FMA COMMENDS HOUSE APPROVAL OF PRESIDENT'S FUNDING REQUEST FOR THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION - July 24, 2009

Increase paves path to eliminating the disability hearings backlog.

Alexandria, VA - The Federal Managers Association (FMA), which represents the managers and supervisors in the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), applauds House passage of the FY10 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Act (H.R. 3293), which includes $11.4 billion for the Social Security Administration's Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE) for fiscal year 2010. FMA has long advocated for such funding to equip SSA with the resources necessary to effectively combat the backlog of disability hearing cases.

"The men and women who serve the public through the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review labor each day to deliver services countless Americans depend on, but for too long Congress and the Administration failed to provide these dedicated employees with the resources critical to achieving their mission," FMA National President Darryl Perkinson stated. "FMA testified before Congress on multiple occasions urging lawmakers not to stand by idly as the number of pending requests for disability hearings skyrocketed. As the number of pending hearing requests now stands at over 746,000, with each request requiring 500 days to process on average, we are extremely pleased the House has taken this important step to address these delays impeding ODAR's delivery of service."

Facing an aging baby boomer population, a workforce where a third of employees will reach retirement eligibility in the next few years and a deep economic recession, SSA continues to confront a growing number of disability claims. A significant portion of the funding included in the House version of the appropriations bill would enable the agency to hire an additional 1,645 employees to augment the existing workforce, allowing SSA to process tens of thousands of additional hearings in FY10 than was possible in FY09.

"FMA and SSA officials have long agreed that increasing the agency's staff levels constitutes a vital component of efforts to boost productivity in several key areas, and the budget approved by the House allows SSA to expand its workforce to a level appropriate for the amount of work that must be performed," commented Perkinson. "Coupled with financial support contained in the stimulus bill, the funding secured in H.R. 3293, which marks a ten percent increase for administrative expenses over FY09 levels, sets the agency on the path to eliminating the backlog."

Between 2001 and 2007, Congress appropriated, on average, $150 million less than the President requested each year. The value of this differential is equivalent to processing an additional 177,000 initial claims and 454,000 hearings. In the ten years prior to fiscal year 2008, Congress appropriated nearly $1.3 billion less than the President's requests. Without a doubt, this has had a devastating effect on the services provided to the American public, as evidenced by the situation we find ourselves in today.

"It is now critical the Senate recognize the need for these funds during consideration of its version of this legislation," Perkinson continued. "We cannot allow the American public to suffer when we have the power to provide them with the level of service they expect and deserve."