Systemic Waste and Abuse at the Social Security Administration: How Rubber-Stamping Disability Judges Cost Hundreds of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars

Publication

Systemic Waste and Abuse at the Social Security Administration: How Rubber-Stamping Disability Judges Cost Hundreds of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars

Abstract

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform investigated the SSA ALJs after two current SSA ALJs testified about their concerns of the agency's stewardship of disability programs. Many ALJs believed the agency prioritized speed of processing cases over accuracy, emphasizing high volume adjudications over quality decision making. The Committee has obtained detailed information on the actions of three ALJs who have been inappropriately awarding disability benefits for years. These ALJs awarded benefits in nearly every decision they made, issued an extremely large number of allowances without holding a hearing, and were subject to numerous complaints from employees within their offices. The committee found that in total, over the last decade alone, these three ALJs awarded lifetime benefits amounting to nearly $10 billion, and two of them are still deciding a full load of cases.