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Post by bayou on Nov 11, 2016 8:32:19 GMT -5
*** with the result in the Senate, maybe the Dems can focus on Louisiana and win that Senate race, AND lure one or two Senators as part of a coalition (a la 2001 with Senator Jeffords), but they'd need at least 2 defectors. that is a very long shot. *** I wouldn't count on the Dem winning the LA election. The built in political topography are clearly in favor of the Republican. LA is largely and strongly Republican voting outside of the New Orleans metro area. Typically, in order for a Dem to be elected, they need to overwhelmingly win NOLA and avoid overwhelming losing the rest of the state. Normally for that to happen, you need a Dem that is based out of NOLA and is running against multiple GOP candidates that either don't have the statewide name recognition to overcome the NOLA vote or end up splitting the non-NOLA vote. That isn't the case in this election. The Dem is from the NW corner of the State and is running against a GOP from the SE part of the state nearer the NOLA area. Plus, the GOP candidate has won multiple statewide elections; he isn't a newcomer to statewide elections. On top of that, this will be the only thing on the ballot, so expect a low turnout which will favor the GOP candidate. Given that this is a one on one match between a Dem and Rep candidate with no chance that the Rep vote will be split outside the NOLA area, the Dem faces pretty strong headwinds. So, not impossible but pretty unlikely. |
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Post by rp on Nov 11, 2016 8:37:42 GMT -5
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Post by hopefalj on Nov 11, 2016 9:01:53 GMT -5
I'm assuming this is the same guy. Michael Korbey, director of legislative affairs for United Senior Citizens Inc., a conservative senior-advocacy group, acknowledged that some seniors may have been hurt by some of the legislation, but he said those programs were poorly managed and needed fundamental reform. ''You can't just look at the numbers; you have to look at the overall structural changes,'' Korbey said. ''We look out for our constituents, but our constituents aren't just senior citizens. They're also their children and grandchildren.'' |
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Post by miaeli on Nov 11, 2016 9:21:13 GMT -5
I truly appreciate all the intel, information, support and I hope we all meet at Baby Judge school in the near future. I do participate in the polls.
Today I came across on USAJOBS.gov an announcement for AJ at the MSPB. I will attach it here. Again - many thanks to all of you; good luck in this process and may we all work together as Federal ALJ's.
Attorney Examiner (General) (Administrative Judge)
Merit Systems Protection Board
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dallas, TX
Work Schedule is Full-Time - Permanent
Opened Thursday 11/10/2016
(1 day(s) ago)
Closes Wednesday 11/23/2016
(12 day(s) away)
Salary Range
$89,383.00 to $160,300.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade
GS-0905-13/15
Promotion Potential
15
Supervisory Status
No
Who May Apply
US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.
Control Number
456182500
Job Announcement Number
MSPB-EXE-DARO-2017-0015
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Post by monday on Nov 11, 2016 9:23:40 GMT -5
2. 5-day closure rule on the record (should be waivable by ALJ for good cause). We are getting that in my office soon. I don't recall if it's a regional thing or everywhere.
Personally, I'd like to see all Senior Attorneys be able to grant fully favorable decisions under their own names again to help the backlog, but I doubt that's the way the pendulum is swinging in the Agency or under the upcoming Administration.
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Post by rp on Nov 11, 2016 10:17:22 GMT -5
I truly appreciate all the intel, information, support and I hope we all meet at Baby Judge school in the near future. I do participate in the polls.
Today I came across on USAJOBS.gov an announcement for AJ at the MSPB. I will attach it here. Again - many thanks to all of you; good luck in this process and may we all work together as Federal ALJ's.
Attorney Examiner (General) (Administrative Judge)
Merit Systems Protection Board
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dallas, TX
Work Schedule is Full-Time - Permanent
Opened Thursday 11/10/2016
(1 day(s) ago)
Closes Wednesday 11/23/2016
(12 day(s) away)
Salary Range
$89,383.00 to $160,300.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade
GS-0905-13/15
Promotion Potential
15
Supervisory Status
No
Who May Apply
US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.
Control Number
456182500
Job Announcement Number
MSPB-EXE-DARO-2017-0015
First 75 applications and then this announcement will close. Apply now! |
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Post by montyburns on Nov 11, 2016 12:00:27 GMT -5
I'm not sure that I agree with the recent posts in this thread, most of which seem to imply that a multi year government wide hiring freeze is inevitable. 1. Remember our high school civic lessons. Congress controls the purse strings. As wacky as this Presidential election was, Congress is still populated with traditional politicians. Just because Mr. Trump made certain election promises doesn't mean that Congress is going to automatically fall in line and help him accomplish those promises when they will impact the ability of the Congress members to be reelected. Republicans have long used the smaller government rhetoric but have rarely lived up to that rhetoric. The growth of government has not lessened in any significant manner under recent Republican led governments. 2. While the party labels say republican for the House, Senate and President, this by no means a homogenous government. There is almost as much tension between Congress and the President-elect as there is between Congress and the current President. Mr. Trump's positions often stray from traditional GOP positions and quite frankly, many of his positions overlap with traditional Dem positions. Bottom line, this government will not be a streamlined ship with singular captain headed in one direction. Whether enough of the members of Congress will go along with an indiscriminate govt wide hiring freeze is questionable. Many of the current members of Congress will be well aware of the negative consequences at the polls from the last time the GOP tried to shut down the government. 3. A step back is in order when discussing the doom and gloom emanating from the agency insiders and those within the Beltway. All of the political appointees are democrats that have enjoyed an 8 year run of democrat leadership. They thought that this was a sure thing for Mrs. Clinton. Now that they have suddenly lost the Presidential election they thought was a done deal and are about to be out of a job, they see the end of the world. Of course they foresee apocalyptic results for their agencies. I don't think that relying on what you hear out of the "deep blue" D.C. area or from the politically appointed democrat leadership of the agencies is really indicative of what will happen. They currently, and reasonably, lack the ability to objectively project the future. 4. Basic inertia and momentum also play a part. The U.S. government is a large unwieldy thing. It isn't built to turn on a dime and trying to make such large changes that are in the total opposite direction in which it is currently headed is difficult and long term. It is a bit like trying to turn around a battleship in a bathtub. U.S. history is rife with Presidents who have made campaign promises and tried like heck to implement them with little success. It is easy to promise; hard to deliver. 5. Obviously it is silly to think that Mr. Trump will not try to deliver on such a prominent campaign promise and I expect that there will be some type of freeze enacted for a short time. He will then declare that he achieved his promise and hiring will start again. This will not be a multi-year freeze with no hiring. I would be surprised if an absolute hiring freeze lasts beyond this fiscal year. From the perspective of ALJ hiring, this really likely hurts the persons currently on the register hoping for a substantial hiring action before the '16 applicants hit the register. For the '16 applicants who aren't likely to be on the register until mid to late summer anyway, I don't think this projected hiring freeze will create any long delays that aren't already inherent in the process. Even if the future budgets don't provide for increasing SSA ALJs to the projected 1900, there is still significant attrition each year. Even if the agencies are limited to just replacing those that leave, there will still be significant hiring of ALJs. Quite frankly, it looks to me that other than the recent large class, ODAR has been hiring at replacement level for the last few years despite their avowed intention to increase the size of the SSA ALJ corp. So hiring at the same rate as the last few years is a reasonable expectation. I agree with what you are saying in re: the freeze and ALJ hiring near term anyway. Indeed the very idea of a freeze suggests that previously planned action has frozen (due to budget/political dysfunction). I expect a budget of some kind by Marchish. So it may be, best case scenario, that hiring - though perhaps meager - may resume shortly thereafter. Let me also say that in 2015, when this was generic R v generic D (basically Clinton v bush)I thought a united R government would have the upside of no more CRs/freezes/shutdowns. Indeed if you look at the history of fed employee raises, the largest raises occurred under R admins. I think Nixon had the most. But that was before the president rode roughshod over the republican establishment. Anyway, I have some counterpoints to your well articulated points. 1. Two words: Bully Pulpit. The president, somehow, has an almost direct link to the people. He also seems to love rallies. Oppose his agenda, and find a rally in your backyard, complete with angry partisans demanding to know why you are stopping MAGA. Consider that, as far as I know, President duterte of the phillipenes has not changed a single law, yet through use of the bully pulpit has dramatically altered the legal landscape (or now "extra legal landscape") of that country. Now we have much stronger institutions than the phillipenes. We also don't have a raging meth epidemic like the phillipenes. And we have a lot of faith in our institutions. But institutions (or rights for that matter) are not real tangible things that can physically stop things from happening. They are only as strong as people's faith in them. Undermine that faith, and constitutional structure, laws and rights are only words and on a piece of paper. 2/3/4. The pres-elect is not tied to or indebted to any republicans in congress. Not incentivized to compromise, and ironically many R congresspeople probably owe their re-election to him. While it is correct that previous R admins basically kept government the same size or grew it, these were establishment candidates, raised through a party system, with experience at multiple levels of government. They remain tethered to local parties, and the sort of down home concerns that were so eloquently described upthread. I strongly disagree that this administration will follow this track. Put simply, I think those constituents who elected the R congress still see them as the problem, and the new president as the solution. Large scale wholesale, yet largely vague, changes have been promised. Something will happen in the next 2-4 years, but recent history has shown the dangers of too much prognostication. If you are liberally inclined, some hope can be found in the vagueness of the policies that will MAGA. Since they are largely unknown there is a lot of room for what those actual policy changes will be. At this point I think he could pass single payer as long as he called it freedomcare and said it would MAGA. In fact, prior to the election, I told a couple people that we could reach the end of a Trump presidency and it may look far more liberal than what we expected from Clinton, or more conservative than what we expected from Cruz. But for either liberals or conservatives every day during a trump presidency will definitely be filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and intermittent bouts of panic. And here we are! As for ODAR, I agree with what others have said: basically the best strategy is to go unnoticed. Almost certainly the overall budget situation is not likely to improve, nor the backlog. Ultimately it is the disabled who will pay for this, and that's tragic. But I don't see a lot of alternatives that don't invite actions with more devastating consequences for them. So as an agency, and me personally, I think the best advice is to just put your head down, do the best you can, and hope you are left to work in relative peace. |
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Post by peanutfancy on Nov 11, 2016 12:12:36 GMT -5
Right but why couldn't he be a surveillance system monitor? I'm only half joking but he's really just 2 years away from that step 5 denial. Odd jobs .. Couldn't physically perform everyday.. He's done. A lack of knowledge is huge in people's perception of the program most don't understand its not that you can't do your old job you did when you were a young whippersnapper, it's you can't do any job oh and by the way it basically doesn't matter if you could actually get offered that job just that in theory according to a publication DOL publishes and some guy with a a rehab degree said you could Try telling Rand Paul you can't work because of your rheumatoid arthritis. The dreaded surveillance system monitor. Bane of so many SSD applicants. |
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Post by gary on Nov 11, 2016 12:55:00 GMT -5
I truly appreciate all the intel, information, support and I hope we all meet at Baby Judge school in the near future. I do participate in the polls.
Today I came across on USAJOBS.gov an announcement for AJ at the MSPB. I will attach it here. Again - many thanks to all of you; good luck in this process and may we all work together as Federal ALJ's.
Attorney Examiner (General) (Administrative Judge)
Merit Systems Protection Board
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dallas, TX
Work Schedule is Full-Time - Permanent
Opened Thursday 11/10/2016
(1 day(s) ago)
Closes Wednesday 11/23/2016
(12 day(s) away)
Salary Range
$89,383.00 to $160,300.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade
GS-0905-13/15
Promotion Potential
15
Supervisory Status
No
Who May Apply
US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.
Control Number
456182500
Job Announcement Number
MSPB-EXE-DARO-2017-0015
First 75 applications and then this announcement will close. Apply now! Where is that in the JOA? |
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Post by shoocat on Nov 11, 2016 13:12:16 GMT -5
Right but why couldn't he be a surveillance system monitor? I'm only half joking but he's really just 2 years away from that step 5 denial. Odd jobs .. Couldn't physically perform everyday.. He's done. A lack of knowledge is huge in people's perception of the program most don't understand its not that you can't do your old job you did when you were a young whippersnapper, it's you can't do any job oh and by the way it basically doesn't matter if you could actually get offered that job just that in theory according to a publication DOL publishes and some guy with a a rehab degree said you could Try telling Rand Paul you can't work because of your rheumatoid arthritis. The dreaded surveillance system monitor. Bane of so many SSD applicants. Don't forget table or bench worker, hand packager, etc. |
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Post by hopefulop on Nov 11, 2016 14:10:10 GMT -5
I'm not sure that I agree with the recent posts in this thread, most of which seem to imply that a multi year government wide hiring freeze is inevitable. 1. Remember our high school civic lessons. Congress controls the purse strings. As wacky as this Presidential election was, Congress is still populated with traditional politicians. Just because Mr. Trump made certain election promises doesn't mean that Congress is going to automatically fall in line and help him accomplish those promises when they will impact the ability of the Congress members to be reelected. Republicans have long used the smaller government rhetoric but have rarely lived up to that rhetoric. The growth of government has not lessened in any significant manner under recent Republican led governments. 2. While the party labels say republican for the House, Senate and President, this by no means a homogenous government. There is almost as much tension between Congress and the President-elect as there is between Congress and the current President. Mr. Trump's positions often stray from traditional GOP positions and quite frankly, many of his positions overlap with traditional Dem positions. Bottom line, this government will not be a streamlined ship with singular captain headed in one direction. Whether enough of the members of Congress will go along with an indiscriminate govt wide hiring freeze is questionable. Many of the current members of Congress will be well aware of the negative consequences at the polls from the last time the GOP tried to shut down the government. 3. A step back is in order when discussing the doom and gloom emanating from the agency insiders and those within the Beltway. All of the political appointees are democrats that have enjoyed an 8 year run of democrat leadership. They thought that this was a sure thing for Mrs. Clinton. Now that they have suddenly lost the Presidential election they thought was a done deal and are about to be out of a job, they see the end of the world. Of course they foresee apocalyptic results for their agencies. I don't think that relying on what you hear out of the "deep blue" D.C. area or from the politically appointed democrat leadership of the agencies is really indicative of what will happen. They currently, and reasonably, lack the ability to objectively project the future. 4. Basic inertia and momentum also play a part. The U.S. government is a large unwieldy thing. It isn't built to turn on a dime and trying to make such large changes that are in the total opposite direction in which it is currently headed is difficult and long term. It is a bit like trying to turn around a battleship in a bathtub. U.S. history is rife with Presidents who have made campaign promises and tried like heck to implement them with little success. It is easy to promise; hard to deliver. 5. Obviously it is silly to think that Mr. Trump will not try to deliver on such a prominent campaign promise and I expect that there will be some type of freeze enacted for a short time. He will then declare that he achieved his promise and hiring will start again. This will not be a multi-year freeze with no hiring. I would be surprised if an absolute hiring freeze lasts beyond this fiscal year. From the perspective of ALJ hiring, this really likely hurts the persons currently on the register hoping for a substantial hiring action before the '16 applicants hit the register. For the '16 applicants who aren't likely to be on the register until mid to late summer anyway, I don't think this projected hiring freeze will create any long delays that aren't already inherent in the process. Even if the future budgets don't provide for increasing SSA ALJs to the projected 1900, there is still significant attrition each year. Even if the agencies are limited to just replacing those that leave, there will still be significant hiring of ALJs. Quite frankly, it looks to me that other than the recent large class, ODAR has been hiring at replacement level for the last few years despite their avowed intention to increase the size of the SSA ALJ corp. So hiring at the same rate as the last few years is a reasonable expectation. Thank you Bayou for this post - I, and many of us, probably needed this. It's pretty discouraging for those of us who have invested recently in a trip to DC (or will be in the future) to think that was all for nothing. And I can't imagine the discontent of those who are currently on the register. Let's keep hoping for a positive outcome here!! |
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Post by rp on Nov 11, 2016 15:15:59 GMT -5
First 75 applications and then this announcement will close. Apply now! Where is that in the JOA? About the Position: As an administrative Judge (AJ) of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the incumbent hears and decides appeals from Federal employees, applicants for Federal employment, and Federal annuitants concerning any matter over which the Board has appellate jurisdiction. This position is located in the Dallas Regional Office, which is located at 1100 Commerce Street, Room 620, Dallas, Texas 75242. This vacancy is limited to the first 75 applications received. All applications received prior to midnight (11:59 ET) of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. If the application limit is not reached by the closing date of the announcement, all applications received during the open period will be considered. Any required documents must be submitted at the time that you apply as documents will not be accepted past the day the application limit is reached, if applicable. If you choose to edit your application after it has been submitted, it will be removed from consideration until you re-submit your application. |
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Post by gary on Nov 11, 2016 15:26:45 GMT -5
Where is that in the JOA? About the Position: As an administrative Judge (AJ) of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the incumbent hears and decides appeals from Federal employees, applicants for Federal employment, and Federal annuitants concerning any matter over which the Board has appellate jurisdiction. This position is located in the Dallas Regional Office, which is located at 1100 Commerce Street, Room 620, Dallas, Texas 75242. This vacancy is limited to the first 75 applications received. All applications received prior to midnight (11:59 ET) of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. If the application limit is not reached by the closing date of the announcement, all applications received during the open period will be considered. Any required documents must be submitted at the time that you apply as documents will not be accepted past the day the application limit is reached, if applicable. If you choose to edit your application after it has been submitted, it will be removed from consideration until you re-submit your application. I see it now! Thanks. |
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Post by Mjǿlner on Nov 11, 2016 16:47:51 GMT -5
Thank you Bayou for this post - I, and many of us, probably needed this. It's pretty discouraging for those of us who have invested recently in a trip to DC (or will be in the future) to think that was all for nothing. And I can't imagine the discontent of those who are currently on the register. Let's keep hoping for a positive outcome here!! I think that one of the interesting things to watch in the future will be how this affects the number of candidates that show up for DC testing as we go forward. I hope that no one drops out, but on the other hand I know that if in the near future it becomes clear that the prospects are bleak for hiring ALJs, I know that I would rethink whether or not I wanted to spend the time and money necessary to participate in a process that even in the best of times is a long shot. The DC Testing thread may shortly become a barometer as to what we believe that the future will hold. |
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Post by peanutfancy on Nov 11, 2016 17:06:16 GMT -5
The dreaded surveillance system monitor. Bane of so many SSD applicants. Don't forget table or bench worker, hand packager, etc. Flower picker. Nut sorter. Yikes. |
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Ranse
Full Member
Posts: 89 
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Post by Ranse on Nov 11, 2016 21:10:22 GMT -5
My recollection is that he previously worked for Social Security and was one of Commissioner Astrue's advisors during the George W. Bush administration. |
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Post by rp on Nov 12, 2016 16:47:21 GMT -5
My recollection is that he previously worked for Social Security and was one of Commissioner Astrue's advisors during the George W. Bush administration. I haven't been able to locate much on him. As he is about to assist President Elect Trump and shape the future of the Agency, it would be great if anyone had information to share -- thoughts anyone? This just in from Fox News: Trump advisers back deregulation, privatized Social Security |
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Post by Thru Hiker on Nov 13, 2016 9:49:48 GMT -5
I think people may be reading the election tea leaves wrong. It doesn't take more hiring to fix SSA. There are some statutory and administrative changes, if anyone cares to look at them, that can reduce the pendings. In my short time here, I can already identify a few. Now don't pile on me here. I am not advocating for anything, but just stating things that might be considered: 1. Streamline appeals by establishing harmless error standard at AC and USDC level. Would reduce picayune remands. 2. 5-day closure rule on the record (should be waivable by ALJ for good cause). 3. Eliminate child cases over 5 years old unless claimant unable to attend school (ADA requires disability accommodations and services at public schools from K-12). 4. Update aging rules. 5. Integrate SSA law with ADA, so that VEs will consider the possibility of required employment accommodations for claimants in the workplace. 6. Expressly allow outright dismissals for no-shows, with right to refile if good cause shown. Any thoughts? Some of these are excellent ideas. Expect strong opposition on item 2 among school districts, esp. rural ones. Rural communities take care of their own, and do an even better job when someone else is paying for it. Item 3, strong opposition from disability advocacy groups, who are especially savvy about finding both Ds and Rs that support disability issues. Disability crosses party lines, and affects Tea Partiers just as much as anyone else. This new Admin is about creating jobs and re-building manufacturing base. There might be lessening of regulation of labor, ERISA and employment law, but if disability advocates are effective about getting those families, say, whose aging adult with quadriplegia they've been taking care of at home with a Medicaid waiver, there won't be much change in SSA rules. Here's a point to add to your list, though: lower income and resource limits for Medicaid eligibility for nursing facility and other long-term care benefits, including community spouse limits. Expect opposition to that from....nursing homes, AARP, and elder groups! Next 1000 days should be frantic as advocacy groups mobilize to counter everything Trump said he would do. |
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Post by Thru Hiker on Nov 13, 2016 10:02:58 GMT -5
*** with the result in the Senate, maybe the Dems can focus on Louisiana and win that Senate race, AND lure one or two Senators as part of a coalition (a la 2001 with Senator Jeffords), but they'd need at least 2 defectors. that is a very long shot. *** I wouldn't count on the Dem winning the LA election. * * * Given that this is a one on one match between a Dem and Rep candidate with no chance that the Rep vote will be split outside the NOLA area, the Dem faces pretty strong headwinds. So, not impossible but pretty unlikely. okay, i defer to this realistic and experienced analysis. If Dems have any wind left, must at least try hard in Louisiana, but seem to be in disarray now. |
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Post by acttwo on Nov 13, 2016 11:29:56 GMT -5
My recollection is that he previously worked for Social Security and was one of Commissioner Astrue's advisors during the George W. Bush administration. I haven't been able to locate much on him. As he is about to assist President Elect Trump and shape the future of the Agency, it would be great if anyone had information to share -- thoughts anyone? This just in from Fox News: Trump advisers back deregulation, privatized Social SecurityUgh, wow, just don't know...thanks for the link. |
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