Social Security Administration Refuses to Budge

Five people I have spoken to in the last two days, including a House member who sits on the SSA appropriations committee, who are all intimately involved with trying to persuade the Social Security Administration to delay it’s “routine maintenance” have all gotten different explanations. From the “this is just our regular time for doing maintenance and it isn’t partisan”, to “it’s the only three day weekend in the fall when our folks are available to do it”, to the most draconian, “if we don’t do it the entire system will crash”.  But don’t take it from me, feel free to email the Congressional liaison at SSA, kenneth.a.mannella AT ssa DOT gov and ask him yourself!

SSA has just posted a <a href=”http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/NCCShutdown2008.htm”>press release</a> on this situation.  My favorite line is this:

“Delaying the shutdown into 2009 would pose a small, but not insignificant, risk of a major interruption of service…”

A few problems here.  No one that I”m aware of it asking them to postpone the maintenance until 2009 — just three weeks beyond the original date.  And it’s it’s such a small risk, well, then what’s the problem with waiting a few more days — you’ve already waited all year to do it.

This gumming up of the process is exacerbated by the increase in early voting.  Twenty-three states have early voting starting very soon, 14-18 days before the election.  Most states also now have no-fault absentee or mail-in voting that is starting very soon as well – at least the application process for absentee ballots has started in many states.  All of these processes will be slowed for some voters because of the delay at SSA as well.

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