Disability insurance: Not working The Economist, January 23, 2015 For years, Doug, who lives in Binghamton, New York, suffered from bipolar disorder. In 2003 he enrolled in the federal disability insurance (DI) programme. With his illness now properly treated, he has been looking for work since 2013, without much luck. Because he worked full-time in a shop a decade ago, he would lose his disability benefits if he returned to full-time work now. He worries that he couldn’t handle it, and would en... Read more

Congress last year unanimously closed a loophole that allowed surviving Nazi war criminals to claim Social Security benefits, but that’s where the entitlement reform consensus ends. Now the political left is melting down over a modest budget change that could require Congress to be honest about the Social Security disability program’s fiscal problems and employment distortions. Republicans are “inventing a Social Security crisis that will threaten benefits for millions and put our most vulnerab... Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. attorney’s office in Puerto Rico announced additional indictments based on work begun over five years ago to bring fraudsters to justice. Upon hearing this news, Subcommittee on Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) stated: “Today’s arrests in Puerto Rico are yet further proof that the disability program is plagued by widespread fraud. While it is critical that those who committed fraud are held accountable, the bottom line is that success is not discovering m... Read more

Washington, DC – Today, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) highlighted a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report detailing how the Social Security Administration's (SSA) $200 billion disability benefits programs are at risk for physician-assisted fraud. The GAO found that SSA’s current anti-fraud efforts are hindered by inadequate employee training and disincentives for employee... Read more

Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act, with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. Introduced by Ways and Means Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA), H.R. 5739 would stop Social Security benefits to Nazis. In introducing the bill on the House floor, Chairman Johnson said, “For many years, a loophole has allowed Nazis to get Social Security benefits. While the number of ... Read more

Washington, DC – In a report released last week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that several judges have wrongly awarded billions of dollars in Social Security Disability Insurance benefit payments. In response to the report, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) issued the following statement. “As we know through multiple Ways and Means Subcommittee hearings – and through a previous OIG report linking jud... Read more

Washington, DC – Today, a bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers introduced legislation to terminate Social Security benefits for Nazi persecutors who receive them because of a loophole in current law. In the House, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX), Subcommittee Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and 34 additional House members introduced H.R. 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act. In the Senate, Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-... Read more

Washington, DC – Last week, Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General (IG) Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr., released a further response to the June 2014 letter sent by Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX), requesting a full and immediate investigation into the SSA’s mismanagement and failed implementation of the $300 million Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). This response follows a September 2014 Interim Report provided to Chairman Johnson, b... Read more

Washington, DC – Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA) announced today that they are working together on legislation to stop all payment of Social Security benefits to Nazis and others who actively assisted in Nazi crimes. “Like all Americans, I was stunned to learn that those responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents have received millions in Social Security benefits due to a loophole in the law. By leaving ... Read more

Washington, DC – Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) called on the Acting Commissioner of Social Security to adopt the recommendations of the special report released today by the Social Security Administration Office Inspector General (SSA OIG) on Social Security’s failure to prevent recent disability fraud scandals. “The Inspector General’s report confirms what I have always known – that Social Security has failed to make fighting fraud a top priority,” Johns... Read more