• Social Security Disability
• Determination Process
• Security Disability Appeals
• Security Disability Applicatio
• Security Disability Benefits
• Security Disability Facts
• Security Disability Faqs
• Security Disability Hearing
• Security Disability Lawyer

Find a Lawyer in Your State

Find a Lawyer by State Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Need Help?

Submit your claim details for a free, no obligation case review

 

Get Started:

Find a Lawyer by State Alaska Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

June 19th, 2007

"Funding to Help Social Security Disability Claims"

Extra funding to reduce the worse-than-ever disability claim backlog in the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the subject of a bipartisan push in the U.S. Senate. A June 15 letter was sent by a group of 43 of the nation's 100 senators to the Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies, urging the appropriators to fund the SSA at the level approved in a Senate budget resolution — $10.1 billion.

Bipartisan Support to Ease the Backlog

The letter's undersigned senators include Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), and George Voinovich (R-Ohio). The letter cites the SSA's claims backlog and reads in part, "As you know, these waiting times are a chief concern for many of our constituents and are a constant source of casework in Senate offices…This backlog has increased, and will continue to increase because the SSA has not had the funding it needs to hire sufficient staff to process cases and appeals."

Inadequate Funding, Staffing in the SSA

The Appropriations subcommittee is expected to vote on the budget bill today, and the full Senate Appropriations committee will vote Thursday. Last week, the corresponding House subcommittee for Appropriations approved only $9.6 billion for the SSA, which is still $100 million more than the request for SSA funding made by President Bush.

A recent report from the National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA) noted that funding for Social Security was slashed by $300 million in 2006 and by an additional $200 million in 2007. The SSA has also lost some 2,300 staff positions since late 2005. President Bush's SSA funding level could result in another 4,000 positions being cut.

More Social Security Disability Claims Expected

According to New York Senator Charles Schumer's office, Social Security is projected to be backlogged by one million cases by 2010, and the SSA is already in a shambles due to inadequate funding, understaffing, and a landslide of cases that is only going to get larger. Schumer summarized the frustration of many claimants and critics: "After paying Social Security like clockwork for decades, [Americans] should be entitled, not deprived, of their disability claims, which are essential to paying mortgages and for medical use."

Do you need help with a Social Security Disability issue? Contact an attorney who is experienced with such issues to explore your options.