We all know that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is a bloated, bureaucratic department full of government stooges.
The SSA’s history in returning to Americans their rightful benefits has been nothing but one battle after another. The SSA recently admitted to not giving widows and widowers upwards of $131 million in benefits, all because they failed to their job.
So is it all a huge surprise that the acting commissioner of the SSA is now under violation of federal law? Thanks to the Government Accountability Office revealing this pertinent information, Congress (mainly the Senate) is now calling for a real discussion into removing her and confirming a permanent commissioner before more benefit paychecks get bungled up.
From Think Advisor:
The Government Accountability Office said Tuesday that the Social Security Administration is in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 because Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill has served for too long.
Talk about overstaying your welcome!
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, plans to hold a hearing…to discuss the need for a Senate-confirmed commissioner to lead the SSA, the challenges and limitations faced by the SSA when it is led by an acting commissioner, and the legal framework for filling a vacancy.
The Social Security Administration “has been without a Senate-confirmed commissioner for more than five years and has instead been operating with an acting commissioner. While Acting Commissioner Berryhill has done an admirable job, at the end of the day, the acting head of an agency is just that: acting,” Johnson added. “They do not have the authority to provide the long-term strategic vision that is critical for success. Important decisions are being put off and service has deteriorated because this agency is lacking a leader.”
Note the important piece of Sen. Johnson’s quote: there has not been a permanent commissioner for SSA for over five years. In short, this history of one continuous acting commissioner after another all started with Obama! It is once again another mess for President Trump to clean up, on top of all the other disastrous messes Barack had made!
Hopefully soon, Trump will have the opportunity to nominate a solid candidate for commissioner of the SSA, followed by a confirmation hearing that leads to a full affirmative vote. The fact that Sen. Johnson is pushing the issue is great news: he wants to help the president out as much as he can.
Because the faster we get a Trump-appointee into that position, the sooner the SSA can have a nice upheaval and once again be reminded that the taxpayers come first.
Source: Think Advisor
