Social Security warns of potential furloughs
Fiscal 2007 spending levels approved by a Senate committee would require 10-day furloughs agencywide, commissioner says.
Social Security Administration Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart has warned legislators of possible agencywide furloughs if Congress supports Senate appropriators' version of a fiscal 2007 spending bill.
That version (S. 3708) would budget about $400 million less than the president's request for agency administration. The corresponding House version of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (H.R. 5647) calls for about $200 million less than the administration's request - a level that would avoid furloughs, according to an agency spokesman.
Neither chamber's version has reached the floor for a vote, and both are unlikely to move forward until after the November elections. A Senate Appropriations Committee staff member said the impact of the different funding levels was under discussion with SSA, and the issue would be taken up during conference negotiations on the spending bill.
In a July letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and ranking member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Barnhart said the Senate committee-approved funding levels would require about 10 days of furloughs agencywide. Senate appropriators set aside $9.093 billion for SSA administration in fiscal 2007 -- almost $400 million short of the president's $9.496 billion budget request, and $54 million below fiscal 2006 spending levels.
"SSA's administrative expenses are used to pay for the people needed to do the work, so fewer resources mean fewer people to serve the public in all areas of SSA's operations," Barnhart wrote. "Because these budget reductions will affect all employees, they will result in major service disruptions across all workloads. …I believe it is my responsibility to inform you that this reduction is too large and will result in furloughs and service deterioration."
She said affected services would include public filing of retirement and disability benefits, obtaining replacement Social Security cards, obtaining information by phone and resolving disability claims and appeals.
Agency reviews of disability beneficiaries, which aim to ensure that recipients are eligible for claimed benefits, would also be affected, Barnhart said. She noted that for every dollar spent on reviews, $10 is saved in program costs, but said the cut to administrative spending would require the agency to reduce the planned 597,000 cases to be reviewed next year to just 111,000.
SSA spokesman Mark Lassiter said funding at the level approved by House appropriators would result in some service cuts at the agency, but would remove "any threat of, or need for, a furlough."