It's Different Over There

I look in from time to time at the Rightsnet board. This is a web board used by those who advocate for Social Security disability benefits in the United Kingdom. I see some similarities to the work I do, but every so often I see a thread that reminds me of the vast differences between the Social Security disability programs in the two countries. The thread on "use of bottle" is a good example of these differences.

Biden Picture Posted

I had posted earlier on the delay in posting pictures of Vice President Biden in Social Security offices, a problem that extended to all federal offices. This seemed odd since President Obama's picture went up shortly after the inuaguraton. I said at the time that the Biden pictures were reported to be on the way to federal offices.

I can now report that Joe Biden's picture has been posted in the Raleigh location of Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR).

New Edition Of My Book Published

The 2009 edition of my book, Social Security Disability Practice, is now available for sale.

Didn't Know About This

Social Security is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act to publish in the Federal Register information about any new or changed requirement that any person or entity supply information to Social Security. As you might imagine, these notices are normally quite boring. They mostly concern new editions of various forms. Here is a recently published notice that concerns something quite different, not alarming or concerning, but a bit surprising:

Blood Donor Locator Service (BDLS)--20 CFR 401.200--0960-0501.This regulation stipulates that when blood donor facilities identify blood donations as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive, the overseeing State agency must provide the names and Social Security Numbers of the affected donors to SSA's Blood Donor Locator Service. SSA uses this information to furnish the State agencies with the blood donors' address information to notify the blood donors. Respondents are State agencies acting on behalf of blood donor facilities.

Baucus On Stimulus Checks To Prisoners

From Dow Jones Newswires:

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D- Mont., criticized the Social Security Administration for mistakenly sending $250 economic stimulus payments to each of 1,700 prison inmates.

According to media reports, SSA officials did not respond to inquiries from prison employees who processed the checks. Baucus, in a statement Tuesday, called the reports "troubling."

"SSA should issue a full report on this failure to respond to these requests in a timely manner. We made a concentrated effort to protect American taxpayers in crafting recovery legislation, and many correctional officials were doing their part to prevent an abuse of taxpayer funds," said Baucus.

Unwinding Part Of DSI

Before publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register any federal agency needs the permission of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House. Social Security has just sent a proposal to OMB to partially unwind the Disability Service Improvement (DSI) plan that had been implemented in Social Security's Boston Region. DSI was the brainchild of former Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart. DSI has proven to be unworkable, but it has remained in effect in the Boston Region. The part of DSI that Social Security proposes to unwind relates to appeals of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions. The parts of DSI relating to hearings would remain in effect in the Boston Region.

I do not understand why Social Security is not completely unwinding DSI.

Cutting $2.2 Billion In Salaries Only Saves California $1.3 Billion

From the Los Angeles Times:

State worker Rochelle Johnson's $38,000 salary never allowed her family to live in luxury. Then the furloughs hit, cutting her pay by 14%.

Now Johnson, an appointment scheduler at a California agency that reviews disability applications, finds herself at the mercy of payday lenders, utility companies' patience -- they shut off her power once already -- and co-workers who share their lunch leftovers. ...

In some limited cases, the furloughs could be waived at little or no cost to the state.

The $2.2 billion in pay cuts is expected to save the state's general fund only $1.3 billion in this budget year. The other $900 million is paid from separate funds or with federal money. Most workers are paid through a combination of sources.

Rochelle Johnson's pay comes entirely from the federal government.

"Why are we furloughed if we are federally funded?" she asked. "I don't think I should have to put my child in danger because Arnold decided on what was best for me." ...

"We would be discriminating against other state employees if we said, based on your funding source, we're going to apply a different personnel policy to you," said Lynelle Jolley, a state Department of Personnel spokeswoman. ...

NPR Story On Delays

National Public Radio has a story today on delays in adjudicating Social Security disability claims.