the debt ceiling but that's not going to happen while the government is shutdown or at least not on October 17. Because the government is shutdown, far less money is going out of the Treasury. This keeps pushing the debt ceiling deadline into the future. The Treasury Secretary's message to Congress that included the October 17 date is accurate "unless [a government shutdown] continues for an extended period of time."

Chained CPI Becomes Part Of Shutdown Discussions

     Some Republicans think they can get chained CPI which would cut the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security recipients as part of a grand bargain to settle the government shutdown and the debt ceiling. I'll believe there is some real chance of this happening when I hear Republicans talking about tax increases.

ESPN Hometown Takes A Hit

     Social Security's field office in Bristol, CT is to be closed in January. Local politicians will try to get the decision reversed. ESPN is headquartered in Bristol.

Twitter Feed For Social Security News

     I may regret this but you can now follow Social Security News on Twitter @SocSecBlog.

Your Government Shutdown News

     You can follow the government shutdown news minute by minute by going to the National Review's tweettracker but I can tell you that there's nothing of consequence going on. 

• Republicans in the House of Representatives are going ahead with small appropriations bills covering a few agencies. The Senate will reject these. 
• The polls look bad for the Republicans but those most committed to the confrontation over the Affordable Care Act believe that this will turn around. 
• Democrats may insist that any solution to the government shutdown include a solution to the debt ceiling problem as well. 
• There is much discussion about divisions within the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and divisions between House and Senate Republicans but no discussion about divisions among the Democrats.
• Republican pundits seize upon minor details such as the closure of the World War II Memorial in Washington.
• There is no sign of any significant discussions between Republicans and Democrats to resolve this crisis. Basically, each is waiting for the other to crack. Just about everyone, including most Republicans, believes the GOP will crack first.

Shutdown Questions

     Some questions about the shutdown, for anyone who can answer them:

• What was it like in the office when employees came in Tuesday to be officially told they were furloughed?
• Am I correct that the next scheduled payday for most federal employees is October 11? Whatever the date is, it's important. No federal civilian employee gets a paycheck until the shutdown ends, even if they've been working through the shutdown.
• What's it like for Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and others working in mostly deserted offices?
• If you've been furloughed, how are you spending your time so far?
• Is there some word on the street about when or if the employees furloughed at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) will be called back to work despite the shutdown? Is there any risk that instead of calling the other ODAR employees back that the ALJs will be sent home instead? I think we can all agree that it's impractical to have the ALJs working without support staff for more than a short time.
• Has there been a problem with claimants not showing up for hearings and appointments, thinking that Social Security is completely shut down?
• The Appeals Council receives lots and lots of faxes. The fax machines I'm familiar with print out received faxes. If the fax machine runs of paper, the fax machine stores the fax in its memory but that memory is finite. Faxes can be lost if the machine runs out of paper and memory. The faxes coming into the Appeals Council won't stop. Will there be someone there to stock the fax machines with paper? Is there sufficient memory to cover days, maybe weeks, of faxes?
• The Office of General Counsel (OGC) has to process lots of attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). I'm afraid I know the answer, but will OGC be able to process these during the shutdown? More generally, how will OGC discharge its core responsibilities with something like 90% of its staff furloughed? There must be scheduled hearings, trials, settlement conferences, oral arguments, etc. Is OGC just getting all of these continued?
• For employees still at work, are there bottlenecks caused by the large number of furloughed employees?

New Republican Plan

     Roll Call is reporting that House Republican leaders are now planning to pass several separate bills to reopen a few government agencies. They have not yet decided which agencies but one would think that the Social Security Administration would get strong consideration.
    Update: Democrats seem uninterested in this Republican plan.
     Further Update: And now Eric Cantor, the Republican Majority Leader in the House, says that his party isn't planning to try to pass any new proposals.