Conn Cases Reach Court Of Appeals

     Social Security's effort to cut off the disability benefits of many hundreds of Eric Conn's former clients generated an intense legal challenge. Oral arguments of the first of these to reach the Court of Appeals was held last week. This was on the narrow issue of exhaustion of remedies -- whether Social Security claimants had to go through all the steps at Social Security before challenging the process in the courts. You can listen to the audio of the oral argument and tell us how you think it went.

     One backdrop you need to consider to these legal challenges is the extraordinary right wing tilt to the judges who have heard and will hear these cases. The judges on the District Court bench in Kentucky are all Republican appointees. The judges on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals are overwhelmingly Republican appointees. This is quite unlike most federal courts where most judges are Democratic appointees.

Working Longer

     From an article in the Social Security Bulletin, the agency's scholarly publication:

A retired worker's Social Security benefit depends in part on the age at which he or she claims benefits. Working longer and claiming benefits later increase the monthly benefit. Information about trends in employment at older ages and the age at which individuals claim Social Security benefits can help policymakers assess the effectiveness of current policies in influencing the timing of retirement and benefit claims. Both the labor force participation rate among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. For example, from 2000 through 2015, the labor force participation rate among individuals aged 65–69 rose from 30 percent to 37 percent for men and from 19 percent to 28 percent for women. Since 2000, the proportion of fully insured men and women who claim retirement benefits at the earliest eligibility age of 62 has declined substantially.

Poverty High Among Social Security Disability Recipients

Click on each part to view full size. From the Social Security Bulletin.

      Sorry this is divided into two parts. It extended over two pages in the article.
     SPM stands for Supplemental Poverty Measure, an alternate method for defining poverty.

Gun Control Regulations Sent To OMB

     The Social Security Administration has sent final rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that will require the agency to provide information on claimants who have been appointed representative payees to a database used to determine eligibility to buy firearms. If approved, the final regulations will be posted in the Federal Register. There is still time for these to come into effect before President Obama leaves office but OMB must act fast. Inauguration day is January 20. There has to be a 30 day notice period after final regulations are published before they come into effect. if these regulations become final before inauguration day, it takes a long process to take them off the books.

     By the way, nothing about this proposal would remove firearms from anyone's possession. This is only about the ability to purchase firearms. Also, the notion put forward by some gun nuts that representative payees are appointed to handle the benefits of people who have only minor problems is ridiculous. The only people I see getting representative payees appointed are severely impaired. 

     In reading comments on this board, whether in response to this or other posts, remember that some commenters are paid shills who don't hesitate to lie about their knowledge or experience.

New HIV Listings

     The Social Security Administration has published new final Listings for HIV/AIDS. Thank goodness these Listings aren't nearly as important as they were in years past.

Becerra Leaves Congress

     Xavier Becerra, who had been the top Democrat on the House Social Security Subcommittee, has decided to leave Congress to become the California Attorney General. Becerra had served 12 terms in Congress and was Chairman of the House Democratic Causus. He had earlier announced his intention to become the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee. He was thought of as a potential Speaker of the House and had been mentioned as a potential Vice Presidential candidate. Becerra has been an ardent supporter of Social Security.

     John Larson of Connecticut is the second ranking Democrat on the House Social Security Subcommittee but that doesn't mean he will necessarily become the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee in the next Congress.  Subcommittee membership is somewhat fluid. Larson could move to another Subcommittee or another more senior member of the Ways and Means Committee could move to the Social Security Subcommittee.

And Yet Disability Determination At Social Security Is Premised Upon Belief That Unskilled Manufacturing Jobs Are As Plentiful Today As They Were 40 Years Ago

From Brookings Instititute

Hearing On Blahous And Reischauer Nominations

     The Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing at 10:00 today on the nominations of Charles P. Blahous III, and Robert D. Reischauer to become members of the Social Security Advisory Board.
     Update: I should have said these are nominations to become members of the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees.