WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA), delivered the following statement today at a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Social Security on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Disability Claims Backlogs.
“Across the country, at this moment, 784,000 Americans are waiting on their initial disability claims, and 695,000 claimants whose applications were denied are waiting for a hearing on their appeal.
“Given the increase in filings that will continue to come as a result of the recession, the Social Security Administration anticipates that at the end of this year, over one million Americans will be waiting for a response to their initial claim.
“Disability claimants will wait an average 111 days for an initial decision and appellants will wait an average of 442 days in addition to delays at earlier stages. For cases that are appealed all the way to the Federal Courts, the process takes an average of 1,720 days. If those are just averages, I hate to think about the outliers.
“When we talk about these disability backlogs, we talk numbers. The background information we all have sitting in front of us is full of charts and graphs and hard data. Of course this data is essential to track progress and maintain accountability, but we must always remember that each one of those numbers represents the life of a vulnerable human being.
“These people are in dire need. Interestingly enough, claims reviewers are given the authority to expedite certain types of claims for particularly time-sensitive cases and classes of people such as wounded warriors and cases of financial or medical ‘dire need.’
“To prove dire need, one must suffer such things as unemployment, inability to pay rent, mortgage or utilities, or meet basic living expenses. I’m hearing that this dire need category is becoming obsolete because so many claimants are facing it. Many are in no position to wait months or even years to receive a decision on their eligibility for assistance, particularly those with very limited resources who are seeking assistance through the Supplemental Security Income program, or SSI. Nearly 8 million severely disabled individuals depend on SSI to provide them with a helping hand. It is important to remember just how very modest these payments are, averaging less than $500 per month.
“Disability benefits, either through the Supplemental Security Income or Social Security programs, serve as a lifeline for millions of people. The cash assistance and health care coverage provided to these individuals gives them the help they need to make ends meet.
“I know that we will hear that the increased funding for SSA and increased focus on reducing the backlog has paid off, and indeed it has. The hearings backlog is down 10 percent from its peak in December of 2008. But we are seeing a surge in initial claims due to the recession and we must ask ourselves-what will happen to these individuals as they are kept waiting? What do they have to fall back on?
“A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report that captured a snapshot of homelessness in a three-month period in 2009 showed a 38 percent increase of newly homeless families over that same period in 2008. More and more Americans are literally being left out in the cold.
“This Committee has worked with our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to provide SSA with additional funding so that it may continue to work to reduce the disability claims backlog. And while it is anticipated that the President’s budget for FY 2011 will enable SSA to stay on track to eliminate the hearings backlog by the end of FY 2013, it would not have a significant impact in reducing the initial claims backlog.
“Certainly we cannot expect the Agency to perform miracles with limited funding and extreme staffing shortages. SSA has operated at an insufficient funding level for a number of years and we will continue to work with our congressional colleagues and the Administration to address this issue. But it is now time for the Agency to take bold steps to reduce the length of time that a disability applicant must wait for a hearing and pursue and evaluate the service delivery methods with measurable data.
“I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses and yield back the balance of my time."
