Future Funding Debate

     John Fritze at the Baltimore Sun has written a good summary of yesterday's Senate Budget Committee hearing. The hearing was supposed to focus on Social Security's Disability Insurance Trust Fund but often seemed to be a debate over future funding of the nation's entire Social Security system. A short version of the Republican position would be that the Social Security trust funds are going to run out of money in 18 years which would result in significant cuts in Social Security benefits so it's vital that Congress enact significant cuts in Social Security benefits today. A short version of the position of the Democrats would be that there's no need for any cuts in Social Security benefits if we just eliminate the cap on wages covered by FICA, a loophole that only benefits wealthy people.

Does This Look Out Of Control?

From Acting Commissioner Colvin's Testimony Before Senate Budget Committee

Acting Commissioner Expects Re-Nomination

     At today's hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin was asked about her nomination for a term as Commissioner of Social Security. She said that she had not been re-nominated since the new Congress began but that she expected to be re-nominated.

Off Topic: Can Anyone Replace Jon Stewart?

     I'd say that no one can really replace Jon Stewart at The Daily Show. John Oliver has certainly proven that he can do it for the short run but I doubt that anyone can do it for the long haul. What do you think?

Just Ignore The Claimant's Wishes?

     I'm seeing and hearing of instances where Social Security is trying to schedule video hearings or assigning cases to remote hearing offices which could only hear a case by video despite the claimant's previously expressed desire not to have a video hearing. Is this just happening around here or is it happening in other parts of the country as well? Is this just a series of mistakes or the result of deliberate decisions made at higher levels? I wonder if trying to ignore the claimant's wishes is the agency's way of dealing with the fact that its effort to discourage resistance to video hearings is actually encouraging resistance.

OMB Clears Proposed Rule On Submission Of Evidence

     Just in time for tomorrow's hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has cleared Social Security's proposed rule requiring the submission of all evidence in Social Security disability claims. We can only hope that the agency made dramatic changes after this was originally published because the original proposal was completely unworkable.

     After OMB clears a regulatory proposal, the Commissioner has to sign off on it before it is published in the Federal Register. Typically, the Acting Commissioner has been taking a few weeks to review these before signing off on them. However, she can sign off immediately if she chooses. So far, the Office of Federal Register doesn't show the receipt of the final regulations. After publication, new regulations typically go into effect in 30 days. 

     I cannot emphasize too much how unworkable the original proposal was. Requiring the submission of "everything" sounds great but imposing this requirement without defining what "everything" means could bring about the collapse of representation of claimants. That would not just be bad for attorneys or their clients. The Social Security Administration is not prepared to cope with hundreds of thousands of unrepresented claimants, nor, for that matter, is Congress since that's where claimants turned before attorney representation of Social Security claimants became widely available. I speak from experience. I was around when there were few other attorneys doing this kind of work.

Senate Budget Committee Hearing

     The Senate Budget Committee has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on "The Coming Crisis: Social Security Disability Trust Fund Insolvency.” Here's the witness list:

• Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration
• Dr. Mark Duggan, Wayne and Jodi Cooperman Professor of Economics, Stanford University
• Dr. Philip de Jong, Professor of Economics, University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam School of Economics
• Kate Lang, Staff Attorney, National Senior Citizens Law Center

Prospects For Disability Trust Fund Looking Up

     The Baltimore Sun is running an article claiming that "The number of people receiving disability insurance payments from the Social Security Administration declined last year for the first time since 1983 ..." I'm not sure how they figured that since the website of the Office of Chief Actuary at Social Security shows an increase of about 12,000 rather than a decrease. However the article is correct in showing that the number of claims filed and applications approved is down sharply over the last four years. The number drawing benefits has actually declined over the last four months and there's a good chance that this decline is a trend that will continue for several years as baby boomers who went on disability benefits a few years ago age into retirement benefits. Interestingly, Stephen Goss, Social Security's Chief Actuary, is quoted in the article as saying that "The disability applications we have coming in now are even lower than we were assuming", suggesting the possibility of some change in the next projection for the Disability Trust Fund, due out sometime later this year.