WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal, (D-MA), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT), and Worker & Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Social Security Administration (SSA) posted its final rule regarding the manner for the appearance of parties and witnesses at appeals hearings when an initial application for Social Security benefits is denied:
“We are relieved to see that the Social Security Administration listened to the public’s outcry and to our February letter and preserved the constitutional right to due process for millions of Americans who earned Social Security protection through a lifetime of work. Video hearings before SSA Administrative Law Judges are inferior to in-person hearings - they are less fair and less efficient, and they potentially limit judges’ abilities to accurately assess the impact an individual’s impairments have on his or her ability to work. Individuals who request a hearing before an ALJ currently wait two to three years, or longer, from the time they first file their application to the time they receive a hearing decision. It is simply wrong to deny them the opportunity for a face-to-face hearing, when so much is on the line and they have endured so many months without income and in ill health. Fortunately, this final rule ensures that workers will be guaranteed a chance to make their case as fully and effectively as possible."
