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Post by queenie262 on Oct 23, 2016 18:28:27 GMT -5
The Colonel proffers that under a Trump presidency, the SSA will be classified as a "public health" agency or administration, thus not subject to the hiring freeze. We have to look past the nuances of the personality in the Oval Office to the immutable laws of Bureaucratic Behavior and Survival. The study of Public Administration is rife with executive attempts to bridle the fourth estate. The fourth estate always wins. You may well be right, Colonel. However, it seems the plan is imbued with a "government is no good" sentiment. Semper Fi. There's not going to be a Trump presidency. At least not this election cycle. |
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Post by weisstho on Oct 23, 2016 18:57:30 GMT -5
So sez Nate Silver; so sez them all. But, the budget.... Oh my. I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents.
I have faith in Christina, Gary, and Sophie22 finding New Homes in the New Year!!
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Post by acttwo on Oct 23, 2016 23:21:56 GMT -5
So sez Nate Silver; so sez them all. But, the budget.... Oh my. I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congress persons phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents. I have faith in Christina, Gary, and Sophie22 finding New Homes in the New Year!! Yup, Christina, Gary, Sophie22 and many more WILL be answering to "your honor" in 2017. No matter who is in the White House, there is too large a backlog to let it fester. A study of history will show that bureaucrats, those who truly work hard to keep government working as it should, are heroes and due to sheer numbers ultimately will prevail. Having been a fed and now in local government, I know the work we do and I thank heaven for the dedication of government lawyers. |
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Post by robespierre on Oct 24, 2016 10:49:19 GMT -5
Thanks, Carrickfergus. (Named for the castle, the town, or the song?) Can you expand at all on what the report says about the "dire budget situation"? For example, is there anything about whether ODAR can hire ALJs without a federal budget in place? (Presumably not.) The current "dire buudget situation" is that we are operating under a CR until December 9. Without going into all the details, what that means in practical terms is that we have no money for hiring (including ALJ's) until we have an actual budget, not a CR. The CR may be extended beyond December 9, but unless and until there is an actual budget there will not only be no hiring there will be lots of belt tightening such as no additional supplies of copy paper, pens, etc. Yup, I think we're all familiar with the lack of a federal budget and its consequences. I was just curious what the labor/management report had to say about it. (Prognostications for resolving the situation, possible exceptions, etc.) |
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Post by rp on Oct 25, 2016 8:06:09 GMT -5
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Post by weisstho on Oct 25, 2016 13:30:23 GMT -5
. . . but aren't we working with a Perpetual Motion machine? It just keeps on chinking away, doing its thing . . .
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Post by rp on Oct 25, 2016 13:33:29 GMT -5
. . . but aren't we working with a Perpetual Motion machine? It just keeps on chinking away, doing its thing . . . Let's hope so.... |
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Post by sophie22 on Oct 25, 2016 15:31:17 GMT -5
So sez Nate Silver; so sez them all. But, the budget.... Oh my. I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents. I have faith in Christina, Gary, and Sophie22 finding New Homes in the New Year!! We have faith in you too! Especially with your new hair-do!!! How can they not love you??? :-) |
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Post by plinytheelder on Oct 25, 2016 15:43:48 GMT -5
So sez Nate Silver; so sez them all. But, the budget.... Oh my. I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents. I have faith in Christina, Gary, and Sophie22 finding New Homes in the New Year!! I am sure are representatives receive many such calls, but as someone who is both a recipient of VA benefits and a former associate counsel at the Board of Veterans Appeals I am skeptical about the effectiveness of those calls. I suspect that SSA, like VA, has so many pending claims and appeals that the ideas of being "caught up" has ceased having any real meaning. Though it is always possible that a new President and new Congress will light a fire o two. |
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Post by acttwo on Oct 25, 2016 16:41:02 GMT -5
So sez Nate Silver; so sez them all. But, the budget.... Oh my. I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents. I have faith in Christina, Gary, and Sophie22 finding New Homes in the New Year!! I am sure are representatives receive many such calls, but as someone who is both a recipient of VA benefits and a former associate counsel at the Board of Veterans Appeals I am skeptical about the effectiveness of those calls. I suspect that SSA, like VA, has so many pending claims and appeals that the ideas of being "caught up" has ceased having any real meaning. Though it is always possible that a new President and new Congress will light a fire o two. That is some fire there... |
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Post by christina on Oct 25, 2016 17:14:05 GMT -5
not necc inside info but alj hiring is done for now so it could be considered frozen. By this, i mean there are no immediate plans to hire ALJs and the current CR combined with an election year may extend no ALJ hiring out for several months. Been some discussions on here whether SSA will find money for hiring more ALJ's despite being under continuing resolutions. don't think any of us know for sure how long this could play out and there are multiple theories floating around. the other concern about not enough staff for all the ALJ's is a very legitimate concern. some offices are already facing this. |
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Post by weisstho on Oct 25, 2016 17:34:54 GMT -5
I am sure are representatives receive many such calls, but as someone who is both a recipient of VA benefits and a former associate counsel at the Board of Veterans Appeals I am skeptical about the effectiveness of those calls. I suspect that SSA, like VA, has so many pending claims and appeals that the ideas of being "caught up" has ceased having any real meaning. Though it is always possible that a new President and new Congress will light a fire o two. That is some fire there... |
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Post by weisstho on Oct 25, 2016 17:37:06 GMT -5
I hold no illusion that the calls do anything Other than perhaps create some top of mind awareness at Roll Call voting time.
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Post by rp on Oct 25, 2016 17:42:49 GMT -5
I hold no illusion that the calls do anything Other than perhaps create some top of mind awareness at Roll Call voting time. I agree. I am not shy about contacting my reps - sadly - platitudes are all I get in response. Sigh. |
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Post by rp on Oct 26, 2016 9:18:07 GMT -5
not necc inside info but alj hiring is done for now so it could be considered frozen. By this, i mean there are no immediate plans to hire ALJs and the current CR combined with an election year may extend no ALJ hiring out for several months. Been some discussions on here whether SSA will find money for hiring more ALJ's despite being under continuing resolutions. don't think any of us know for sure how long this could play out and there are multiple theories floating around. the other concern about not enough staff for all the ALJ's is a very legitimate concern. some offices are already facing this. Thanks Christina for the insight. Maybe this is just wishful thinking (and I have absolutely no inside information) but this could very well be part of SSA's way of getting a new Congress to move forward for the Agency after the Inauguration. "Absent an unexpected uptick in funding..." After your post, I am now reading this clause in a new light....or perhaps haze..... |
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Post by weisstho on Oct 26, 2016 12:57:30 GMT -5
We have faith in you too! Especially with your new hair-do!!! How can they not love you??? :-) I figured since presidential candidates of either stripe can become blond - why not? Though, not sure about Dr. Stein. |
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Post by Pixie on Nov 9, 2016 8:31:31 GMT -5
Well.....Trump just announced a complete ban on Federal hires except for military and med folks should he win..... Mr Trump won. Not likely to hire before he assumes office. I hope this is one campaign promise that is not kept It probably is a campaign promise that will be kept, or at least partially kept. He knows the distaste his supporters have for the federal government. This will be a popular area to cut spending. Pixie |
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Post by redryder on Nov 9, 2016 8:51:28 GMT -5
Those will long institutional memory know this is not the first time a federal agency was hit with a long-term hiring freeze. SSA was in one when I came on board in 1989 and for years thereafter, the hiring was few and far between in the office where I am for any position. Then came the Zebley workload that no amount of overtime could handle. And the hiring began because of pressure put on the Congress regarding the backlogs and waits. That's when many judges came on in "temporary" positions just to deal with the children's cases. And they stayed on and were made permanent because the work was there. We were in an up cycle and had employees to fill every spot in the office. Then the down cycle began. Electronic files eliminated some of the daily job duties. Contract hearing reporters eliminated others. And the 4:1 ratio became the mantra in the hearing office. Meanwhile, in the field offices, their workload was burgeoning with the baby boomers retiring. Resources were given to them. But even that reached the point where there were not enough hours in the day to do the work. The result was the reduction in field office hours and the efforts to have more people sign up for their benefits via computer. At some point, those who hold the purse will decide we have reached critical mass and then hiring will begin again. How big will the backlog have to be? Or how long the wait? My office currently has one of the shortest waiting periods in the country, but when I started, a wait of 2 plus years was the norm (over 700 days).
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Post by bartleby on Nov 9, 2016 9:00:13 GMT -5
" I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents." I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but having worked with the Agency for over 20 years, every office I have worked in basically ignores Congressional Inquiries. They are about as helpful as any subpoena that we issue. Why waste the effort?
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Post by rp on Nov 9, 2016 9:23:06 GMT -5
" I have to believe that the saving grace is that every congresspersons' phones must ring off the hook every day of every week with calls from disgruntled constituents." I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but having worked with the Agency for over 20 years, every office I have worked in basically ignores Congressional Inquiries. They are about as helpful as any subpoena that we issue. Why waste the effort? It isn't so much about the Congressional Inquiries -- It is perhaps still worth it to inform your representative that they will stand for re-election 2 short years from now. All politics are local. If folks' benefits are being delayed I for one believe it will still impact whether there is a real freeze for SSA. |
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