It's Brutal

     From WFTS in Tampa Bay:

...  Brett Chamberlin's letters from the Social Security Administration have piled up.

“They send me letters saying, you didn’t come for your interview. I didn’t have an interview. You didn’t submit the information we requested. You didn’t request any information,” Chamberlin said.

He has been going back and forth with the SSA office since 2017, when he was first diagnosed with Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and Giant Cell Arteritis. ...

Chamberlin depends on high flow oxygen 100% of the time and uses a wheelchair to get around. He tells ABC Action News he was declared disabled by his doctor but has been denied Social Security disability. ...

“We’re not able to survive. I have sold everything that I owned of any value with the exception of my wedding ring,” Chamberlin said. ...

Processing Times Continue To Creep Up Even Though OHO Receipts Continue To Drop

     A report from Social Security on operations at its Office of Hearings Operations (OHO).

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Getting There At 6:00 AM Isn't Early Enough

     From WESH:

Long lines were reported at the Orlando Social Security Office Wednesday.

One woman told WESH 2 she arrived at 6 a.m. ahead of the office opening at 9 a.m. As of 11:30 a.m., she was still waiting and it was her second day in line. She said she and her dad came yesterday morning at 7a.m. and was home because the lines were too long.

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Another woman said she came because the office misspelled her daughter’s name and they told her to come in person. ...

    There's a similar piece on another local station in Orlando.

Already Waiting Outside Social Security Field Office At 5:51 AM

Photo taken at 5:51 AM

     From Spectrum News:

The long lines outside Orlando's Social Security office have continued early Wednesday morning.

Dozens of Central Florida residents in search of Social Security services waited hours outside the Orlando Social Security office under the hot Florida sun Tuesday afternoon.

Some arrived as early as 2:00 a.m. Wednesday to try to guarantee an appointment this morning. The office opens at 9 a.m. ...

In a statement, a Social Security Administration spokesperson advised residents to book appointments over the phone or online to avoid waiting in lines.

However, people who waited in line told Spectrum News 13 that they tried, but were not able to book an appointment using those services.

Happy 4th Of July!

 

Retirement Trends

    From Retirement Trends in United States, 2000-2022, a report by the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress.

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Social Security Wants To Learn From A Mediocre NFL Team

     From Federal News Network:

The Baltimore Ravens football team may be better known for its winning ways on the field and its rabid fans in the stands.

But the Social Security Administration turned to the NFL team because of its prowess in using data to drive customer experience decisions. It also didn’t hurt that SSA headquarters is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, and many of the staff are big fans of the team.

Patrick Newbold, the assistant deputy commissioner and deputy chief information officer at SSA, said the Ravens are known for providing a great customer experience for their fans so it just made sense that the agency would reach out.

“One of the questions we asked the Baltimore Ravens was how business intelligence analytics changed their service delivery model?” Newbold said on Ask the CIO. “The Ravens shared an excellent use case with us on how data was able to challenge one of their assumptions on fan demographics. Early on, when they started to aggregate that data, that data disproved assumptions they had about their season ticket holders. Their fans were a lot younger than the marketing assumed. ...

The Ravens brought their chief data officer or equivalent position to the table to meet with executives from SSA’s CIO, CDO and mission offices. ...

 “We want to use data to monitor and improve the way we do business and services, and deliver our services to our citizens,” Newbold said. “We also shared several challenges. One was the importance of data collection. The Baltimore Ravens leverage NFL-wide data as well as their Baltimore Ravens-specific data. They use that data to inform decisions. We, at SSA, want to create a primary source of SSA-wide data that is beyond assumptions and that supports that ad hoc, cross-cutting capability to do some data analytics. While we are completely different organizations, we have the same goals and mission desire when it comes to how we can use data to really inform the way we want to move forward.” ...

“We also met with a couple of thought leaders since June, the former General Motors CIO Ralph Szygenda and the former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti,” he said. “We take these conversations and we’ve highlighted about three important lessons learned from these conversations, and we are baking those into our strategy. They are around governance, data and culture.” ...

    Learning from the experiences of others is a good idea but this still sounds weird.

House Appropriations Releases Report On Bill To Fund SSA

     The full House Appropriations Committee has approved its version of the appropriations bill covering the Social Security Administration. There were no amendments affecting Social Security. The report that accompanies such bills has been released. These reports typically contain precatory language that agencies generally try to follow even if they are not legally required to do so. Here's some excerpts that affect Social Security (beginning at page 310):

• ... Within the total recommended increase, the Committee expects SSA to direct not less than $630,000,000 for field offices, teleservice centers, and program service centers, and $190,000,000 to replace losses and build capacity at the State Disability Determination Services (DDS) agencies that make disability determinations for SSA.
• In addition, within the recommended funding level, the Committee provides $89,500,000 for SSA to mail paper statements to all contributors aged 25 and older not yet receiving benefits ...
• Hearings.—The Committee continues to consider the Final Rule ‘‘Hearings Held by Administrative Appeals Judges of the Appeals Council’’ (85 Fed. Reg. 73138, December 16, 2020) to be an unjustified erosion of due process for individuals who are appealing a denial of Social Security or SSI benefits. As part of a beneficiary’s right to an impartial appeal process, an on the record hearing, conducted by an impartial judge with decisional independence, must be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to ensure due process, without agency interference, or political bias. Replacing this appeals step and the role of independent administrative law judges (ALJs) with SSA employees jeopardizes the independence of the process. In light of the harm that would be caused by this policy change, the Committee strongly urges SSA not to exercise this authority. ...
• The Committee requests SSA submit to the Committee within 90 days of enactment of this Act a plan for reducing the initial and reconsideration claims backlogs, and continue to submit to the Committee quarterly reports on disability hearings backlogs until SSA has eliminated the hearings backlog and achieved its monthly average processing time goal. The Committee urges the Commissioner to prioritize the hiring of additional staff at the DDS agencies to determine initial claims and reconsideration appeals, as well as ALJs and requisite staff to adjudicate backlogged hearings claims. ...
• The Committee remains concerned about the time it takes SSA to effectuate favorable SSI and/or SSDI disability determinations and requests a briefing on the issue withing 30 days of receiving the report on Disability Determinations as requested in House Report 117–96. ...
• The Committee directs SSA to submit a report to the Committee within 180 days of enactment of this Act exploring the feasibility of using employee incentives, including an agency student loan repayment program, to improve recruitment and retention for qualified candidates across the agency. ...
• The Committee recognizes the essential role that field offices play in the public’s ability to access SSA benefits and services and strongly encourages the Commissioner to take every action possible to maintain operations at existing field offices. ...
• The Committee understands that the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) relies on legal assistants to conduct a broad range of work supporting hearings and reviewing work of its administrative law judges, and urges SSA to examine the position descriptions of legal assistants, pay and actual work conducted, to ensure that job classifications and compensation are commensurate with current duties. ...
• The Committee believes that quality representation in matters with SSA assists claimants and beneficiaries, and can also help SSA work more accurately and efficiently. The Committee appreciates that the Commissioner is raising the cap on fees payable via fee agreement, and encourages the Commissioner to index the cap to account for inflation in future years. ...
• The Committee reiterates its support for well-managed telework programs in the Federal workplace and understands that SSA is in the process of evaluating how telework affects service delivery during the reentry evaluation period of March 30 through September 30, 2022. Within 90 days of enactment of this Act, the Committee requests a briefing on how the results of that evaluation will be used to measure and monitor the impact of telework on customer satisfaction, service availability including continuity of operations, workloads management, employee experience, stewardship, and environmental considerations. ...

    Note that we are a long, long way from having a final bill. The Senate has to act. The filibuster in the Senate gives the minority a veto over appropriations bills. The House of Representatives may be in Republican hands by the time there is final action.