We’ve been hearing a lot from the Trump administration about waste, fraud and abuse at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Speaker Johnson has repeated these claims. What and where is this waste? A revealing SSA press release shows the emptiness of these charges. 1/8 - ThreadSky

jsmalligan.bsky.social • 115 days ago

We’ve been hearing a lot from the Trump administration about waste, fraud and abuse at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Speaker Johnson has repeated these claims. What and where is this waste? A revealing SSA press release shows the emptiness of these charges. 1/8

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jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

First, recent history: A few weeks ago, the Trump Administration claimed that millions of 150-year-old beneficiaries were getting benefit payments. An Inspector General report put that charge to rest, showing the processes SSA has in place precisely to avoid that issue. https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/a-06-21-51022.pdf

jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

The White House continues to cite waste at SSA. A press release on Monday gives new insights into what they consider waste. Trump’s SSA leadership claims to have found $800 million in cost savings or avoidances. The biggest item: $550 million from hiring freezes & overtime.

jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

Recently I published a paper detailing the consequences of precisely that action – freezing and reducing staff -- and focused on analysis of scenarios modeled by the SSA’s independent Chief Actuary.

jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

A scenario of static funding for disability examiners showed that disability backlogs would grow from over 1 million individuals to over 2 million in just a few years. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/downsizing-staff-will-make-it-harder-receive-social-security-payments

jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

As the paper below documents, research has shown that delays in receiving Social Security benefits already cause serious harm to the health and finances of disabled individuals. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/how-does-funding-administrative-expenses-affect-equity

jsmalligan.bsky.social•115 days ago

For thirty years I have analyzed SSA, including their work on improper payments. In 1994 at OMB, I proposed a mechanism never used before with SSA to fund SSA’s continuing disability reviews – that idea was enacted into law on a bipartisan basis and saved billions of dollars.

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