FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-9263
July 15, 1998
No. SS-19
Congressman Jim Bunning (R-KY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine labor-management relations at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The hearing will begin on Wednesday, July 22, 1998, and be continued on Thursday, July 23, 1998, and Friday, July 24, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day.
In view of the limited time available, oral testimony will be heard from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Federal Government's labor-management relations policies have evolved gradually in the last three decades. A 1962 Executive Order by President Kennedy formally recognized unions to represent Federal employees, mandated Federal agencies to consult periodically with unions over working conditions and personnel practices, and permitted Federal agencies to provide unions with support services at agency expense.
In 1970, an Executive Order issued by President Nixon created the Federal Labor Relations Council (FLRC), a central authority charged with administering Federal labor-management relations, and established a third-party process for negotiating labor-management impasses.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, signed into law by President Carter, vastly expanded the scope of collective bargaining and codified the existing authority for Federal agencies to use Federal funds to pay the cost of union facilities and support services (such as telephones, fax machines, and computers) within the agencies, and to pay the salaries and travel expenses of Federal employees to perform union activities for part or all of their workweek. The 1978 Act also created the independent Federal Labor Relations Authority, which replaced the FLRC.
In 1993, President Clinton issued an Executive Order making unions full, participating partners in the management decision-making process at Federal agencies. This order further expanded the rights of unions in the management of Federal agencies by requiring Federal agencies to bargain with unions over organizational issues, including work methods, technology, and organizational staffing patterns.
In June 1996, the Subcommittee held oversight hearings on the use of Social Security Trust Fund money to finance union activities at the SSA. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) at that time revealed the cost of union activities had doubled from an estimated $6 million in 1993 to $12.6 million in 1995, and that the number of employees who worked on union business full-time
grew from 80 to 146. In addition, in this agency alone, over 1,800 employees were authorized to perform union activities during some part of their on-duty hours. GAO also found that due to limitations in SSA's reporting system, it was not possible to estimate actual time spent agency-wide for any reporting period and the SSA's Inspector General was asked to conduct an in-depth audit to follow through on GAO's findings. Prior to fiscal year 1998, most SSA administrative expenses, including union activities, were paid for from the Social Security Trust Funds. As of fiscal year 1998, the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Act included language which provides that the Social Security Trust Funds shall be reimbursed for union activities by general revenues.
In announcing the series of hearings, Chairman Bunning stated: "Hard-working Americans deserve to know the degree to which their taxes are being spent each year to pay the salaries of Social Security employees, who do mainly union work, frequently full time, instead of directly providing services to the public. This is particularly troubling since SSA has lost over 25 percent of their staff over the last 10 years and is facing unprecedented workloads in the near-future as baby boomers begin to retire."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will focus on the scope of non-agency activities at SSA, the extent to which they are subsidized by taxpayers, and the accuracy and completeness with which this spending is accounted for by SSA.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Friday, August 7, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Social Security office, room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
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. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may 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. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
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.