Numerous times we have reported that the accusations that fraud is running rampant within the Social Security disability program has been proven false, but like the Republican playbook suggests as long as you keep saying something over and over again it doesn’t have to be true for people to start believing it.
Considering the Republicans control a majority of both houses of Congress, party officials can decide to hold hearings on whatever they choose. U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) announced that the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee would hold a hearing about fraud within the disability program set for April 26.
This hearing comes as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is set to release a new report on Social Security’s efforts to limit fraud within the system.
We have said this before and will say it again, fraud within the Social Security disability process should not be tolerated and the agency should do everything in its power to limit any possibility of fraud, but we have also reported that fraud exists in less than 1 percent of the benefits that are paid out by Social Security.
The Republican Party continues to insist fraud within Social Security disability is a bigger problem than it actually is, probably because many Republicans are not a fan of the Social Security disability program.
In a release issued from his office, Johnson continued the notion that Social Security disability fraud was more widespread than it actually is.
“Americans rightly expect that Social Security disability benefits are only for those who deserve them and not for those trying to cheat the program. Yet, for years, Social Security has struggled to put a stop to disability fraud. In the wake of disability fraud rings in New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia, Social Security renewed its commitment to fight fraud. At this hearing we will hear the latest from Social Security about its anti-fraud efforts and from GAO about what more needs to be done,” Johnson said.
We continuously hear from the Republican Party about all the fraud within the Social Security disability program, but rarely hear from the Republicans about fraud in other agencies that they are more supportive of. The Republicans intend to increase defense spending, but back in 2011 it was reported, as you can see here the government paid about $1 Trillion to fraudulent defense contractors. Other reports have indicated that there is much more fraud and abuse within the Defense Department than within the Social Security disability program.
We will have to see what comes out of this hearing. In 2015 Johnson requested that the GAO conduct a study of Social Security’s implementation of the Fraud Risk Framework that was established in 2014 to see how well the antifraud activities are working.
Unfortunately this could be the beginning of the Republican Party’s assault on Social Security’s disability program. President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, has already complained about the cost of the disability program calling it “wasteful” and has insisted that the American people do not think of the disability program as being apart of Social Security. Maybe if Mulvaney met one of the millions of people who benefit from the program after working enough years to earn enough credits and rely on these benefits to survive, he would have a different idea about the program.
