Representatives from the Social Security administration, the National Archives and state department highlighting the pileup, including increase in demand for passports. The subcommittee on Government Operations and federal workforce will come to order and we will welcome everybody good afternoon. The subcommittee on Government Operations and the adderall workforce will come to order and we would welcome everybody to this important hearing. The chair made it clear, recess any time. I recognize myself for the purpose of making an open statement. Before we go too far, i would like to, if i can, acknowledge that even formal settings like this, we recognize that it is important to remember that we are all people and that we have families. I understand that some of the people have been visited by some hard luck in their life with a loved one and i wanted to, without saying anything in particular to let those no perhaps many of us may be affected but that it is my wishes for them and their family in these coming days that can be difficult. We will just let that ride there. When you receive information like this, i feel like it is the right thing to wish everybody the best. Todays hearing is on Customer Service issues at selected federal agencies. The covid pandemic provided a stress test of federal agencies in many ways. Earlier this year, we heard detail how fraud proven presentation measures failed in the covid release programs. That was a subcommittee hearing that we did that was a bipartisan basis where we universally heard about the frailties of not only some of the governments actions but also the impact that prevented measures from being fully understood and hundreds of billions of dollars being lost. But, another stress test was the ability to deliver services to the American People. As a person who worked in the private sector for a number of years that had a public opening to them, i will tell you that i do recognize how difficult it is to not only match manpower with incoming needs of customers but also to do so in a difficult time. With that said, we are here today to make sure we have a clear understanding about not just what is behind us but what lies in front of us and the daunting challenge for each of the members of congress, as we attempt to also do business with a government on behalf of many constituents that we have. I want to try to be fair. It would not be fair to look back without the benefit of hindsight, of recognizing what our nation has been through. Today, we also all recognize that there is some bit of experience we have been through that we need to recognize that we must do better. I know it is impossible and practical for us to manage every single circumstance that we have ahead of us. Nonetheless, it is our duty and my duty not just as a member of congress but as the chairman of this subcommittee, to ask sometimes tough questions, to make sure that we get straight answers, to know that we will report back to our constituents and also to work with you and making sure that we move forward better. First, are the backlogs. Are they being retired . Are they behind us . Are they ahead of us . Disruptions. Inefficiencies, uncertainty. All of these things are questions that will be asked to day. Overwhelmingly, this congress has asked, and i believe it we did it at the end of last congress for you to be prepared with the master plan about how you intend to catch up, what your plan is on moving forward. In some way, we want to ask how that is going. It is not a measuring stick, it is an expectation. It is not a measuring stick that will tell us that we know the problems you have encountered but rather, how we Work Together. We hear the frustrations of those unable to access government services. They have come to rely on the government and you are a part of the daily life, too many times, of people who need to do business, who need to interact with government and it needs to be done correctly and on time. On behalf of our constituents, each one of us up here there will be others who join us today. We are eager to learn about these things and also about you, as the manager of the business, will fix them. The second lens is, are we prepared for the next emergency . While covid, by and large, we had heard about something may happen but when it did, it seemingly took us at a disadvantage. I think being behind is one thing. I think catching up is another and i think being prepared for what is tomorrow is also important. Perhaps your answers will be Better Technology. Perhaps your answers will be help with more people. Perhaps your answer will be, we have learned a lot but we will be prepared. This should be a part of what i hope today is that you will be able to talk about. The processes that are required in work are ones that proved most fragile during covid. I would remind you that in most peoples mind, covid was over two years ago. The federal government needs to get back to work. The work rules and regulations that have in the past few years are old and do not meet todays marketplace and i believe Government Employees, while they are entitled to their opinions, if theyre going to take an honest days pay, they should work an honest day within the work structure that is best for the American People. It is not just telework to pay, it is deficiency ratio that the federal government needs to demand at a time for all of its employees. We are looking at three agencies today, the National PersonnelRecords Center, the state Departments Bureau and the Social Security administration. I know that there are different circumstances and yet, there are some common denominators about this. That is, your people do the work. Your people, professionals as Government Employees, experienced people, determine a success or failure of your department. The American People expect you, them, and us to make this work. So, we will enjoy hearing from all three of you. As you may know, have extended from five minutes to 10 minutes for each of you. You dont have to use all the 10 minutes but i do expect you not to run out of time by saying you really want to Say Something else. We sincerely want to hear from you today. We sincerely want you to admit that things that need to be said and we will not hold back in understanding. I am eager to hear the specific about the agency plans and i want to thank each of you for taking time. I wish to yield to the distinguished gentleman, the subcommittee Ranking Member. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you for convening this hearing. Witnesses who were seated before us, other members of this committee, feel very deeply about this issue. I think it is fair to say that americans deserve nothing short been toptier customer focused, accessible and Efficient Services from their government. Today, we convene to discuss a topic that impacts veterans, grandparents and all of those who rely on our federal agencies as a lifeline. There are quite a few people who rely on us in that way. We owe it to our constituents to keep our commitment to improving government work for the people and when discussing agency backlogs, i think it is pretty important to take note of a timeline leading up to our current crisis. In 2017, the Previous Administration implemented a nearly threemonth governmentwide hiring freeze. Some agencies maintained that the hiring freeze was substantially longer such as the state department where the freeze lasted 16 months. The freeze constricted the job market and destroyed employee morale in many effects. Since then, we have been playing a game of catch up and most agencies have struggled to hire enough staff, even in the midst of record low unemployment. The American Federation of Government Employees reports that in fiscal year 2022, the Social SecurityAdministration Workforce was one of the smallest it has been in 25 years. Yet, we know that the number of people on Social Security, people who rely on those benefits to pay for food and paper medicine, has increased by more than 10 Million People in the past decade. This increase in beneficiaries and the lack of staff have extended wait times to where they unfortunately and regrettably are today. The Social Security administration is headquartered in my district in baltimore county. For example, in the state of maryland, processing time for disability claims increased by roughly 105 and that is in the period from 2019 to 2022, further extending processing times from 106 days to 218 days. The issues of low staffing and long processing times are shared across almost all Customer Service focused federal agencies and i am sure all of you can attest to that. The passport manned is still at record high, putting significant stress on the agency. Last month, secretary blinken testified before the congress, specifically the Appropriations Committee of the house, noting that the state department is getting 500,000 applications a week for passports and noting that that is 40 higher than it was last year. These are really alarming statistics, no matter how we look at them when it gets back to whether or not we are delivering the kind of Customer Service that we should be. Demand is sky rocking and yet staffing and resources remain static. The most vulnerable communities are the ones that usually are disproportionately affected i these types of issues. If we look at our veterans, a stifling backlog at the National Archives and National PersonnelRecords Center. Could be the difference between receiving military benefits and not receiving them at all. It could be the difference between receiving assistance and a homeless shelter for a veteran or living out on the street. What really pulls at my heart are the countless continues to and constituent stories that are relayed to me as we go through our weekly staff meetings. There was one case i would like to call to the attention of those who are here and for lack of a better term, we will say that this is andrews story. Andrew has multiple sclerosis. He contacted our office in february of 2020, filed his disability claim in 2019, three years prior. The Social Security administration would not release his benefits. My district staff and myself got involved. We were able to work with the agency and to finally, after all that time, secure and are the benefits that he desperately needed and that he was entitled to. That process extended nearly a year after he had already received a favorable decision from the agency. In the end, the Social Security administration provided him with 86,000 in retroactive benefits that he was owed and i would ask mr. Chairman to submit to the record this article that details andrews case and further details how we were able to successfully intervene. Without any objection, that is entered into the record. Thank you. My office alone and every member here could give you stories about everything they have been receiving everyday from real people who are reaching out. My office alone has 44 Social Security and ministration cases and 683 passport cases since july of last year and that demonstrates not just the service but it demonstrates, i think, a tremendous need on behalf of our constituents and for the diligence of federal employees. One of those employees, i have come to appreciate because of the way she has helped intervene in matters like that and that is ms. Lauren hughes who serves as a Public Affairs specialist and is a phenomenal asset to the Social Security administration and to the Congressional Offices in that region. I could go on and on but that is why democrats and republicans have set aside Party Differences and did so several years back to pass the modernizing Government Technology act of 2017, authorizing the Technology Modernization fund and secured nearly 1 billion in investment into the fund. The issues here are more than just funding and more than just staffing. The issue becomes vision. Do we have the vision as a government to be able to empower all of our agencies to carry out their task and their mission with respect to constituent services and with respect to being able to make sure that what they are set up to deliver, they do deliver . I have a lot of faith in agencies. I do know that sometimes it may be a little unwarranted, especially if there was an agency not doing what they should but, by and large, i really believe that weve got to find a way to empower our federal agencies, to hold them accountable and to be able to measure progress at some point in time. There is certainly more work to be done and i believe that much of that work will take place in this very subcommittee. I want to commend you for convening us today and i look forward to hearing the facts, strategizing further action needed at the congressional level and hopefully at the end of the day, making a real lasting difference. I yield back. I appreciate the comments from the distinguished Ranking Member and will tell our guests today that we would like to approach this in the same way that he spoke about and that is from a perspective of, we care very much about the agencies and the work that they do but they have found themselves in the circumstance who people that we represent also, need them and we will Work Together to get this done. Thank you very much. I would like to introduce our three witnesses who have been asked to testify today and thank them all for being here. Assistant secretary of state for council affairs, mr. Scott blevins, director of the National PersonnelRecords Center, chad poised, director of Social Security and management. As i introduce all three of them, i want to thank them for allowing our staff to come on site and to learn more about their operations, to see firsthand not just about the circumstances that might be the things that they deal with, but more importantly, to establish that relationship to where we learn about the federal employees jobs and how they help the American People. Assistant secretaries secretary has headed the bureau consul of Affairs Since 2021 where other roles, she shares the passport system. She brings decades of diplomatic experience to her role, having previously served in several overseas posts including the United States ambassador to laos. We also had an opportunity to speak to her where i reconnected with one of my friends two of my friends who i had been to college with who knew had a state department career, thank you for expecting me to follow up with them as i know you did. Thank you. Mr. Scott blevins has served as director of the National PersonnelRecords Center, a division of the National Archives and Records Administration since 2011 at npr see. He oversees the central repository of personnel related records for both military and Simple Services of the United States government. He brings over 20 years of service at the National Archives to his role in leading the npr see. Mr. Chad boyce was named director, welcome to the job. Congratulations on this new role. He serves as the Social Security administrators chief Financial Officer and Performance Improvement officer. He brings decades of experience in Government Finance and management roles as well as the United States department of commerce and the department of defense. Thank you very much. I would now ask that all three of you rise to be sworn in. I would ask that you please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to bring is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Let the record reflect that all three of our witnesses have answered affirmatively. Thank you very much. You may be seated. Thank you very much. I am going to be calling on you here but, as you know, you will be given the time that we have spoken about. We have a clock system which is easy for you to understand. It is kind of like a traffic light. We would move first to the gentlewoman from the state department for her opening testimony. Ranking member and other esteemed members of the committee, thank you so much for your opportunity to discuss of the state Departments Bureau of Consular Affairs and to expr