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Chapter 2: Independent Agency
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his chapter describes the history leading to the Social Security
Administration (SSA) as an Independent Agency and the steps the
Agency took to assume its new duties, including the selection of
strong and capable leadership. The establishment of SSA as
an Independent Agency may be the most significant development during
Commissioners Chater and Apfel’s time in office. It enabled
the Agency to (1) improve program management, by taking a more active
role in addressing its major program challenges, (2) be more accountable
to the public, (3) be more responsive to the Congress, and (4) provide
stable executive leadership. The highlights of SSA’s major
accomplishments under Commissioners Chater and Apfel are discussed.
The
Early Years
ocial Security began as an Independent Agency when the Social
Security Act of 1935 established a Social Security Board (Board)
comprised of three members appointed by the President. The chairman reported directly
to the President. The original members were John G. Winant,
Chairman; Arthur J. Altmeyer; and Vincent M. Miles. Arthur
Altmeyer became the Board’s second permanent chairman in 1937,
shortly after Chairman Winant’s resignation.
Beginning in early 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent to
Congress a series of messages and proposals regarding reorganization
of the Executive Branch. He wanted to reduce the number of
agencies reporting to him. The Reorganization Act of 1939
authorized the President to devise a plan to reorganize the Executive
Branch. The President’s Reorganization Plan No. 1 created
the Federal Security Agency as a new sub-cabinet agency and located
the Board within it. As a result, the Board lost its status
as an Independent Agency, no longer reporting directly to the President.
Under the President’s Reorganization Plan No. 2, the Board was abolished
in 1946 and replaced by SSA. Arthur Altmeyer, who had been
chairman of the Board, became the Commissioner for Social Security.
In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower abolished the Federal Security
Agency and created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare
(HEW). SSA was made part of this new cabinet agency.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) replaced HEW in
1980 when the Department of Education was created as a new cabinet-level
agency.
The
Independent Agency Process
roposals in the Congress to make SSA an Independent Agency can
be traced to the early 1970s. After implementation of the
Unified Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 1969, which included operations
of the Social Security Trust Funds, the budget submissions of the
Nixon, Ford and Carter Administrations included proposals for cutbacks
in Social Security. These factors led some members of Congress
to conclude that Social Security was being used for partisan political
purposes, and that making SSA an Independent Agency and taking the
trust funds out of the Federal Budget would deal with the issue.
During the period 1974-1982, more than 20 bills making SSA an Independent
Agency were introduced in the Congress. A 1974 Senate bill
sponsored by Special Committee on Aging Chairman, Frank Church,
had 51 co-sponsors.
In 1981, the debate in the Congress about the desirability of returning
SSA to independent agency status became more serious due primarily
to two factors. The first was the release in March 1981 of
the Report of the National Commission on Social Security mandated
by P.L. 95-216 (the Social Security Amendments of 1977), which recommended
that SSA be made an independent agency. The Commission recommended
an independent agency to be called the Social Security Board, which
would administer the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability programs,
the SSI program, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The
second, and probably more important factor, was the release by HHS
Secretary Richard Schweiker, in May 1981, of a package of reform
proposals that would “keep the system from going broke, protect
the basic benefit structure, and reduce the tax burden of American
workers.” The package was not generally well received and
was characterized by many in and outside of Congress as reducing
the budget deficit, and financing the defense buildup through cuts
in Social Security.
In reaction to the controversy about the Administration’s Social
Security reform proposals, President Reagan, by executive order,
established the bipartisan National Commission on Social Security
Reform. The Commission, headed by Alan Greenspan, reported
to the President and the Congress on January 20, 1983, recommending
a far-reaching package of proposals intended to ensure the solvency
of Social Security. The Commission’s report also included
a statement that a majority of its members believe “that it would
be logical to have the Social Security Administration be a separate
independent agency…and recommends that a study should be made of
the feasibility of this.”
P.L 98-21, the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which enacted
substantially all of the Commission’s recommendations included a
provision for the chairmen of the Ways and Means and Finance Committees
to appoint a three-person panel to a study of establishing SSA as
an independent agency. The legislation did not provide for
a study of whether SSA should be independent, but rather, it provided
for a study of the issues related to how SSA would be made independent.
The three-member panel that conducted the study was headed by Elmer
Staats, former Director of the General Accounting Office.
Other panel members were Arthur E. Hess, former Deputy Commissioner
of Social Security, and Martha Derthick, a noted academic on the
politics of Social Security. The panel reported on June 12,
1984. The panel recommended that if SSA were to be made independent,
it should: be headed by a single executive appointed by the President
with the advice and consent of the Senate; have a permanent bipartisan
Advisory Board of nine members “to promote independent review and
encourage broadly based policy analysis;” be responsible for administering
only the Social Security and SSI programs; and be delegated personnel
and management authority currently performed by the Office of Personnel
Management and the General Services Administration.
For the next 10 years, a number of different bills were repeatedly
introduced, passing the House by virtually unanimous votes on three
occasions, but with no action being taken in the Senate. Congressional
testimony and reports argued that SSA should be independent from
HHS for a number of reasons, including the need for (1) improved
management and continuity of leadership at SSA, (2) greater public
confidence about the solvency of Social Security, and
(3) greater accountability to its stakeholders.
Although there was clearly strong bipartisan support in the Congress
for the idea of making SSA independent, incumbent administrations,
both Republican and Democrat, always opposed the idea. When
the issue heated-up early in the first Clinton term, the Administration
opposed independent status for SSA. The Agency was the largest
operating division within HHS and accounted for about 51 percent
of HHS’s total staff. SSA’s fiscal year 1995 budget of about
$371 billion accounted for over one-half of HHS’s total budget for
that year.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D, NY), Senate Committee on Finance
Chairman, 103rd Congress (1993-1994), was a strong proponent
of SSA as an Independent Agency. He argued that such a move
would help insulate the program from partisan politics. In
the summer of 1994, President Clinton signaled his willingness to
support SSA as an Independent Agency. The Clinton Administration
and SSA then began a process of negotiation with the Congress over
the details of the developing legislation. The major policy
difference concerned a House/Senate split over the question of the
executive structure for SSA. House leaders preferred a return
to a multi-person Social Security Board as the administrative authority;
the Senate preferred to retain a single Commissioner. SSA
sided strongly with the Senate position. The final compromise
on this issue accepted a single Commissioner, but also included
the creation of a permanent, independent, and bipartisan Social
Security Advisory Board. The Advisory Board was to replace
the periodic Advisory Councils, which under prior law met every
four years to advise the Congress and the Administration on Social
Security matters.
SSA returned full-circle to its place of origin in the
federal hierarchy when the President signed the SSA Independence
and Program Improvements Act of 1994 into law on August 15, 1994.
The law took effect on March 31, 1995 to allow sufficient time for
the complex transitional preparations. The Act brought with
it a full complement of challenges, ranging from finding new headquarters
space in Washington, to recruiting executives and fully staffing
the new offices of the General Counsel and the Inspector General.
There were also the complex issues of interpreting the Independent
Agency legislation, and learning how to operate without the cushion
of HHS. The greatest challenge of being independent was the
issue of the Agency’s programmatic responsibilities. As an
arm of HHS, SSA’s role was one of day-to-day delivery of services.
As an Independent Agency, SSA now had a fundamental responsibility
to help shape its programs, educate the public about Social Security,
and plan for the long-term future. The return to Independent
Agency status had several major impacts on SSA.
The foremost was the elevation of the Commissioner to cabinet-level
status; that is, the Commissioner began attending the President’s
regular cabinet meetings and reported directly to the President
on matters involving Social Security. The Commissioner was
also designated as a member of the President’s Council on Domestic
Policy.
The Independent Agency legislation created two additional statutory
positions: a Deputy Commissioner appointed by the President
to serve a six-year term subject to Senate confirmation and an Inspector
General, also appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation.
In addition, the number of Senior Executive Service (SES) positions
at SSA was increased, including the number of positions excepted
from the competitive service because of their confidential or policy
determining charter. By 1997, six of the eight Deputy Commissioners
were in non-career SES positions and two Deputy Commissioners were
career SES employees.
Office
of the Commissioner: 1993–2000
wo persons served as Commissioner of Social Security and three
persons served as Acting Commissioner of Social Security during
the Clinton Administration. The Senate confirmed one person
as Deputy Commissioner after two other persons failed to receive
Senate confirmation.
Acting
Commissioner Louis D. Enoff
Following
the departure of Commissioner Gwendolyn S. King in October 1992,
Mr. Enoff, SSA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner, was named Acting
Commissioner. Mr. Enoff would serve as an Acting Commissioner
from October 1, 1992 to July 18, 1993, including the first seven
months of the Clinton Administration. During his tenure as
the head of SSA, he functioned principally as a “chief operating
officer,” running the day-to-day business of SSA. In his acting
capacity, he was not expected to assert a strong Capitol Hill presence
or make major policy changes at SSA, while waiting for the President’s
nominee for Commissioner.
Acting
Commissioner Lawrence H. Thompson, Ph.D.
Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Donna Shalala, appointed Lawrence
H. Thompson as Acting Commissioner and Principal Deputy Commissioner
on July 19, 1993. Dr. Thompson was a career official at the
General Accounting Office where he worked as Chief Economist and
Assistant Comptroller for Human Resources programs. He headed
SSA for three months, until Commissioner Chater’s confirmation was
completed. Dr. Thompson left SSA in December 1995 to become
a Fellow at the Urban Institute.
Commissioner Shirley S. Chater,
Ph.D.
Shirley Sears Chater became Commissioner of
Social Security on October 8, 1993. Commissioner Chater brought
a lifetime of leadership and public service to this position.
She came to SSA from Texas Women’s University, where she served
as President from 1986 to 1993.
Among her
other positions, Commissioner Chater served as an associate with
the American Council on Education, Division of Academic Affairs
and Institutional Relations in 1983-1984, and as senior associate
of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
from 1984 to 1986. She was Vice Chancellor for academic affairs
at the University of California-San Francisco from 1977 to 1982.
She held faculty appointments from 1972 to 1986 in the Department
of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, at the University
of California-San Francisco and in the School of Education at the
University of California-Berkeley.
Commissioner
Chater, a native of Pennsylvania, received her B.S. degree in nursing
from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. degree in nursing from
the University of California-San Francisco, a Ph.D. in education
from the University of California-Berkeley, and a certificate from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management.
Commissioner Chater has been elected to the Institute of Medicine
of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a member of the
National Academy of Public Administration and the National Academy
of Social Insurance.
Under the leadership of Commissioner Chater, SSA realized significant
accomplishments in the administration of its programs. The
following chapters discuss these accomplishments. They include:
LEADERSHIP
- SSA’s transition from HHS to an Independent Agency, a transition
characterized as “seamless” and among the best ever by the General
Accounting Office.
- Significant increases in Congressional funding for SSA’s administrative
budget, representing more than a 33 percent increase over four
years.
- The first Agency Business Plan to guide agency priorities and
business processes.
- An Accountability Report to track financial and productivity
measurements, recognized as a model document by OMB.
- Agency performance reporting standards years in advance of requirements
under the Government Performance and Results Act.
- Signed the first Agency partnership agreement with unions.
- Developed and posted customer service standards in SSA’s 1,300
field offices across the country.
- Received highest overall rating for 800 number telephone service
among public and private service organizations renowned for service.
- Created Agency Internet site. Nearly 400,000 people visited
the site during FY 1996.
ENHANCING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE
- Issued nearly 11 million first time Social Security benefit
estimates to eligible individuals age 60 or older in1995.
In 1996, statements were sent to people age
57-59. [4]
- Developed extensive educational programs on Social Security
for the American public.
- Obtained agreements with 3,500 state and local jail systems
throughout the country to stop payment of benefits to prisoners.
- Tightened qualifications for more than six million volunteers
who manage benefit payments for individuals unable to manage their
own finances.
SUPPORTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Achieved SSA’s highest-ever representation of minorities and
women in management positions as of 1997.
- Held first Agency-wide diversity conference for employees in
Miami, Florida in June 1996.
- Instituted electronic broadcasts from the Commissioner to employees
on fast breaking issues.
- Instituted “interactive distance learning” for employees, using
an intra-agency television classroom providing simultaneous training
to work sites across the country. This initiative ensured
consistent training and reduced training costs.
While Commissioner Chater was already serving as Commissioner, the
Independent Agency legislation required the Commissioner of Social
Security to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
President Clinton nominated Commissioner Chater on November 15,
1994. Commissioner Chater’s confirmation hearing, however,
got interwoven with concerns about the long-term viability of the
Social Security Program.
During this time period, the issue of Social Security’s long-range
solvency was at the forefront. One of the core problems was
that nobody wanted to go first—for fear of the political fall-out
from any comprehensive solution, which would, by necessity, feature
numerous unpopular policies. Following the enactment of the
Independent Agency legislation, Commissioner Chater found herself
squeezed by these political forces. The Congress took every
opportunity to put the Commissioner on the spot by publicly insisting
it was her job to put forward a comprehensive solvency proposal.
Had the Commissioner put forth such a plan, it would have been labeled
the Administration’s proposal by the majority in Congress.
The White House, behind the scenes, insisted that she do no such
thing. Congressional leaders challenged Commissioner Chater
repeatedly on the grounds that, as an Independent Agency, SSA did
not have to work under strictures from the White House.
Following the submission of Commissioner Chater’s nomination, the
Finance Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing for February
16, 1995, where she was questioned over the issue of the Administration’s
solvency proposal and her interpretation of SSA’s independence.
She was pressured to put an Administration proposal on the table
for addressing Social Security solvency. This brief hearing
was the only congressional action taken on her nomination as the
Independent Agency Commissioner of Social Security. Her confirmation
was never brought up for a vote. She continued in her position
as Commissioner of Social Security until she resigned on February
28, 1997. [5] She accepted a position as
Regents Professor in the University of California system and has
since become an independent consultant for higher education.
Acting
Commissioner John J. Callahan, Ph.D.
Following
Commissioner Chater’s resignation, President Clinton named John
J. Callahan, who was at the time serving as Assistant Secretary
for Management and Budget at HHS, Acting Commissioner of Social
Security.
Dr. Callahan came to SSA on March 1, 1997. He was not expected
to be a permanent Commissioner. Even so, he was a vigorous
and active Commissioner, refusing to play the role of a mere “caretaker.”
He provided strong and highly visible support for President Clinton’s
noncitizen revisions to the 1996 welfare reform bill. He instituted
a program of payment cycling for new Social Security beneficiaries.
The major challenge faced by Acting Commissioner Callahan during
his tenure was the online PEBES controversy. [6]
Commissioner Kenneth S. Apfel
Kenneth
S. Apfel was sworn-in as Commissioner of Social Security on September
29, 1997. Commissioner Apfel had the honor of becoming the
first confirmed Commissioner of Social Security since it became
an Independent Agency in March of 1995. He brought extensive
leadership and public service experience to a position that has
been frequently described as one of the most complex and challenging
in the Federal Government.
Commissioner
Apfel came to SSA from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
in the Executive Office of the President where he served since 1995
as the Associate Director for Human Resources. His responsibilities
included budget, policy and management review of all the human resource
agencies of the Federal Government, including SSA, the Department
of Labor and Education and parts of the Department of Agriculture
and HHS.
Prior to his appointment at OMB, Commissioner
Apfel served as Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget at
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was nominated
by President Clinton in March 1993 and was subsequently confirmed
by the U.S. Senate. In this capacity, Mr. Apfel served as
the senior budget official and chief financial officer for HHS.
He formulated and executed the third largest budget in the world
– a $700 billion budget for a department staffed nationwide by 125,000
people, with half of HHS’ resources in support of SSA. During
his tenure, Mr. Apfel served as a principal on the Secretary’s task
force to elevate SSA to Independent Agency status.
Before joining the Clinton Administration,
Mr. Apfel worked for two decades in the area of social policy.
From 1989 to 1993, he served as legislative director to Senator
Bill Bradley, overseeing the formulation and development of all
aspects of congressional policy making. During 1982 to 1989,
he was the Senator’s chief staff person for Federal social policy,
with a particular focus on programs under the jurisdiction of the
Senate Finance Committee. He served as the Senator’s key staff
person for the Committee’s actions on the historic 1983 Social Security
reform legislation.
Between 1980–1982, the Commissioner
was committee staff for human resource programs for the U.S. Senate
Budget Committee. From 1978 to 1980, he served a Presidential
Management Internship at the Department of Labor. He was a
college administrator from 1973 to 1976 at Newbury College in Massachusetts.
He received his bachelor’s degree from
the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1970; a master’s in rehabilitation
counseling, Northeastern University, 1973; and a master’s degree
in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University
of Texas, 1978.
Commissioner Apfel’s strong leadership enabled SSA to realize significant
management accomplishments. The following are some of these
accomplishments. These, and other accomplishments, are covered
in detail in the following chapters.
SOLVENCY
- Provided critical staff support for the White House Conference
on Social Security that concluded a national dialogue on long-range
financing issues.
- Played a leading role in facilitating the national dialogue
on ensuring the long-term future of the Social Security program.
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING
- Began mailing an annual Social Security Statement to
more than 125 million workers; the largest customized mailing
ever by a Federal Agency.
- Developed a survey instrument to provide an objective measure
of the level of public understanding of Social Security.
PROGRAM CHANGES
The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
expanded the availability of health care coverage and greater work
opportunities for working persons with disabilities.
- Released results of a top-to-bottom review of changes made to
the SSI childhood disability program as a result of the welfare
reform law. The number of children expected to lose eligibility
for SSI disability benefits dropped from 135,000 to 100,000.
- Released a comprehensive Disability Management Plan that provided
a strategy for achieving the goal of improved administration of
the disability programs.
- Continued to test and modify its redesign of the disability
determination process. The goal is to provide more timely
and accurate disability decisions.
- Released a comprehensive report of the management of the SSI
program. The report identified four areas in which the program
can be better managed.
- Raised the earnings limit for disabled beneficiaries from $500
to $700. This increase in the monthly substantial gainful
activity level is the first since 1990.
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
- Created a “2010 Vision” plan to guide Agency decisionmaking
in the coming decade. The plan complements the Agency’s
5-year strategic planning.
- Increased service to the non-English speaking, including hiring
emphasis to increase the number of bilingual employees to 6,000,
adding Spanish prompts on the 800 number automated service, publishing
most of the public information materials in Spanish, and working
to provide other non-English versions.
INVESTMENT IN EMPLOYEES
Since early 1998, SSA’s new hires on Native Americans, Asians and
Pacific Islanders, African-Americans, and Hispanics reflect percentages
above the national civilian workforce.
- Successfully created promotional opportunities for women and
minorities, particularly at higher-grade levels.
- Received the 1998 John Sturdivant National Partnership Award,
which recognized the Agency’s commitment to the goals of management-union
partnership.
- Created an “Employees as Ambassadors Program” to train all 65,000
Agency employees about critical issues facing Social Security.
Office
of the Deputy Commissioner
ommissioner Chater continued to use the Principal Deputy Commissioner
position as SSA’s Chief Operating Officer. When Lawrence Thompson
left Social Security in December 1995, she appointed John R. Dyer
as Principal Deputy Commissioner. This position was eventually
abolished when the Senate confirmed William Halter as Deputy Commissioner
of Social Security in 1999.
Principal
Deputy Commissioner John R. Dyer
Mr. Dyer was a long-time career
employee, having served in both OMB and the Health Care Financing
Administration prior to coming to SSA in 1988. At SSA,
Mr. Dyer was Deputy Commissioner for Finance, Assessment and
Management and the Agency’s Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Dyer temporarily vacated his Deputy Commissioner position
to become Principal Deputy Commissioner on January 3, 1996,
a position he held until November 1999. He served as
Senior Advisor to Commissioner Apfel.
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Deputy Commissioner Nominees
President Clinton made two unsuccessful attempts to fill the Deputy
Commissioner position. His first nominee was Linda Colvin
Rhodes, who was formerly the Secretary on Aging for the State of
Pennsylvania. The President nominated Ms. Rhodes on August
10, 1995. The Congress chose not to act on Ms. Rhodes nomination,
declining to schedule a hearing on the matter. In March 1996,
Ms. Rhodes asked the President to withdraw her nomination.
Following this unsuccessful effort to
fill the Deputy Commissioner position, President Clinton nominated
a second candidate, Jane G. Gould, on September 2, 1997. Ms.
Gould had extensive experience working with the aged and had served
in the cabinet of New York Governor Mario Cuomo as Director of the
Office for the Aging. Once again, the Congress chose not to
act on the nomination, refusing to schedule a hearing or take any
action on the matter. This led Ms. Gould to ask the President
to withdraw her nomination on March 13, 1998.
Finally, the President nominated William
A. Halter as Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, the number
two official at SSA.
Deputy
Commissioner William A. Halter
William A. Halter was nominated by President Clinton on
October 1, 1999 and confirmed by the Senate on November 10, 1999,
to become the first confirmed Deputy Commissioner of the independent
SSA. He served as the Agency’s Chief Operating Officer, providing
executive leadership and direction to SSA’s 65,000 employees located
in 1,500 offices nationwide.
Before his
appointment as Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, Mr. Halter
was a senior advisor in OMB. He advised on a range of policy
issues, reviewed and evaluated budgets and management practices
of Federal cabinet departments, presented budget options to the
President, and formulated Administration positions on domestic and
international policy issues. He also coordinated the work
of the President’s Management Council, a group comprised of the
Chief Operating Officers of the Federal Cabinet departments.
Prior to that, Mr. Halter served as an economist to the Joint Economic
Committee of Congress and as Chief Economist for the Senate Committee
on Finance. He has also served in the private sector as a
management consultant with McKinsey & Company, specializing
in strategic planning and improving organizational effectiveness
for a variety of public and private clients.
Mr. Halter
received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science
from Stanford University. He was a Rhodes Scholar at
Oxford University, a Marshall Scholar, a Harry S. Truman Scholar
and a National Merit Scholar.
A key goal of Deputy Commissioner Halter’s tenure was to encourage
the use of computer technology in all aspects of SSA’s operations.
Of particular interest to Mr. Halter was the use of the Internet,
both as an informational service and a service-delivery method.
Mr. Halter pushed the Agency to accelerate its adoption of Internet
service delivery and maintained constant pressure on the organization
to find new and innovative ways to use the Internet in its business
operations.
Throughout his tenure, he has focused on: (1) enhancing the
Agency’s relationship with Congress, (2) developing a technological
infrastructure strategy to support best-in-business service and
the Agency’s 2010 Vision, (3) expanding electronic service
delivery initiatives,
(4) improving communication with external and internal customers,
and (5) encouraging an entrepreneurial environment throughout the
organization.
Inspector General
he Social Security Independent
Agency legislation established the Office of Inspector General (IG).
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Inspector General
managed SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) until a new IG was
nominated and confirmed. The HHS OIG transferred 259 staff,
including three SES positions and the necessary equipment and funding
to create the office.
The mission
of OIG was carried out through a nationwide network of facilities
comprising the Offices of Audit, Evaluation and Inspections, and
Investigations. Staff in the Immediate Office of the OIG supported
these three components.
Inspector
General David C. Williams
President Clinton nominated
David C. Williams to be SSA’s first IG on August 10, 1995.
At the time of his nomination, Mr. Williams was serving as the IG
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On December 22,
1995, the Senate confirmed Mr. Williams’ nomination. He immediately
acted to implement an aggressive hiring program to build the investigative
strength of this new OIG. Experienced investigators from other
Federal law enforcement agencies became integral members of OIG.
[7]
Mr. Williams is a graduate of Southern
Illinois University and received his Advanced Degree in Education
and a Masters in Education from the University of Illinois.
He is the recipient of the U.S. Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Medal
of Honor. Mr. Williams left SSA to become Inspector General
for Tax Administration of the Department of the Treasury in 1999.
Inspector General James G. Huse,
Jr.
James
G. Huse, Jr. was nominated by President Clinton on July 29, 1999,
to serve as SSA’s second IG. The Senate confirmed him in November
1999. Mr. Huse also held the positions of Deputy IG and Assistant
IG for Investigations at SSA. Prior to his SSA/OIG appointments,
Mr. Huse was a Special Agent in the Secret Service for 25 years,
rising to the position of Assistant Director. In 1995,
he received a Special Award from the Secretary of the Treasury for
his role as the Secret Service official in charge of the White House
Security Review.
Mr. Huse served over five years as a
commissioned officer in the United States Army with two combat tours
in Vietnam. He is a graduate of Boston College.
Other Executive Appointments
ommissioner Chater selected the majority
of SSA’s top staff who served during the Clinton Administration.
This chapter contains a brief resume of the Chief of Staff,
General Counsel, Chief Actuary and Deputy Commissioners.
Chief of Staff
Commissioner Chater’s selection of a Chief of Staff strengthened
the Office of the Commissioner. In September 1994, Commissioner
Chater appointed Brian Coyne as SSA’s first Chief of Staff.
As Commissioner Chater conceived the position, the Chief of Staff’s
role was to support the Commissioner in the day-to-day running of
the Agency and to coordinate the decision-making process within
the Agency. In addition, the Chief of Staff was to act as
liaison between the Agency and other organizations, both within
and outside of the government. Mr. Coyne was known throughout the
Agency as a strong and accessible Chief of Staff. Immediately
prior to accepting the Chief of Staff position, Mr. Coyne was Deputy
Chief of Staff to the Governor of Rhode Island.
General
Counsel
When SSA became an Independent Agency, it had to create an Office
of the General Counsel (OGC) as it did not have an in-house counsel’s
office. As an operating component of HHS, SSA received its
legal services from the Department’s OGC. That office had
several divisions that provided advice to components within HHS.
The Social Security Division, which was located at SSA Headquarters
in Woodlawn, MD, provided program advice and litigation services
to SSA. The Business and Administrative Law Division in Washington,
D.C. provided legal advice and litigation support on non-programmatic,
general law matters. The Legislation Division, also located
in Washington, provided legal advice on proposed legislation and
support in dealing with congressional staff. To create a new
OGC involved building an organizational structure, undertaking new
roles, and earning the confidence and respect of other SSA components.
On March 31, 1995, SSA established its own OGC that was headquartered
in Woodlawn, with 10 regional offices and a small staff co-located
within the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) in Falls Church,
VA.
In April 1995, Arthur J. Fried was appointed by
Commissioner Chater the first General Counsel of the newly independent
SSA. Mr. Fried came to SSA from New York City, where he
served two of its largest agencies. He was General Counsel
to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and
Development and Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel
for the City’s Human Resources Administration.
Over the five years Mr. Fried served as General Counsel, he
successfully built an organization from the ground up.
He established offices and created the internal mechanics to
ensure that OGC functioned properly and effectively. His
efforts helped to ensure that the newly established OGC was
a strong one and resulted in OGC gaining the Agency’s confidence. |
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Chief
Actuary
The Conference Report on the House and Senate
versions of the Independent Agency legislation emphasized the
“very important role of the Office of the Actuary in assessing
the financial condition of the Social Security trust funds and
in developing estimates of the financial effects of potential
legislative and administrative changes in the Social Security
program.”
The role of the Chief Actuary and SSA’s actuarial staff was
further emphasized in Public Law 104-121, enacted into law on
March 29, 1996. Section 103(e) of the Senior Citizens
Right to Work Act (P.L. 104-121) provides for a Chief Actuary,
who shall be appointed by, and in direct line of authority to,
the Commissioner of Social Security. This provision, in
effect, ratified the already-existing position of Chief Actuary
and specified that the Chief Actuary shall report directly to
the Commissioner. |
|
The Office of the Chief Actuary is responsible for the preparation
of the annual report of the Board of Trustees of the OASDI trust
funds. This is a report on the financial status of the OASDI
program in the short-range (next 10 years) and in the long-range
(next 75 years). Thus, the actuarial staff must work closely
with the staffs of the Board of Trustees in preparing the annual
report. In preparing the actuarial cost estimates for the
annual report of the Board of Trustees, SSA’s actuarial staff recommends
to the Board the underlying economic and demographic assumptions
that must be made. Under the law as in effect before the Independent
Agency legislation, a Social Security Advisory Council was established
every four years. One of the tasks of the various Advisory
Councils established over the years was to develop proposals for
changes in the Social Security program. The actuarial staff
at SSA was responsible for the preparation of cost estimates for
the Advisory Councils’ proposals. Quite often, the various
Advisory Councils that were established also appointed a technical
panel of outside experts, such as actuaries, economists, and demographers
to review and report on the appropriateness of the assumptions of
the Board of Trustees. The actuarial staff worked closely
with the various technical panels in their analyses of the assumptions,
methods of preparing the actuarial estimates, and the presentation
of the estimates.
Harry C.
Ballantyne has been Chief Actuary of SSA since 1982.
In this capacity, he is responsible for monitoring the financial
status of the Social Security system and estimating the effects
of proposals to modify the program. Prior to assuming his
present position, he was Deputy Chief Actuary for short-range estimates
from 1975 to 1982.
Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and
Congressional Affairs
After the Agency became independent in 1995, SSA’s legislative office
became much higher profile with direct contact with the Congress,
OMB, and the White House. The Office of Legislation and Congressional
Affairs (OLCA) reported directly to the Commissioner reflecting
the importance of legislative and congressional affairs to the Agency’s
work as a result of Independent Agency. OLCA successfully
advocated SSA’s legislative policy and positions on the Hill.
Commissioner Chater appointed Judy L.
Chesser as Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional
Affairs effective March 31, 1995. Ms. Chesser came to SSA
as the Associate Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional
Affairs in June 1994. Ms. Chesser has the lead in developing
SSA’s legislative agenda, which she presents to OMB and the Congress.
She advises senior SSA officials on their testimony for Congressional
hearings, and conducts liaison activities with Congressional members
and their staffs. The Office of Legislative Affairs maintains
offices in Washington and Baltimore.
Ms. Chesser
worked for 10 years as Director of New York City’s Washington office
before coming to SSA. In that capacity, she formulated legislative
strategy to advance the interests of New York City as they related
to Federal issues.
Deputy Commissioner for Systems
D. Dean
Mesterharm, a career employee, was selected as Deputy Commissioner
for Systems by Commissioner Chater in March 1996.
Mr. Mesterharm joined SSA in 1985 as the Director of Computer Processing
Operations. In 1987, hewas
selected to be the Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Systems.
He is credited for first alerting SSA to the Y2K problem as early
as 1989.
Deputy
Commissioner for Communications
After Independent Agency legislation became effective in March 1995,
SSA quickly assumed a more prominent profile in the Nation’s capital.
For example: media contacts became more frequent, officials
made more public appearances and testified more often before Congress,
and SSA employees began to participate more frequently in local
events and media opportunities about Social Security.
Commissioner Chater consolidated the Agency’s previously divided
communications functions into a single Office of Communications
in June 1996. This reorganization provided a foundation for
developing a comprehensive and cohesive communications plan at SSA.
Commissioner Chater elevated
the office to Deputy Commissioner level and selected Joan E. Wainwright
as Deputy Commissioner for Communications in June 1996. Ms.
Wainwright served in a variety of positions in the public relations
field before coming to SSA in 1994 as the Associate Commissioner
for Public Affairs.
Under Ms.
Wainwright’s leadership, the Agency worked diligently to
put an effective and accountable communication program in place.
SSA established the strengthening of public understanding as a principal
Agency goal, so that 90 percent of all Americans may be considered
knowledgeable about the Social Security program by 2005.
Deputy
Commissioner for Human Resources
Paul D. Barnes, a career
employee, has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources
since March 31, 1997. He is responsible for providing executive
leadership and direction for the Agency’s human resource programs
for its 65,000 employees.
These programs include personnel management, labor-management relations,
civil rights and equal opportunity, training, and workforce analysis.
Mr. Barnes has held a number of positions
since joining SSA in
1968, including Regional Commissioner in Chicago. He was the
Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Operations before assuming his
current position.
Deputy
Commissioner for Operations
Commissioner Apfel named Carolyn
W. Colvin as the Deputy Commissioner for Operations in April 1998.
She manages SSA’s workload operations components responsible for
the delivery of services to the public. Ms. Colvin directs
the activities of nearly 50,000 employees located in headquarters,
regional offices, field offices, teleservice centers and processing
centers.
Ms. Colvin
has been with SSA since August 1994, when she was appointed the
Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs. Before
assuming her current position, she was the Deputy Commissioner for
Programs and Policy. Prior to joining SSA, Ms. Colvin was
the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, the
fourth largest Agency in the state, with a $1 billion budget and
7,000 employees.
Deputy
Commissioner for Disability and Income Security
Susan M. Daniels was selected as Deputy Commissioner
for Disability and Income Security Programs, effective April 1998.
She is responsible for the direction and policy governing the OASDI
programs. She leads the program policy and management staff
at SSA headquarters, Office of Hearings and Appeals and a disability
determination process in 54 State agencies with an administrative
budget of more than $1 billion with over 11,000 employees.
Dr. Daniels joined the Agency in August 1994, as Associate Commissioner
for Disability.
Prior to coming to SSA, Dr. Daniels
was the Associate Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental
Disabilities in HHS.
Deputy
Commissioner for Finance, Assessment and Management
On May 5, 1998, Commissioner Apfel named Yvette
S. Jackson to the position of Deputy Commissioner for Finance,
Assessment and Management. Ms. Jackson is responsible
for overseeing all financial operations for the Nation’s largest
domestic program, which accounts for 25 percent of the non-defense
Federal budget. She provides executive leadership in administering
an annual operating budget of almost $7 billion, supporting
65,000 employees.
Prior to joining SSA, Ms. Jackson was the Administrator of the
Food and Nutrition Service in the Department of Agriculture
(USDA). As Administrator, she oversaw USDA’s 15 nutrition
assistance programs and managed an Agency budget of $40 billion
and a staff of 1,700. |
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Policy
Strengthening
the policy development and analysis mechanisms at SSA, through the
creation of a central policy-making component, was among the Agency’s
first priorities after becoming an Independent Agency. The
need for a stronger policy role was also articulated in the first
report of the recently created Social Security Advisory Board, Developing
Social Security Policy: How the Social Security Administration
Can Provide Greater Policy Leadership, released in March 1997.
In the report’s opening message, the Board called attention to the
fact that policy development was the first issue that they addressed
because of the primary importance they placed on it. One of
the report’s key findings was that Agency leadership had given insufficient
attention since the mid-1970s to policy issues, especially larger
policy issues. The report noted that frequent organizational
changes plagued the policy area and that policy responsibility within
the Agency was fragmented and lacked continuity.
The Board’s
key recommendations were that SSA provide greater policy leadership
and strengthen policy research. In particular, they recommended
that the Commissioner place a high priority on policy and research
with the head of the policy development organization reporting directly
to the Commissioner. In addition, the Board recommended that
SSA should (1) address the larger policy issues and undertake analyses
of the effectiveness of its programs, (2) strengthen SSA’s policy,
research, and evaluation capability through new staff and greater
interaction and coordination with research and policy people outside
SSA, (3) attend to the organizational structure, and (4) encourage
additional research by developing surveys and administrative data
for research, evaluation, and policy purposes, both inside and outside
the Agency.
Soon after his appointment, Commissioner Apfel stated
that one of the pressing challenges facing the Agency was improving
its policy-making process. To this end, the Commissioner selected
Dr. Jane L. Ross as Deputy Commissioner for Policy in April 1998.
The Office of Policy maintains offices in Washington and Baltimore.
Dr. Ross is a respected economist and
possesses a wealth of knowledge and leadership ability. She
was the Director for Income Security Issues, GAO, prior to joining
SSA as a Deputy Commissioner. Ms. Ross also served in SSA
before as Deputy Associate Commissioner for Policy and Director,
Office of Research and Statistics.
Dr. Ross holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s
Degree in Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations,
all from American University.
Social
Security Advisory Board
he Independent Agency legislation eliminated
the quadrennial Advisory Councils on Social Security that had been
provided under the old law. The advisory nature of the work
performed by the Advisory Councils became the province of the Social
Security Advisory Board (Board). The seven-member bipartisan
Board was created to advise the President, the Congress, and the
Commissioner of Social Security on matters relating to the Social
Security and SSI programs.
Advisory Board members are appointed
to six-year terms, made up as follows: Three appointed by
the President (no more than two from the same political party);
and two each (no more than one from the same political party) are
appointed by the Speaker of the House (in consultation with the
Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Ways and
Means) and by the President pro tempore of the Senate (in consultation
with the Chairman and Ranking Minority member of the Committee on
Finance). Presidential appointees are subject to Senate confirmation.
Board members serve staggered terms.
The statute provides that the initial members of the Board serve
terms that expire over the course of the first six-year period.
The President appoints the Chairman of the Board for a four-year
term, coinciding with the term of the President, or until the designation
of a successor.
Since the Board began meeting in the
spring of 1996, it has worked to address the broad mandate that
the law provides. The Board’s work has encompassed a number
of important issues, including long-range financing for Social Security;
changes in the disability programs; SSA’s policy development, research,
and program evaluation; the Agency’s quality of service to the public;
the SSI program; and public understanding of Social Security.
Harlan Mathews, a former United States
Senator from Tennessee (he replaced Al Gore in the Senate when Senator
Gore became Vice President in 1993) served as the first Chair of
the Board from January 1996 to September 1997. Senator Mathews
previously was Secretary of the Cabinet for Tennessee Governor,
Ned McWherter, and Tennessee’s State Treasurer. During his
13-year tenure as State Treasurer, he administered a state-wide
public employee pension program. Stanford G. Ross replaced
him in October 1997.
Mr. Ross was Commissioner of Social
Security during the Carter Administration.
He is an expert in Social Security and Federal taxation issues.
Mr. Ross is a Director, former President, and founding member of
the National Academy of Social Insurance, and serves as Chair of
its International Understanding Committee. In addition, he
served as a public trustee of the Social Security and Medicare trust
funds during the Bush and Clinton Administrations.
The six other members as of December 2000 were:
- Jo Anne Barnhart (House Appointee). Most recently, Ms.
Barnhart served as Political Director for the National Republican
Senatorial Committee. From 1990 to 1993, she served as Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families, HHS. Ms. Barnhart’s
term is from October 1998 to September 2004. She previously
served from March 1997 to September 1998.
- Martha Keys (House Appointee). Ms. Keys served as a Congresswoman
in the 94th and 95th Congresses, where she
served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittees
on Health and Public Assistance, and Unemployment Compensation.
Ms. Keys’ term is from October 1999 to September 2005. She
previously served from October 1994 to September 1999.
- David Podoff (Senate Appointee). Mr. Podoff is currently
Minority Staff Director and Chief Economist for the Senate Committee
on Finance. Prior to heading the Democratic Staff of the
Committee, he served as its Minority Chief Health and Social Security
Counselor and Chief Economist. Mr. Podoff’s term is from
October 2000 to September 2006.
- Sylvester J. Schieber (Senate Appointee). Mr. Schieber
is Director of the Research and Information center at Watson Wyatt
Worldwide. He specializes in analysis of public and private
retirement issues and the development of special surveys and data
files. Mr. Schieber’s term is from January 1998 to September
2003.
- Gerald M. Shea (Presidential Appointee). Mr. Shea serves
as Assistant to the President for Government Affairs at the AFL-CIO,
a position he has held since 1995. He served as a member
of the 1994–1996 Advisory Council on Social Security. Mr.
Shea’s term is from October 1998 to September 2004. He previously
served from January 1996 to September 1998.
- Mark A. Weinberger (Presidential Appointee). Mr. Weinberger
is the Director of the U.S. National Tax Department for Ernst
& Young LLP. Prior to this, he served as Chief of Staff
and Counsel to the President’s 1994 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement
and Tax Reform (the Kerrey-Danforth Commission). Mr. Weinberger’s
term is from October 2000 to September 2006.
Former members and their positions while
serving were:
- Harlan Mathews (Presidential Appointee), Chair. Senator
Mathews served from January 1996 to September 1997.
- William C. Brooks (Presidential Appointee), Vice President of
Corporate Relations, General Motors Corporation. Mr. Brooks
served from January 1996 to September 1996.
- Lori L. Hansen (Senate Appointee), Policy Analyst at the National
Academy of Social Insurance. Ms. Hansen served from October
1994 to September 2000.
- Arthur “Pete” Singleton (House Appointee), Consultant on Trade,
Health and Social Security legislation. Mr. Singleton served
from November 1994 to October 1996. He left the Board to
be the Majority Staff Director, House Ways and Means Committee.
- Carolyn L. Weaver (Senate Appointee), Director of Social Security
and Pension Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
She was a member of the 1994–1996 Advisory Council on Social Security.
Ms. Weaver served from October 1994 to September 1997.
Board
of Trustees
efore the
Independent Agency legislation, the Board of Trustees of the OASDI
trust funds consisted of five members: the Secretary of the
Treasury, who is the Managing Trustee; the Secretary of Labor; the
Secretary of Health and Human Services; and two public trustees
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The
Commissioner was the Secretary of the OASDI Board of Trustees.
Under the Independent Agency legislation, the membership of the
Board of Trustees was increased from five members to six members.
The Commissioner of Social Security, as provided for in the law,
was the new member of the OASDI Board of Trustees. The Commissioner
also became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital Insurance
(HI) Trust Fund and of the Board of Trustees of the Supplementary
Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund. Under the transition rules,
Commissioner Chater continued to serve as the Commissioner of the
newly Independent Agency. Thus, Commissioner Chater served
as a member of the Boards of Trustees when the 1995 and 1996 Trustees
Reports were issued. When the 1997 Trustees Reports were issued
in April 1997, John J. Callahan, then Acting Commissioner of Social
Security, served as a member of the Board of Trustees. Also
under the law, the Deputy Commissioner of Social Security became
the Secretary of the OASDI Board of Trustees. The Secretary
of the Boards of Trustees of the HI Trust Fund and the SMI Trust
Fund remained the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration.
- Mr. Ross was Commissioner of Social Security (1979-1980).
He currently serves as Chair of the Social Security Advisory Board.
He is an attorney at Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.
- Mr. Walker was a partner and worldwide managing director of
the compensation and benefits practice of Arthur Anderson LLP
based in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Walker currently serves as the
Comptroller of the United States.
- Stephen G. Kellison and Dr. Marilyn Moon were appointed by President
Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to serve four-year terms as
public trustees on July 20, 1995. They continued to serve
through the issuance of the annual report for 2000.
- Mr. Kellison is Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary of American
General Retirement Services of Houston, TX.
- Dr. Moon is a Senior Fellow with the Health Policy Center of
the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.
- Dr. John L. Palmer and Dr. Thomas R. Saving were appointed by
President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to serve four-year
terms as public trustees beginning on October 28, 2000.
- Dr. Palmer is Dean and Professor of Economics and Public Administration
of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse
University.
- Dr. Saving is Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center
and Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University.
FOOTNOTES
Non-Career SSA Appointees
Senior Executive Service (SES)
NAME
|
POSITION
|
BEGINNING/ENDING DATE WITH SSA
|
|
COMMISSIONERS
|
|
Kenneth
S. Apfel
|
Commissioner
of Social Security
|
09/97
– Present
|
John
J. Callahan, Ph.D.
|
Acting
Commissioner of Social Security
|
03/97
– 09/97
|
Shirley
S. Chater
|
Commissioner
of Social Security
|
10/93
– 02/97
|
|
DEPUTY
COMMISSIONERS
|
|
William
A. Halter
|
Deputy
Commissioner of Social Security
|
11/99
– Present
|
Jane
G. Gould
|
Deputy
Commissioner (Nominee)
|
Withdrew
|
Linda
Colvin Rhodes
|
Deputy
Commissioner (Nominee)
|
Withdrew
|
|
INSPECTOR
GENERALS
|
|
James
G. Huse
|
Inspector
General
|
11/99
– Present
|
David
C. Williams
|
Inspector
General
|
12/95
– 06/98
|
Senior
Executive Service (SES)
NAME
|
POSITION
|
BEGINNING/ENDING DATE WITH SSA
|
Brian
Coyne
|
Chief
of Staff
|
09/94
– Present
|
Arthur
J. Fried
|
General
Counsel
|
04/95
– 08/00
|
Judy
L. Chesser
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional Affairs
|
06/94
– Present
|
Carolyn
W. Colvin
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Operations
|
08/94
– Present
|
Susan
M. Daniels
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs
|
08/94
– 12/00
|
Yvette
S. Jackson
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Finance, Assessment and Management and
Chief Financial Officer
|
05/98
– Present
|
Jane
L. Ross
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Policy
|
04/98
– Present
|
Joan
E. Wainwright
|
Deputy
Commissioner for Communications
|
12/94
– 05/00
|
James
Terry Edmonds
|
Associate
Commissioner for External Affairs
|
12/97
– 08/99
|
Barbara
B. Kennelly
|
Associate
Commissioner for Retirement Policy
|
2/99
– 7/00
|
Eduard
A. Lopez
|
Special
Counselor to the Commissioner
|
04/95
– Present
|
Lisa
M. Mallory
|
Counselor
to the Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security
|
08/99
– Present
|
James
Roosevelt Jr.
|
Associate
Commissioner for Retirement Policy
|
09/98
– 11/99
|
Cassandra
F. Wilkins
|
Senior
Advisor to the Commissioner
|
04/94
– Present
|
|