Social Security has lacked a Senate-confirmed commissioner for more than five years, since Michael Astrue, whose term expired in January of 2013, left the agency. Since Astrue’s departure, Social Security has been operating with acting commissioners, first Carolyn Colvin, and current Acting Commissioner, Nancy Berryhill, who has operated in her post a little more than a year. To address the challenge of operating Social Security with an acting commissioner, the U.S. House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee has scheduled a leadership hearing for March 7.
In a press release from his office, U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, (R-TX), the chair of the subcommittee, said the hearing will focus on the need for a Senate-confirmed commissioner, rather than an acting commissioner. It is the president’s responsibility to nominate a commissioner, but since he took office over a year ago, President Donald Trump has yet to nominate someone for the post. President Barack Obama took more than a year after Astrue’s departure to nominate Colvin as his nominee, but her confirmation stalled in the Senate and she ended her term as the acting commissioner.
Johnson has asked Trump to nominate a new commissioner, but so far that request has fallen on deaf ears, something Johnson wants to change.
“Americans want, need, and deserve the Social Security Administration to provide the service they expect and count on – and that requires the authority and consistency of a Senate-confirmed commissioner who can lead the way. I look forward to discussing the critical importance of this role for the millions of people who receive Social Security – today and in the future,” Johnson said.
This five-year absence of a Senate-confirmed commissioner is the longest the agency has gone without a confirmed leader since 1995, according to the press release. This hearing may be a way Johnson is trying to put pressure on Trump to nominate a new commissioner.
