Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), at today’s Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, called for more support for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Administration for Community Living. Her opening remarks noted that SSA’s operating budget, in particular, has been cut by more than $1.2 billion since 2010, after adjusting for inflation.
The below remarks are as delivered at the hearing:
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this hearing on a set of programs that provide critical support to our Nation’s seniors and people with disabilities. Commissioner Colvin, Assistant Secretary Greenlee, we welcome you to the Committee. I am pleased you are here. I think this is a great opportunity to bring attention to and question you on your agency’s important programs.
“For tens of millions of American families, these benefits are absolutely critical to maintaining a basic level of financial security. Social Security turns 80 years old this year. Before 1935, old age meant economic insecurity for practically all seniors. And today, two thirds of seniors rely on Social Security as their primary source of income. And it is a vital strand in the fabric of our community. I like to describe Social Security as a generational connection I think of my mother who worked all of her life It’s my job to work and make sure we keep it solvent and my kids are tied to me and I do believe that’s the strength that ought to be preserved.
“In fiscal year 2016, the Social Security Administration will distribute more than $1 trillion in benefits to seniors and people with disabilities. That figure includes nearly $800 billion in Old Age and Survivors benefits; $150 billion in Disability benefits; and $65 billion in Supplemental Security Income benefits. And yet, SSA runs these programs on a relative shoestring. Operating expenses for SSA are less than 1.3 percent of the size of program. Less than 1.3 percent. That should be noted.
“Despite this laudable efficiency, we have spent the past five years starving its operating budget. Adjusting for inflation, that budget has been cut by more than $1.2 billion since 2010. As a result, SSA lost 11,000 staff between 2010 and 2013, and has closed at least 64 field offices since 2010.
“These cuts have real consequences. People spend seven times as long on the phone to reach an SSA agent. Five times as many callers are faced with a busy signal. The average wait for a disability hearing decision is now more than 15 months. We all believe that is unacceptable.
“I expect much of our time this morning will focus on backlogs and delays in services at SSA. I have a number of concerns myself. But I ask my colleagues to keep in mind that SSA is being asked to do its job with less funding and fewer staff. And until we eliminate sequestration and restore proper resources to the SSA, we should not be surprised if we see growing backlogs, more cuts to services, and additional field office closings.
“Our second agency this morning, the Administration for Community Living, administers programs that are no less important. These programs allow seniors and people with disabilities to live active and independent lives. Every year, ACL funds the delivery of more than 200 million meals to over two million seniors, most of whom are low-income. It provides critical support services that enable families to care for their loved ones at home.
“As Assistant Secretary Greenlee notes in her prepared testimony, over 80 percent of long-term support and services come from family members. ACL’s programs enable families to continue to provide those services at home. The programs also save taxpayers money. Without them, many families would be unable to care for their loved ones in their homes. They would be forced into expensive nursing homes or institutional facilities - often paid for by Medicaid.
“And yet, we persist in shortchanging these programs. Over the past five years, after accounting for inflation, ACL’s Home and Community-Based Support Services and Family Caregiver programs have been cut by 13 percent, nutrition programs cut by 9 percent, programs for individuals with developmental disabilities slashed by 20 percent. These cuts are devastating to millions of families across the country, who are finding it harder and harder to care for the people they love.
“Instead of cutting services for seniors, people with disabilities, and working families, we need to invest in them. I strongly support SSA’s request for an increase of $700 million, which would reverse about half of the cuts to its operating budget over the last five years. I also support the President’s proposal to increase funding for Senior Nutrition by $60 million and support services for seniors by $40 million.
“The increases are not nearly enough to address the needs of American families. If we truly commit to these agencies - if we fund them in a way that keeps pace with growing need and rising costs - we can help seniors, we can help people with disabilities live in their own homes, with help from their families, at a fraction of the cost of an institutional setting. Cutting these agencies’ budgets will do the opposite. And when we cut programs like the ones under discussion today, we cannot expect them to do more with less, or even the same with less. They will do less with less. That is inevitable. Thank you. I look forward to the discussion and your testimony today."
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
