50 U.S. Representatives Ask President Trump to Exempt SSA from Hiring Freeze

Posted March 24, 2017 by Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Earlier this week, U.S. Representatives Al Lawson and Darren Soto, both representing constituents in the state of Florida, sent a letter to President Trump asking him to exempt the Social Security Administration (SSA) from the federal hiring freeze “to ensure that the American people receive the first-class service they have already earned through a lifetime of hard work.”

Fifty lawmakers have signed on to the letter, noting that “Social Security is efficiently administered, spending less than a penny of every dollar on administration; all while the American population is rapidly aging with 10,000 people, on average, turning 65 every day.” The letter also cites a recent Trustees Report showing that the SSA currently has a $2.8 trillion surplus that is only continuing to grow.

Since 2010, the administrative budget of the SSA has declined by 10 percent, while the number of beneficiaries has increased by more than 12 percent. This led to 64 field offices closing, a disability hearings backlog with an average 540-day waiting period, increased wait times at every point of contact, and extended durations for retirement and disability appointments.

The lawmakers cited a concern that the hiring freeze will make it more difficult for people to receive their benefits. They note that “the hiring freeze memorandum prevents [the] SSA from replacing agency employees who are retiring at rates similar to that of the American workforce and will ultimately lead to a declination in the quality of programs that served over 60 million Americans in 2016.”

You can read the full letter here.

Source: https://soto.house.gov/media/press-releases/social-security-administration-should-be-exempt-federal-hiring-freeze

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®