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Congress looks at Administrative Law Judges in reaction to increases in SSD backlogs and awards

Posted: August 10, 2011

Buffalo, NY -- The House Ways and Means Committee and House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law, recently held a joint hearing regarding the role of the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) who preside over Social Security Disability claims. In an opening statement, Chairman Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) expressed concerns about the viability of the Disability Insurance Trust Fund in view of the increasing number of awards. In 2010, awards increased by 18 percent over 2009.

Two witnesses were interviewed: Michael Astrue, Social Security Administration Commissioner; and Christine Griffin, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM establishes ALJ qualifications, administers the ALJ exam, and maintains the register of qualified candidates for the positions.

“Any changes made in the decision-making processes of ALJs will directly affect Buffalo and Rochester, which currently suffer under high backlogs of cases,” said Jeffrey Freedman, senior partner, Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law. “Claims in Buffalo take about 460 days from the time the hearing is requested to receive a hearing date, and in Rochester the wait is 422 days.

“For disabled individuals who are living without income, these time periods are financially devastating.”

Nationwide, the average processing time for SSD claims at the hearing level was 353 days as of June 24, 2011. The joint committees looked at four areas affecting ALJs:

• Why ALJs are not subject to use of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in decision-making: Commissioner Astrue answered that the Social Security Act does not require ALJs to use the APA.
• How SSA uncovers incorrect awards, since claimants don’t appeal awards that may have been made in error: Astrue responded that the SSA conducts random quality assurance procedures to ensure benefits have only been awarded to claimants who qualify as disabled.
• The SSA recently set goals stating ALJs should process 500 to 700 cases each year. The Committee asked how those figures were arrived at, and Astrue said after consulting former Chief ALJ Frank Cristauda, the agency calculated this was a reasonable expectation.
• Committee members questioned why ALJ hearings are not adversarial: Astrue replied a pilot program had been conducted in the 1980s that proved a non-adversarial approach with claimants was the most effective.

Finally, highlights of Commissioner Astrue’s written statement regarding funding of the SSA were read to the committee.

“As true said that the agency’s goal of reducing the backlog to 270 days by fiscal year 2013 is `fragile,’ and without full funding of the President’s 2012 budget, that goal will never be met,” Freedman said. “To our clients, the most important piece is how long it takes for them to receive benefits, because their financial security depends on having their claim settled as quickly as possible.

“The current waiting periods in Buffalo and Rochester are untenable for our clients, and that’s not going to go away unless Congress gives the SSA the money it needs to operate efficiently.”

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