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Bush Budget Indirectly Targets Social Security by Closing Offices |
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A baby boomer turns 60 every 7.5 seconds, but George Bush’s proposed 2009 budget would slash funding for Social Security offices across the country that serve millions of those soon-to-be retirees. The cuts would force seniors and disabled citizens to travel long distances to their nearest field office.
Bush’s lame-duck budget slashes more than $100 million from the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) administrative budget—yet another attempt to ensure his administration’s destructive policies continue long after he leaves office.
Witold Skwierczynski, president of AFGE Council 220 in Washington, D.C., told a press conference yesterday:
Over the past 10 years the Social Security administrative budget has been constricted by upwards of $1.3 billion. Further cuts to the SSA budget, as 76 million baby boomers enter the system, could prove to be disastrous.
AFGE represents 25,000 SSA employees and Skwierczynski says SSA field office employees, already inundated with backlogs, are concerned that a lack of sufficient funding will adversely affect their ability to effectively serve taxpayers. Employees already have heard from the public how previous office closures forced clients to travel from 50 miles to100 miles to the nearest SSA field office.
To keep SSA offices open, working families are supporting H.R. 5110, introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.). The bill, known as the Social Security Customer Service Improvement Act, would give Congress additional oversight of SSA staff levels, office closures and budget estimates.
If enacted, the bill will require the SSA commissioner to submit the agency’s budget directly to Congress and the president without revisions, so the president can’t change it. SSA would not be able to close field offices until 180 days after submitting to congressional committees a report justifying the selection of offices for closure.
Ed Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, which represents 3.5 million seniors, says:
These offices are necessary because SSA provides essential services for all Americans. Under the Higgins bill, Congress would get the full request from SSA. With SSA already facing widely reported backlogs with disability claims, this is no time to close hundreds of field offices.
Cuts in Social Security’s administrative funding is part of an overall Bush budget that once again includes tax breaks for the wealthy but slashes services for working people. The budget cuts funding for mine safety and slices $603 billion over 10 years from key social safety net programs, most of that from Medicare and Medicaid, including a $178 billion cut in Medicare over five years.
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AFGE is totally correct that under funding the SSA leads to dire consequences for the American people:
Social Security Disability (SSDI), is an insurance plan administered by the Federal Government that is paid for by FICA Tax deductions out of American’s hard earned paychecks. It was created to be a safety net for millions of disabled Americans, and for many it has become their only lifeline for survival. most Americans know nothing about this insurance unless they need to apply for this benefit themselves, and due to current program problems applying for this benefit often exacerbates/creates new health issues, and many lose all their financial resources, their homes, even their lives while waiting for help.
During 2006 and 2007, at least 16,000 people fighting for disability benefits died while awaiting a decision (CBS News Report – Disabled And Waiting - 1/14/08). This is more than 4 times the number of Americans killed in the Iraq war since it began.
During 2007, two-thirds of all applicants that were denied - nearly a million people - simply gave up after being turned down the first time (CBS News Report – Failing The Disabled - 1/15/08)
In 2007 there were 2,190,196 new applications for SSDI benefits.
There are about 1,417,103 total pending cases and out of that number, 154,841 are veterans.
Nationally as of January 2008, over 64% of disability cases were denied at the initial stage of the disability claims process and it took from 101.8 – 113.7 days for claimants to receive the initial decision on their claim.
If a claimant appeals the initial denial asking for reconsideration, in all but 10 test states where the reconsideration phase has been removed, 87.3% of cases were denied and the waiting time for this phase was an average of 90.1 days.
Over 750,000 are waiting for hearings with an average wait time of 506 days
Two-thirds of those who appeal an initial rejection eventually win their cases (New York Times 12/10/07)
According to Health Affairs, The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere, 2 February 2, 2005: Disability causes nearly 50% of all mortgage foreclosures, compared to 2% caused by death.
MarketWatch: Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy - February 2, 2005 – found that: Over half of all personal U.S. bankruptcies, affecting over 2 million people annually, were attributable to illness or medical bills. 15% of all homeowners who had taken out a second or third mortgage cited medical expenses as a reason.
According to a National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) report “Social Security Is Worth $225,000 for a Typical Retiree Experts Assess the Value to Retirees, Working Families, and Communities of Color” – 1/31/08: Although 69% of Social Security benefits go to retired persons, 17% go to disabled workers and their families. The value of the disability benefits for disabled workers – those who cannot work at any job for at least a year because of physical or mental illness and impairments – was the equivalent of purchasing a $414,000 disability insurance policy in 2006. That represents the total benefits available to a 30-year old worker who becomes disabled after earning between $25,000 and $30,000 a year, has a 28 year-old spouse, a child age two and an infant under the age of one.
When there are poor staffing levels, overworked employees, and lack of training the public suffers. Here is just a small sampling of some of the major problems with the current Social Security Disability program and State Disability (DDS) offices who process the initial phase/medical portion of disability claims:
Severe under staffing of SSA workers at all levels of the program
Claimants waiting for weeks or months to get appointments, and hours to be seen by caseworkers at Social Security field offices
Extraordinary wait times between the different phases of the disability claims process
Very little or no communication between caseworkers and claimants throughout the disability claims process before decisions are made.
Complaints of lost files and of having other claimants information improperly filed/mixed in where it doesn’t belong
Poor/little coordination of information between the different departments and phases of the disability process
Complaints of backlogs at payment processing centers once claim is approved
This important issue needs to be addressed now, and only our elected officials with your urging can get the funding and create the legislation needed to fix this critical problem. Time is of the utmost importance in this matter, as millions of SS Disability applicants, even as I write this are suffering and losing everything, including their lives, while trying to get their benefits. If you think this issue does not affect you - you could be dead wrong!
Well written SSDC! Sounds like you (or someone close to you) has been put through an unnecessary Hell to get benefits due you.
My best wishes to you, and thank you for posting this…
SSDC!
Thank you for the information about SSDI. I’m bless to still be here to collect my disability benefits that finally arrived in my behalf. My first try was back in 1987 when I became disable however; I was denied the first time and tried again in 1991 and was denied again. Years of back pain that was caused by Repetitive Strain Injury was classified has a disability.
Hopefully, I still will be around when the payment processing units can cut my first check.
Maybe this is why Bush is targeting Social Security since my disability can from a utility company on the West coast.