There is pretty much news related to Social Security occurring every day. Some news, like President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which includes significant cuts to Social Security, is a bit more pressing than other news, but there are other things going on with the agency that is significant and should be mentioned.
Hearing On Social Security Numbers
Two United State congressmen initiated a public hearing on the use of Social Security numbers and efforts by federal agencies to reduce the use of Social Security numbers to protect the identities of American people. U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) oversaw the hearing in an effort to get ideas to limit identity theft and the use of Social Security. Stolen Social Security numbers is a major source of most identify theft cases.
New Hire
Earlier this month Social Security announced that Robert Patterson was hired as the agency’s new acting associate commissioner for External Affairs. Patterson previously served as a speechwriter and adviser to the assistant secretary for children and families with the Department of Health and Human Services, a senior speechwriter with the U.S. Small Business Administration and vice president for government relations at the U.S. Business and Industry Council.
Social Security Employment Numbers
Recent reports on Social Security’s payroll shows that Social Security employed a total of 62,685 full-time staff members in 2016. Obviously this is a massive number, but keep in mind this is just 181 more staff members than the agency employed in 1995. It would be interesting to see staff numbers at other government agencies and how they have grown over the last 21 years. Staff numbers at Social Security have fluctuated over the years, but considering staffing numbers are comparable to 1995 it is not hard to understand why Social Security is facing understaffing issues. Today there are more than 1 million people waiting for disability hearings and wait times at Social Security offices have never been longer.
