More On Supreme Court Ethics

      Because an article about Supreme Court ethics issues I quoted mentioned a gift offered by a Social Security claimant to a federal judge, I posted about it here. The problem isn't limited to Justice Thomas but he is the prime offender because of his acceptance of gifts and lavish vacations from those interested in the work of the Court.

     I thought I was mostly writing for other attorneys who knew a little about judicial ethics but many of the comments made here were along the lines of “Well, you can’t prove Justice Thomas changed his vote because of what he received so there’s no problem.” Let me clue in the non-attorneys. There is a code of conduct for federal judges. Canon 2 of those rules is titled “A Judge Should Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all Activities.” I’m sure that just about every state judiciary has the same rule. I don’t think you can reasonably argue that there’s no appearance of impropriety in Justice Thomas’ conduct. So why hasn’t this story blown up even more than it has? The code of conduct for federal judges doesn’t apply to Supreme Court justices. There is no code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.

     The lack of a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices is shocking. Even without a rule in place, Thomas’ conduct is shocking.

This Year's COLA To Be Around 3%

     The New York Times reports that current projections are that this year's Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits will be around 3%, down from last year's 8.7%.

A Message To Staff From The Acting Commissioner

Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 1:57 PM

To: A Message to All SSA and DDS Employees

Subject: President to Nominate Martin O'Malley as SSA's Commissioner

Today, President Biden announced his intent to nominate the Honorable Martin O’Malley as SSA’s Commissioner.  Governor O’Malley’s previous public service positions include the Mayor of Baltimore and the Governor of Maryland.  If confirmed by the Senate, Governor O’Malley would bring a wealth of experience in running a large and complex government agency. 

I will remain the Acting Commissioner through the confirmation process.  I look forward to continuing to lead this amazing agency and making progress on service improvements.

As always, thanks for all you do.

Kilolo Kijakazi, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Acting Commissioner

NADE Newsletter

      The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), a voluntary organization of personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on Social Security disability claims, has issued its Summer 2024 newsletter.  To be honest, there’s not a lot of news in it but NADE members deserve a shoutout. It’s a tough job. I wish they’d approve more claims but if the truth were known they’d probably agree. Don’t blame them. The problem is much higher up.

Summary Of AFGE Contract With SSA

     The American Federation of Government Employees, the biggest labor union representing Social Security employees has released a summary of its recent contract with the agency. Read it and you may develop a greater appreciation for the nitty gritty issues that have to be worked out in a labor contract. Lactation may not be your issue but for some agency employees it’s a very big deal. Labor unions exist to help their members deal with issues that an employer may find inconvenient.

Another Set Of Proposed Regs To Decrease The Number Of SSI Recipients Charged For In-Kind Support And Maintenance

     Social Security has asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve proposed regulations to:

We propose expanding the definition of a Public Assistance (PA) Household to include additional means-tested assistance programs. This will decrease the number of applicants and recipients charged in-kind support and maintenance, which will simplify living arrangement development within the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

    This has to be approved by OMB and then published in the Federal Register for comments. The agency must consider the comments and possibly revise the proposal. Then they must again obtain approval from OMB before it can again be published in the Federal Register as a final rule. This can easily take two years or more. If a Republican is elected President in 2024, this proposal may die.

Appropriations Bill Advances

     The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on the FY 2024 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. Their Labor-HHS subcommittee reported out a bill that includes a $292 million increase over the FY 2023 appropriations. This is lousy but ahead of the House bill which included a small cut in the appropriation for Social Security. The House bill is preposterous for reasons that go well beyond Social Security. It's no starting point for negotiations.

    Keep in mind that there will probably be an "emergency" appropriations bill, probably early next year. Extra money for the Social Security Administration in that bill is a distinct possibility.

Security Guard Assaulted With Knife -- But It May Have Been A Personal Matter

     From WKBN:

A security guard at the Neshannock [PA] Social Security office is recovering after police said he was attacked with a knife.

It happened just after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.  

On the way to the scene, police learned the suspect was walking away from the plaza. They arrested Glenn Samuels Junior without incident.

The victim was sent to the hospital with lacerations to his head.

Samuels was arraigned on three counts of aggravated assault.

Police said the victim and suspect are related.