ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Subcommittee on Social Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
February 3, 2000
No. SS-9

Shaw Announces Hearing 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 that the Subcommittee will hold a series of hearings to examine Social Security's readiness for the impending wave of Baby Boomer beneficiaries. The first hearing in the series is a joint hearing by the Subcommittees on Social Security and Human Resources, and will focus on current and future service delivery challenges that the Social Security Administration is facing in the 21st Century. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 10, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 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 members of the Social Security Advisory Board, representatives from the U.S. General Accounting Office, and service delivery experts. 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 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 21st 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 21st century.

In announcing the hearing series, Chairman Shaw stated: "Ensuring the Social Security Administration delivers quality service in a timely way is more than a goal -- it's a necessity for American workers and families. Workers pay their hard-earned wages for their Social Security benefits. It's their program and they deserve not only all the benefits they paid for, but the highest quality of service as well. Our goal is to ensure that happens without any glitches, despite the Social Security Administration's many challenges ahead."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

This hearing will focus on the Social Security Administration's service delivery practices, key service delivery challenges in the future, and effective strategies to address these challenges.

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 or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, February 24, 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 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.

Symbol to Show Committee Seeks to Assist Persons with Disabilities at the Committee's facilities.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.