ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Subcommittee on Social Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
March 1, 2000
No. SS-11

Shaw Announces Second Hearing in Series to
Examine Social Security's Readiness for the Impending Wave of Baby Boomer Beneficiaries

Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced the second in a series of hearings to examine Social Security's readiness for the impending wave of Baby Boomer beneficiaries. This hearing will focus on what Social Security is doing to prepare for current and future service delivery challenges. The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 16, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Subsequent hearings in the series will be announced at a later date.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security management and employee representatives, and advocates for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients. 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.

The services that the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides impact the lives of nearly all Americans. For example, in 1999 SSA paid benefits to more than 45 million retired and disabled workers and their families and to more than 6.6 million Supplemental Security Income recipients, processed 250 million reports of earnings and more than 6 million initial claims for benefits, handled more than 26 million visitors requesting services at 1,300 field offices, fielded 80 million calls to the 800- number service, issued 16 million new and replacement Social Security numbers, and provided 30 million Social Security Statements to help individuals plan for their financial future.

As America enters the 21^st Century, SSA will face increasing challenges. SSA workloads are projected to begin increasing rapidly within the next decade as the huge Baby Boom generation enters its peak disability years prior to reaching early retirement age starting in the year 2008. Social Security retirement and disability workloads are projected to rise 16 percent and 47 percent, respectively, between now and the year 2010. Claims under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which is administered by SSA and provides cash benefits to poor disabled and elderly individuals, are expected to grow 12 percent between now and the year 2020. At the same time, Social Security programs are becoming more complex, with initiatives to prevent fraud and abuse, complete continuing disability reviews, provide increased rehabilitation and employment services for the disabled, and perform reviews to determine whether SSI beneficiaries continue to meet the program's income and resource requirements. These factors, combined with recent workforce downsizing and the coming retirement of large numbers of SSA's aging workforce, will place tremendous pressures on the Agency to meet the public's need for service in the 21^st century.

The first hearing in the series on February 10, 2000, focused on Social Security's service delivery practices, key service delivery challenges, and strategies to address those challenges.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "At our first hearing, we learned about the challenges Social Security will face in years to come as its own workforce ages and the number of Americans depending on Social Security skyrockets. This hearing will focus on how SSA is preparing for those challenges, including what steps it plans to take to provide world-class service as promised."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

This hearing will focus on SSA's service delivery practices, key current and future service delivery challenges, and plans to overcome those challenges and provide timely, high-quality, and cost-effective customer service in the years ahead.

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 or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, March 30, 2000, 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, by close of business the day before the hearing.

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 or MS Word 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.