Good morning everybody. Senate will come to order. The title of todays hearing is keeping our promise to older adults and people with disabilities. The status of Social Security today. Today we will hear from Social SecurityAdministration Commissioner omalley. We are grateful you are here. Commissioner omalley was confirmed last year. And i dont think i have to remind anyone in this room or listening and how important this program called Social Security is. It will serve over 68 million americans this year. Without Social Security benefits experts estimate about four in 10 Older Americans will have incomes below the poverty line. That means 640,000 pennsylvanians are lifted out of poverty solely because of Social Security. Serves people with disabilities. In january of this year Social Security provided almost 12 billion disability benefits to 8. 5 million beneficiaries. Unfortunately, while our population has aged the demand for Social Security has increased support for Social Security administration has diminished greatly. As a result the administration ssa has been drastically underfunded creating some real challenges. For overpayments and underpayments that added tremendous pressure on Social Security administration workforce. At the end of fiscal year 2022, the agency was at a 25 year staffing low with a new low expected at the end of this fiscal year. The employees are asked to take on more work of greater complexity. Worked tirelessly to support ssa staff including Field Office Staff for the dedication and an increasingly demanding environment. That means getting the training to do the job and do the job well. Providing employees the support they need. Too that end, commissioner, i will be sending a letter today about support for the ssa workforce. Including some challenges ssa employees in pennsylvania have encountered. In getting approval but reasonable accommodations. So, supporting the ssa workforce will also mean a better supporting Social Security beneficiaries. Commissioner, i know in your first few months on the job you focused on your significant attention on listening to ssa staff and stakeholders. I am eager today to hear more about what you have learned. An endpoint to hear about your goals and plans to bring about change the Social Security administration. However, without Adequate Funding and legislative remedies, delivering on those goals and fixing existing problems will be very difficult. In section i will continue to push for robust funding for ssa. Which will support investments in technology, hiring, and retention. While we work to plan to improve the benefit delivery process its critical we increase Social Security benefits across the board. That is why i support efforts in the senate that will increase benefits like repeal of the windfall elimination provision in the offset. They have dedicated their lives to Public Service. Mostly pushing for passage of my swift act, which would increase benefits for widows and widowers. In addition today im introducing the boosting benefits along with hundreds of blumenthal, fetterman, welsh, gillibrand, and sanders. This legislation will change how costofliving adjustments for Social Security benefits are calculated. Ensuring benefit adjustments are robust and reflective of the true costs incurred by older adults. They must protect and strengthen Social Securitys americans of every generation can continue to access this essential lifeline. Look forward to working with commissioner omalley to improve Social Security for all americans. Its good to have you here. Bedrock for millions of americans in the aging committees hearing in 1961. They, the Social Security administration has Customer Service issue. We have billions of dollars of payments overpayments, clawbacks and other issues. Theres a number of waiting times for all things we need to do better. It is we have an issue which penalizes retiring for choosing Public Service careers, weapons can cut benefits and half for Public ServiceLike Police Officers who often supplement their service with a second career. We need to pass Social Security fairness act to eliminate these provisions its not got 53 now 3 cosponsors. Night republicans and is probably something if we get our financial house in order will be a top priority. You have other issues when it comes to web gpo overpayments already mentioned that. It took a one year for a hoosier the mother of a son with down syndrome another issue to get disability case sorted out. Along with a veterans issues, immigration, our office back home in indiana is constantly handling issues but a lot of times a Social Security it simply be able to talk to somebody on the phone. The president s of budget blames the agency shortfalls for needing more money. It has a lot to do with looking at the processes. How it is run forward and throw throughmore money at it. Between Social Security and medicare and medicaid they are the structural drivers of our current deficits. And Everybody Knows their importance. Everyone knows they are in peril and not being there for future generations. Sadly we lack the political will to do anything about it. Our debt which is the underpinning of this is out of control. We were actually living within our means building may beat rainy day funds. Doing things that need to be reinvested back into making programs better. I think is probably the key thing thats going to make all this more complicated in the long run. I got here a little over five years ago. Were structurally borrowing a trillion dollars a year which is 20 cents on every dollar. Now that its up to 30 cents on every dollar. The plug in figure to make all of that work is now a trillion dollars every six months. We cannot run the biggest business in the world that way. Social security be one of the largest programs in it we need to make sure we are at least running it mechanically. I am looking forward to the discussion we have here today. Ways to improve it. Without having a bigger problem down the road youll echo there. Or witnessed today mr. Omalley is nominated by President Biden in july to leave the Social Security administration in december he was confirmed by the senate sworn into office on december 20. I think most people know his background he was governor of the state of maryland to terms. The mayor of the city of baltimore for two terms that are member of City Council Also assistant states attorney all exemplary examples of Public Service prior to becoming commissioner. So we are grateful youre here today. And i will turn over to you and hope the apple receipts as you speak. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. It is an honor to be here. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your concern, your compassion, for the people among us who really need their neighbors to care about them. I think all of us on your panel would agree there probably is no more Important Program are countries ever created that expresses our compassion for our neighbors quite so much a Social Security. And the good news is for 88 years this program has operated pretty high level lifting a lot of seniors out of poverty. Suffering from disabilities. Its my great honor steep learning curve the last 90 days. We have yet to get to the its t on my list. And the concerts, hardworking men and women who do such critical work. Not just in the whole country. Ive done town halls for employees in nine different regions. Did that over 60 days in january. I set sidebyside with the work is on the copilot headset if you will in the tele service centers. Set aside on the other side of the glass are frontline workers were interviewing people. The most important to things i learned were these. Number one, there is a deep commitment among not only the Senior Executive service of Social Security but throughout the agency. A deep commitment to the mission of this agency. That has or monarch senator said to me is probably the most important asset that i have is the new leader of this agency. Very acutely on the front lines. In fewer staff in 27 days. Intersection of people process and technology. Less than 1 of its annual benefits payments this operating overhand has effectively been reduced by about 20 just over the last 10 years. The president s budget and the solid step in the right direction it is. 96 of 1 . So what is the result of that . The result is we are in a customerservice crisis with people waiting on average 38 minutes for the 800 number for the agent to answer the call for people with disabilities waiting nearly eight months on average for some states better than others. But on average eight months for a decision on their an apple app initial application for another seven months for alj if they have to appeal to an alj hearing. Clearly we can and must do better. These are some of the things we are doing about it and already in motion. I put together an outstanding step. Including our chief operating officer a new head of the office of general counsel. Former commissioner returning as commissioner. We launched within 30 days a new Performance Management regiment which we Call Security staff. So instead of having sleepy one year cadence associate with the budget to make needed process people and performance improvements we do it every two weeks, every two weeks, every two weeks. One of the blessed hour we locked the world went outside the door and focus on the data and the maps that tell us where we are doing a better job or not in serving the people of indiana or the commonwealth of pennsylvania or connecticut. One of those hours exclusively dedicated to Field Operations for the next one exclusively to the 800 number. And so on. We tackle other pressing challenges including the wait times for initial disability determinations. That is when the focus hours one of them as those hours all about fraud and another one is about the numerous often times now and comprehensible notices that we send to people the only part of which they can understand is the last line that says if you dont understand call our 800 number 39 minutes. But i wanted to touch on one other intense areas of focus that we have been on. That has to do with the injustices that we have done to our neighbors when it comes to overpayment and underpayment. Many of you probably saw Television Journalism piece done by 60 minutes highlighting the injustice that we do to americans. Through no fault of their own we overpay them in clawback a rather brutal weight one 100 of their check if they do not call us back to work out a payment plan. So congress and the law requires a make every effort to recover those payments. But doing so without regard to the larger purpose of the program can cause grays grave injustices. And we have to fix these so today i am announcing for your committee mr. Chairman symp newer forms. Many came from our own employees on the front lines. First, instead of intercepting a one 100 of Social Security benefits when a claimant fails to respond to a demand for repayment that default setting will now be 10 of withholding which is what it has long been with regard to title 16. Secondly we are going to shift the burden away from client to prove they were not at fault instead to a more neutral settings of the agency has the responsibility of putting forward if they believe there is some intention on the part of the claimants. Third we are going to realign our periods for repayment which traditionally had been 36 months. But the Veterans Administration for the 60 payment fourth and finally for now, we are going to make it easier for overpaid beneficiaries to request a waiver of the repayment. So the American People and conclusion work their whole lives during the benefits of Social Security. Theres Something Else they already worked for. Theyve already paid for and they already earned. And that is a decent level of Customer Service to access those benefits. In the good news is if we were allowed once again from the same dollars that were not paid in a discretionary way and paychecks we were allowed to operate one point to percent we could restore Customer Service and all of your states. The president s budget invest in Social Security for the people of our nation 9 increase over what we were allowed to spend. I hate to say appropriation because weve not had a probation hearing in nine years. The president s budget includes a 9 increase over what we had last year allowed to spend for operating expenses 15. 4 billion. We look forward to working with u2s disdain funding increases so we get back to serving the people with the Customer Service theyve already earned prey theyve already paid for but are being denied. We can do so without adding a penny to the deficit, thank you so much. Think of your opening statement. Im going to jump ahead instead of asking my question i will turn to senator blumenthal. Think it mr. Chairman i really appreciate you taking me out of order for this really very important hearing. Nothing is more vital or important as you know that Social Security to americans but to all americans not just recipients but to their families. To their children. Because when they are in poverty their children and family suffer as well. I really want to thank you for your attention to improving the system. I have a proposal the coast of the level of benefits. Your focus on Customer Service certainly is viable. The overpayments the shock and brutality of efforts by the government to clawback overpayment is absolutely unacceptable. I hope you will be doing more, even more than what you have said you would be doing to this Committee Just now. Because this kind of unfortunate and unfair treatment of americans they suffer the hardship of clawbacks and retrieval of payments. I want to go to a nether topic that has concerned me i am hearing from constituents about the Windfall Elimination Program offset. These two provisions are separate. Both reduce Social Security benefits for workers and their eligible family members. If the worker receives or is entitled based on earnings from employment not covered by Social Security. With these provisions disproportionately affected Public Service employees including educators, Police Officers, firefighters and others but introduce Social Security 2100 acts pretty would repeal these provisions among other changes that substantially benefit Social Security recipients giving them costofliving increases closing their burdens on people earning more than 400,000. So what concerns me is apart from appealing repealing is the failure of some local and state governments to disclose the effects of these two provisions on new employees. And i wonder whether you are familiar or heard information about disclosure of this information the windfall elimination and the government pension offset provision. Where that you heard from recipients, claimants about firefighters, Police Officers because the requirements arent offset are predisposed when they come to work. I agree with you senator im sure it comes as a great shock to a lot of people put their lives on the line in Public Service jobs or other jobs as they approach retirement the Social Security they thought would be there is not going to be there. I have received some briefings on this. It is my understanding that over the years a number of states were historically allowed to sort of opt out. Requiring payments of employees into Social Security. And now the dilemma as policy policymakers how we address that moving forward. What are the equities and the cost of addressing that. Either in a perspective way or more comprehensive way. I do not know entirely what the answer is. The what it takes in the future i would look forward to work with you that onset that a new center for. And want to thank you for your continuing Public Service very distinguished career in your service in this position. Its important to what any of us do you touch the lives of so Many Americans you also helped on my part and im sure my colleagues help improve the system. Waiting 38 or 39 minutes its intolerable. Not the fault of hard working peop