ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Herger Announces Hearing on Fraud and Abuse
in the Supplemental Security Income Program

Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 25, 2002, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.  The hearing will end no later than 1:30 p.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  Witnesses will include representatives from the Social Security Administration (SSA), the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the SSA Office of the Inspector General, and the Social Security Advisory Board.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The SSI program is a means-tested Federal assistance program administered by the SSA.  It provides monthly cash benefits to individuals who have limited assets and income and who are blind, disabled, or aged 65 or older.  In 2001, 6.4 million individuals received more than $30 billion in Federal payments through the program.

The 1996 Welfare Reform Law (P.L. 104-193) and related legislation included a number of changes in SSI to address concerns about fraud and abuse.  These changes included terminating disability determinations based on drug addiction or alcoholism, barring fugitive felons and parole violators from receiving benefits, establishing a bounty system to identify prisoners illegally receiving benefits, and enhancing SSA’s ability to detect and collect overpayments.  In addition, a series of provisions designed to reduce both deliberate fraud and unintentional overpayments in the SSI program were enacted in 1999 as part of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169).  Among other things, this legislation prevents applicants from transferring assets to become eligible for SSI, strengthens penalties for fraud and abuse by both beneficiaries and medical and legal professionals, and improves the reporting of financial information of SSI applicants and beneficiaries. 

Despite these improvements, however, as recently as January 2001 the GAO continued to list SSI as a program at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.  The Social Security Advisory Board and the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General have identified areas of the SSI program that need strengthening.  The SSA’s May 2002 Annual Report on the Supplemental Security Income Program proposes a new corrective action plan to improve the management of SSI. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Herger stated:  “We have worked hard in recent years to combat fraud and abuse in SSI, saving taxpayers billions of dollars in the process.  This hearing will review changes already made to improve the integrity of the SSI program and, more importantly, what remains to be done.  Especially when SSI remains at high risk of fraud and abuse, our Subcommittee should explore every way to tighten the program to reassure recipients and taxpayers alike that benefits are going to intended recipients.”   

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will review past efforts to address SSI waste, fraud, and abuse and consider additional changes to improve program integrity.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Thursday, August 8, 2002.  Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Human Resources in room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing.  The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below.  Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments.  Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. 

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.