Senior Staffers Added At Social Security

      From Politico(emphasis added):

The Biden administration is racing to rebuild senior agency roles depleted by the previous president, hiring at the fastest rate in decades, a POLITICO analysis found.

In the first three months of 2021, the Biden administration hired more than twice as many senior government executives than Donald Trump did in the same timeframe, a staffing spree aimed at rebuilding agencies rocked by turmoil during Trump’s war on the so-called “deep state.”

All told, Biden hired at least 319 senior executives in his first three months. The biggest beneficiaries? The Department of Housing and Urban Development tops the list, with Biden increasing senior staffing by 6 percent from Trump’s September 2020 levels. That’s followed by the Social Security Administration and the Treasury Department, with 4 percent and 3 percent bumps respectively. ...

 

Legal Immigrants Can Now Get Green Card And Social Security Card At The Same Time

      From the Miami Herald:

One of the first things immigrants in the United States often do right after becoming legal permanent residents is go to a Social Security Administration office to get a new Social Security number or card replacement, which allows its holder to work anywhere in the country without conditions. 

 But starting now, for the first time, all new lawful permanent residents will have a chance to avoid this dual process.

The Biden administration announced on Monday a partnership between the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) that will allow immigrants to apply for their residence or green cards, as well as their Social Security number (SSN) in one fell swoop. ...

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article253399675.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article253399675.html#storylink=cpy

I Understand The Frustration But ...

      From Michael Hiltzig writing in the Los Angeles Times:

The career of Garrison Keillor, the folksy host who revived the American tradition of gathering every week in front of the radio, appears to be in something of an eclipse. ...

An allegation of “inappropriate behavior” with a female assistant spurred Minnesota Public Radio, his broadcast home for more than four decades, to sever its ties with Keillor. ...

So it’s conceivable that a recent column posted on his website in which he equates the Social Security Administration with the Nazi Schutzstaffel — that is, the SS — represents nothing more than his attempt to grasp at the public attention that has been slipping away. Even in those terms, however, it’s over-the-top and repugnant.

Describing his travails getting caught in Social Security phone message hell when he tried to obtain a replacement Medicare card, Keillor wrote of “Social Security, whose initials are the same as Hitler’s Schutzstaffel, which is no mere coincidence.” ...

Social Security Administration has been systematically underfunded for years, leading inexorably to a decline in customer service. ...

President Biden is calling for a 10% increase in the program’s budget, but that’s not nearly enough to bring customer service up to where it should be — indeed, where it was more than a decade ago. ...

Reopening Plans Are Up In The Air

     The Washington Post reports that plans to reopen federal offices are up in the air across the board, including at Social Security. 

     I'm amazed the reporter got someone on the phone at Social Security's field office in Fayetteville, NC. I need to ask them how they did it.

Productivity Down, Backlog Up

        The report shown below was obtained from Social Security by the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) and published in its newsletter, which is not available online to non-members. It contains basic operating statistics for Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO). 

     Note that despite the availability of overtime at OHO, the backlog has been creeping up as productivity has declined.

Click on image to view full size

 

Social Security Reviewing SSI Reductions Due To Covid Financial Assistance

     From a recent new posting to Social Security's Covid-19 page:

We recently changed our rules about what financial assistance can affect your eligibility for SSI or your monthly SSI payment amount. Specifically, we no longer count the financial assistance listed below against your eligibility or payment amount. We are reviewing SSI claims and other SSI records going back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to restore SSI payments for people whose SSI was affected by receiving any of the assistance listed below. ...

• Economic Impact Payments (EIP)
• State Stimulus Payments (Some exclusions may apply.)
• Unemployment Assistance (also includes regular unemployment)
• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): Loan Forgiveness to Employers and Self-Employed Individuals
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program: Loans/Grants to Employers and Self-Employed Individuals /Grants
• Coronavirus Food Assistance Program – Direct Payments to Farmers and Ranchers
• COVID-19 Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program
• COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
• Emergency Rental Assistance Fund
• Emergency Assistance for Rural Housing/Rural Rental Assistance
• Homeowner Assistance Fund
• Housing Assistance and Supportive Services Programs for Native Americans
• Tribal Payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
• Supporting Foster Youth and Families
• Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
• Emergency Assistance to Children and Families through the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund
• Farm Loan Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
• USDA Assistance and Support for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers, Ranchers, Forest Land Owners and Operators, and Groups ...

Visitors To Federal Offices Must Be Vaccinated Or Show A Negative Test Result -- Except That Doesn't Apply To Social Security

      From a set of questions and answers for federal agencies issued by the White House:

... Visitors to Federal buildings should be asked to provide information about vaccination status. ... Visitors who are not fully vaccinated or who decline to provide information about their vaccination status must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test from no later than the previous 3 days prior to entry to a Federal building. ...

Agencies should provide visitors with the Certification of Vaccination form when they enter a Federal building or Federally controlled indoor worksite. ...

Individuals entering a Federal building, Federally controlled indoor worksite, or Federal land to obtain a public service or benefit do not need to complete the form or show documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result. However, if they are not fully vaccinated, they must comply with all relevant CDC guidance and safety protocols, including mask-wearing and physical distancing requirements. ...

    This is nuts. First, you say that visitors to federal offices must provide information about vaccination status or show proof of a negative test result but a few paragraphs later you say that doesn't apply if the visitor is there to "obtain a public service or benefit." Is keeping Social Security employees safe not as important as keeping other federal employees safe? Are you trying to make it hard to reopen Social Security offices? Why are we appeasing the anti-vaccine nutjobs?

Where Is The Trustees Report?

      The ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Mike Crapo, is asking why we haven't yet seen the annual report of the Social Security Trustees. It's now more than four months overdue. I don't know if the report has ever been this late before. Crapo's staff has been informally asking about the report but not getting answers so Crapo is now writing a letter to the Trustees and issuing a press release. I suppose the delay is related to the pandemic in one way or another but this is getting ridiculous. Senator Crapo certainly deserves an answer.