O’Malley’s last push for Social Security funding as waitlists grow

Thirty thousand people died while waiting for their disability evaluations in 2023, Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley told the House Appropriations Committee on Nov. 20.

In his final weeks on the job before resigning to start his run for Democratic National Convention chair, O’Malley called upon Congress to restore funding for staffing and increase funding for technology modernization.

After a half-billion-dollar cut to the Social Security Administration budget in July, the largest ever by the House Appropriations Committee, staffing has hit a 50-year low. Simultaneously, the number of people claiming Social Security hit an all-time high, said O’Malley. 

The Social Security Administration’s budget decides how much of the $2.7 trillion in Social Security reserves the agency can access for administrative costs. Currently, the amount is 0.3%, 75% of which is spent on staffing. O’Malley asked the committee today to restore the accessible amount to 1.2%. 

“We cannot stand back and watch this agency crater,” he said. “It is a sacred promise to the people of the United States; they’ve worked their entire lives so Social Security would be there for them.”

Cuts to the SSA budget, which don’t contribute to reducing the deficit, are defacto cuts to Social Security benefits, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. She said cuts to staff make Social Security Benefits harder to access. O’Malley agreed, asking the committee, “What good are benefits if you can’t get through on the phone to access them?”

GOP Lawmakers were reluctant to restore the staffing budget, citing the SSA’s policy of allowing staff to work from home two days a week. O’Malley responded that productivity had increased by 6%, and some claimants now preferred to conduct their meetings over the phone. 

Karl Polzer from the Center on Capital and Social Equity explained to The Wash that the baby boomer generation means more people are receiving Social Security benefits. Still, the money is set to run out. 

“Social security has a trust fund that runs out in 2035, so the agency says if Congress doesn’t fix the solvency issue, which is a big issue, they’re going to have to cut benefits by about 20%,” he said. “In the past, Social Security collected more money than it’s paying out. Since 2021, it’s paying out more money than it’s going in,” said Polzer.

The Social Security Administration has set a new target of 215 days of wait time, up from the current average of 243 days. However, in Georgia, the wait time for disability evaluations is 14 months. 

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told O’Malley that regulations say the wait time should be 49.5 days, a regulation O’Malley had not heard before. 

Clyde suggested the Social Security Administration contact the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency. “Maybe Elon Musk and Vivek can help you guys trim that,” he said, referring to Musk and Ramaswamy’s appointments. 

As well as $600 million more a year for fixed costs to avoid “the grim reaper of attrition,” O’Malley sought a $5 billion one-time investment to modernize the systems for the future, saying the last big investment was when news anchor Walter Cronkite investigated in the 60s. 

“One of my deep concerns about this agency when I depart next Friday is a looming problem on the horizon of antiquated IT systems totally breaking down or being shut down by bad actors,” said O’Malley. 

O’Malley will not be part of the next administration, but he made final calls to the House Appropriations Committee to restore funding to help their constituents, “I know you’ve received their calls, I know you’ve heard their cries,” he said.