Commissioner's Broadcast E-Mail

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast

Sent: Monday, December 15, 2014 6:02 PM

Subject: COMMISSIONER'S BROADCAST--12/15/14

A Message To All SSA and DDS Employees
 

Subject: Important Updates

I want to update you on some important Congressional actions that took place over the weekend.

First, the U.S. Senate did not vote on my nomination to be Commissioner of Social Security, citing the parliamentary requirement that, as a cabinet level official, 30 hours of debate would be required at a time when they had only a few days left to confirm over 20 nominees.  I will continue, however, to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of Social Security and as Acting Commissioner.  As always, I am heartened by your support and deeply appreciate your daily efforts to serve the American public.

Second, I am pleased to let you know that Congress approved our FY 15 budget, and the President is expected to sign it shortly.  This level of funding will enable us to continue to provide quality services to our customers today, and help position the agency for success in the future.

I look forward to continuing to work with you and the new Congress.  There is much to be done.  I know I can count on you to demonstrate the dedication and professionalism that makes our agency one of the top 10 best places to work in the Federal government.

Again, thank you for your support and well wishes.

Best regards,

Carolyn

Senate Democrats Back Off Effort To Confirm Colvin So They Could Go Home

     The New York Times has as good an explanation for why Senate Democrats backed off their effort to confirm Carolyn Colvin as Commissioner of Social Security as I can find:

On Wednesday, Democrats plan to turn to the confirmation of a dozen federal district court judges. They backed off an attempt to confirm Carolyn W. Colvin as head of the Social Security Administration because it was going to be too time-consuming and Republicans were unlikely to yield because of their objections over continuing investigations at the agency.

     Don't ask me why they bothered to start cloture if they weren't willing to see it through to the end.

Colvin Won't Be Confirmed

      In a surprise move, late last night Senate Democrats dropped their efforts to confirm Carolyn Colvin as Commissioner of Social Security.

When You Don't Know What Else To Say, Just Use The Old Pending Litigation Dodge

     From the Washington Post:

The Social Security Administration, which announced in April that it would stop trying to collect debts from the children of people who were allegedly overpaid benefits decades ago, has continued to demand such payments and now defends that practice in court documents. 

But although some people whose refunds were seized were reimbursed in recent months, some of those same taxpayers have since received new demands from Social Security, asserting that the debts remain and seeking repayment. ... 

Asked to explain the about-face, Social Security officials said they would respond only to written questions. Late Friday, four days after The Post provided questions, the agency issued this statement from spokesman Mark Hinkle: “We are finalizing our review of the Treasury offset program, but cannot discuss specifics due to the pending litigation.”

Colvin Nomination On Senate Floor; GOP Can't Block It Now

     I don't know when it will come up for a final vote but Carolyn Colvin's nomination for a term as Commissioner of Social Security is being considered by the Senate today. Republicans lack the votes to prevent confirmation so it's going to happen.

     Update: Colvin has Ted Cruz to thank for her impending confirmation. Seriously.

What's Going On With The Binder And Binder Bankruptcy?

     I have no inside information about the impending Binder and Binder bankruptcy but I think I can give the most likely answers to three key questions.

Is Binder and Binder going out of business?

Not now. In Chapter 11 the debtor stays in business and tries to reorganize. Maybe Binder and Binder can reorganize so they can stay in business indefinitely but I would be surprised if they can. My guess is that they stop taking cases and work down the cases they already have. That would take around three years. Their expenses would drop dramatically since they would no longer be paying for advertising and they could start laying off employees but their gross receipts would stay almost the same for a couple of years. They would be making money as they wind down. Maybe they could hope to crank up the ads later if times got better.

Why is Binder and Binder going bankrupt?

In the best of times, representing Social Security claimants is a high overhead, low profit margin business. This is the worst of times to be representing Social Security claimants. There is almost no profit to make. Add in the fact that Binder and Binder owes about $40 million and the question isn't why they're going into bankruptcy but how they've stayed in business so long. This comes as no surprise to me.

Why is it such a tough time to be representing Social Security claimants?

Social Security's Administrative Law Judges are approving a much lower percentage of disability claims than they did a few years ago. Because of inadequate staffing backlogs are climbing rapidly at Social Security. If you think this means that Binder and Binder should be doing better since their fees would be increased by the delay, you'd be naive. The slowdown in getting to the eventual payday completely overwhelms the importance of the somewhat larger paycheck. If the backlog gets two months longer over the course of a year, you lose two months of gross income but your expenses are largely unchanged. A 5% or 10% larger fee isn't nearly enough to make up the difference.

I Was Kind Of Expecting This

     Binder and Binder may be about to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Colvin Nomination May Soon Come Up For Vote In Senate

     There are signs that Carolyn Colvin's nomination for a term as Commissioner of Social Security is a matter of some priority with Senate Democrats. She is currently the Acting Commissioner. Her nomination is apparently considered as being on the same plateau as lifetime judicial nominations. There is a rumor that it may come up on the Senate floor as early as today but it's not on the calendar at this time.