.
Social Security Administration (SSA):
Budget Issues
Scott Szymendera
Analyst in Disability Policy
March 23, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41716
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
c11173008
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Summary
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Old Age and Survivors Insurance
(OASI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and
Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans programs that affect the lives of nearly every
American family. These programs pay out over $800 billion in annual federal benefits. Program
benefit costs are considered mandatory spending not subject to annual appropriations.
The SSA requires annual discretionary appropriations to administer these programs and to
provide support to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The President’s FY2012 budget request
for SSA administrative expenses, referred to as the limitation on administrative expenses (LAE)
account, is $12.6 billion.
This report provides an overview of the SSA’s mandatory spending but largely focuses on
discretionary appropriations for the agency’s administrative expenses. The size of the annual
appropriations for administrative expenses affects the agency’s ability to effectively administer
the SSA’s benefit programs as well as conduct program integrity activities designed to ensure that
only eligible persons receive federal benefits.
The agency has made progress in recent years in reducing the backlog of pending disability cases
and reversing the trend in declining program integrity activities. However, the SSA rarely
receives administrative funding equal to the President’s request or its own independent budget
request, and this trend is likely to continue given the status of funding, via a series of continuing
resolutions for FY2011. Extended continuing resolutions and LAE appropriations that are below
the President’s budget request may make it difficult for the SSA to build on this progress.
Congressional Research Service
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Contents
Social Security Administration Programs .................................................................................... 1
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance.......................................................................................... 1
Social Security Disability Insurance ...................................................................................... 2
Supplemental Security Income .............................................................................................. 2
Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans................................................................ 3
Social Security Administration Budget Request ........................................................................... 3
President’s Budget Request ................................................................................................... 3
A. Payments to the Social Security Trust Funds............................................................... 3
Payments not Subject to Annual Appropriations ........................................................ 3
Payments Subject to Annual Appropriations .............................................................. 4
B. SSI Program ............................................................................................................... 5
Administrative and Other Expenses........................................................................... 5
C. Office of the Inspector General ................................................................................... 6
D. Limitation on Administrative Expenses....................................................................... 6
Processing Social Security and SSI Claims and Hearings .......................................... 7
Program Integrity Activities ...................................................................................... 9
User Fees ................................................................................................................ 10
Research and Demonstrations.................................................................................. 11
Carryover................................................................................................................ 11
SSA Commissioner’s Budget .............................................................................................. 11
Figures
Figure 1. Projected Spending on SSA Programs .......................................................................... 4
Figure 2. SSA Total LAE Budget Authority ................................................................................. 7
Figure 3. New Claims for Social Security and SSI Benefits ......................................................... 8
Figure 4. SSA Hearings Pending at the End of Each Fiscal Year .................................................. 9
Figure 5. SSA Program Integrity Activities................................................................................ 10
Figure 6. SSA Administrative Budget Requests and Appropriations........................................... 12
Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 13
Congressional Research Service
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Social Security Administration Programs
The programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) touch the lives of nearly
every American family and are key components of the nation’s economic safety net for the aged
and disabled. In FY2012, the SSA projects total spending of $818 billion on program benefits and
administrative costs, with the majority of this spending for benefits and administration of the Old-
Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) program. The SSA also administers the Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs and provides
Special Benefits to Certain World War II Veterans.
The President’s budget request for total administrative expenses for the SSA for FY2012 is $12.6
billion. The total appropriation for SSA administrative expenses in FY2010 was $11.5 billion, and
this is the amount currently available for FY2011 under the continuing resolution funding the
SSA in lieu of an appropriations act.
Spending on benefit payments for the SSA’s programs is considered mandatory spending.
Spending for the cost of administering these programs, as well as providing for other
administrative responsibilities of the SSA is considered discretionary spending.1
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)
FY2012 OASI Projections2
program is the largest program administered
Average monthly beneficiaries: 45.4 million
by the SSA. OASI provides cash benefits to
Benefit outlays: $620.6 billion
insured workers upon retirement and to their
spouses, dependents, and survivors. Workers
Administrative and other costs: $7.9 billion3
are insured for OASI by working at jobs
Total program spending: $628.6 billion
covered by the Social Security system and
paying payroll taxes that finance benefits. OASI benefits and administrative costs are paid out of
the federal OASI trust fund.
1 For additional information on mandatory and discretionary spending in the federal budget see CRS Report RL33074,
Mandatory Spending Since 1962, by D. Andrew Austin and Mindy R. Levit and CRS Report RL34424, Trends in
Discretionary Spending, by D. Andrew Austin and Mindy R. Levit.
2 Social Security Administration, FY2012 President’s Budget: Key Tables, February 2011, Tables 3-4,
http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2012KeyTables.pdf; hereafter cited as SSA, FY2012 Key Tables.
3 Includes administrative expenses, payments to vocational rehabilitation and Ticket to Work providers, demonstration
projects, payments to the Railroad Retirement Board, and the quinquennial adjustment for military wage credits
appropriated in FY2002 and FY2008.
Congressional Research Service
1
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Social Security Disability Insurance
The Social Security Disability Insurance
FY2012 SSDI Projections4
(SSDI) program pays cash benefits to insured
Average monthly beneficiaries: 10.8 million
workers unable to work because of significant
Benefit outlays: $134.5 billion
long-term disabilities.6 The spouses,
dependents, and survivors of disabled workers
Administrative and other costs: $3.9 billion5
are also eligible for benefits. SSDI benefits
Total program spending: $138.3 billion
continue until the disabled worker dies,
returns to work, or reaches full retirement age, at which point he or she transitions to the OASI
program. SSDI benefits and administrative costs are paid out of the federal Disability Insurance
(DI) trust fund.
Supplemental Security Income
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
FY2012 SSI Projections7
program pays cash benefits to low-income
Average monthly federal recipients: 8.1 million
aged, blind, and disabled persons, regardless
Benefit outlays: $47.6 billion
of their Social Security insured status.10
Disabled children are eligible for SSI. To be
Administrative and other costs: $3.9 billion8
eligible for SSI, a person must have limited
Total program spending (net state fees): $51.2 billion9
income and assets. SSI benefits are reduced by
other countable income meaning that SSI is often a program of last resort for low-income aged,
blind, and disabled persons. SSI benefits and administrative costs are paid out of general revenue.
4 SSA, FY2012 Key Tables, Tables 3-4.
5 Includes administrative expenses, payments to vocational rehabilitation and Ticket to Work providers, demonstration
projects, payments to the Railroad Retirement Board, and the quinquennial adjustment for military wage credits
appropriated in FY2002 and FY2008.
6 For additional information on the SSDI program see CRS Report RL32279, Primer on Disability Benefits: Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), by Umar Moulta-Ali.
7 SSA, FY2012 Key Tables, Tables 6-7.
8 Includes administrative expenses, payments to vocational rehabilitation and Ticket to Work providers, and research
expenses.
9 Total projected SSI program spending does not include the fees paid by ten states and the District of Columbia to the
SSA to administer their state SSI supplement programs.
10 For additional information on the SSI program see CRS Report RL32279, Primer on Disability Benefits: Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Congressional Research Service
2
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans
The SSA pays Special Benefits to Certain
FY2012 Special Benefits for Certain
World War II Veterans to low-income World
WWII Veterans Projections11
War II veterans who are living outside of the
Average monthly beneficiaries: 1,000
United States.13 Established in 1999, this
Benefit outlays: $8 million
program is designed to provide a minimum
cash benefit to two groups: low-income
Administrative and other costs: $1 million12
American veterans; and low-income veterans
Total program spending: $9 million
of the Filipino armed forces that fought
alongside the American military during World War II. Beneficiaries must currently live outside of
the United States, and usually live in the Philippines. The cost of these benefits and their related
administrative costs are paid out of general revenue.
Social Security Administration Budget Request
President’s Budget Request
The President’s budget request to Congress for the SSA currently consists of four accounts:
payments to the Social Security trust funds, the SSI program, the Office of the Inspector General
(OIG), and limitation on administrative expenses (LAE).
A. Payments to the Social Security Trust Funds
This account is designed to reimburse the OASI and DI trust funds for the costs of certain
activities payable by general revenue. This account consists of payments permanently and
indefinitely authorized and thus not subject to annual appropriations, and payments subject to
annual appropriations.
Payments not Subject to Annual Appropriations
For FY2012, the President’s budget projects $55 billion in payments not subject to annual
appropriations.14 Of this amount, $30.6 billion is the projected reimbursement to the OASI and DI
trust funds from general revenue to account for the reduction in the Social Security payroll tax
rate from 6.2% to 4.2% in calendar year 2011.15 In addition, $24.3 billion is from the taxation of
11 SSA, FY2012 Key Tables, Table 8.
12 Includes program administrative costs only.
13 For additional information on Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans see CRS Report RL33876,
Overview of Filipino Veterans’ Benefits, by Christine Scott, Sidath Viranga Panangala, and Carol D. Davis.
14 Social Security Administration, Justifications of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Fiscal Year 2012,
February 2011, p. 11, http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2012FullJustification.pdf; hereafter cited as SSA, FY2012 Budget
Justification.
15 Title VI, Section 601 of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010,
P.L. 111-312, reduced the Social Security payroll tax rate paid by employees in calendar year 2011 from 6.2% to 4.2%
and required the OASI and DI trust funds to be reimbursed for revenue lost from general revenue. Because calendar
year 2011 covers parts of both FY2011 and FY2012, an estimated $79.4 billion in these reimbursement payments will
(continued...)
Congressional Research Service
3
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Social Security benefits. The remaining amounts are from reimbursement for union
administrative expenses, Social Security payroll tax credits, and payments related to changes in
the reporting of self-employment income.16
Figure 1. Projected Spending on SSA Programs
FY2012
Source: Social Security Administration, FY2012 President’s Budget: Key Tables, February 2011, Table 3,
http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2012KeyTables.pdf.
Notes: OASI: Old-Age and Survivors Insurance; SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance; SSI: Supplemental
Security Income; WWII Vets: Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans. Special Benefits for Certain
World II Veterans make-up significantly less than 1% of projected SSA program spending.
Payments Subject to Annual Appropriations
For FY2012, the President’s budget requests $20.4 million in payments to the Social Security
trust funds subject to annual appropriations. Of this request, $14.0 million is for interest earned on
benefit checks that remain uncashed for at least six months and $6.4 million is for administrative
costs related to the 1974 pension reform legislation.17 An additional $4,000 is requested for the
costs related to the one remaining person receiving a special payment for certain uninsured
(...continued)
be made in FY2011.
16 The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-426, made changes to the reporting of self-employment
income. Section 15361 of this act is a mandatory appropriation to reimburse the OASI and DI trust funds for revenue
lost of because of these changes in FY 2009 through FY2017. The appropriation for FY2012 is $7 million.
17 Section 1131 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320b-1) as established by the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, P.L. 93-406, requires the SSA to furnish certain information on deferred vested pension rights to
pension plan participants and their dependents and survivors. The costs of this activity is initially paid from the OASI
trust fund and reimbursed from general revenue through an annual appropriation.
Congressional Research Service
4
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
persons (known as a Prouty benefit) subject to reimbursement.18 The President’s budget does not
request an appropriation for the two remaining activities subject to annual appropriation:
administrative costs associated with coal industry retiree health benefits and reimbursement for
pre-1957 military wage credits.19
B. SSI Program
The costs of SSI benefits and administration of the SSI program are paid out of general revenue
and appropriated to the SSA in this account. This account contains three components. First, there
is an appropriation for benefit and administration costs for the given fiscal year. This component
is described in additional detail below. Second, there is a mandatory appropriation of “such sums
as may be necessary” for any benefit costs incurred after June 15 and any unanticipated costs
associated with the SSI program. Third, there is an advance appropriation for benefit costs for the
first quarter of the succeeding fiscal year. Funds appropriated for the SSI program remain
available to the SSA until expended. The President’s FY2012 budget requests $38.1 billion for
current fiscal year program costs and $18.2 billion for SSI benefits in the first quarter of
FY2013.20 Total federal benefit payments in FY2012 are estimated to cost $47.6 billion, with
$13.4 billion coming from the FY2011 advance appropriation.21
Administrative and Other Expenses
In addition to providing for the cost of SSI benefits, the appropriation for the SSI program also
provides for administrative expenses relating to the SSI program, beneficiary services, and costs
related to research and demonstration projects. The FY2012 President’s budget request for these
administrative and other expenses is $3.9 billion.
Administrative expenses for the SSI program are initially paid from the OASI and DI trust funds
and are appropriated to the LAE account. The appropriation to the SSI program account for
administrative expenses is used to reimburse the trust funds from general revenue for these costs.
Administrative expenses for the SSI program include costs related to initial disability
determinations, disability hearings and appeals, and program integrity activities. The President’s
FY2012 budget request for SSI administrative expenses is $3.8 billion.
The SSI program appropriation also funds nearly $100 million in beneficiary services, research,
and Medicare outreach. Beneficiary services includes payments to state vocational rehabilitation
agencies and Ticket to Work employment networks for services provided to SSI recipients. The
FY2012 President’s budget requests $47 million for beneficiary services. The President’s FY2012
18 Section 228 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 428), as established by the Tax Adjustment Act of 1966, P.L. 89-
368, authorizes special benefits to persons aged 72 and over who, because of their ages, could not have worked long
enough to qualify for Social Security benefits. Benefit and administrative costs for persons who reached the age of 72
before 1968 are paid by the OASI trust fund and reimbursed from general revenue through appropriation. There is
currently one such recipient.
19 The SSA has determined that appropriations are not needed in FY2012 for these activities. Cost associated with coal
industry retiree health benefits will be paid from unobligated prior appropriations and pre-1957 military wage credits
will be financed from scheduled transfers from the trust funds not subject to appropriation.
20 SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, pp. 27-28.
21 Because no full-year appropriation for the SSA for FY2011 has been enacted, this estimate is based on the amount of
first-quarter FY2012 funds requested by the President in his FY2011 budget.
Congressional Research Service
5
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
budget request for Title XVI research and demonstration projects and Medicare outreach is $38
million.22
C. Office of the Inspector General
The SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigates fraud, waste, and abuse within
programs administered by the SSA and audits such programs to determine their effectiveness and
efficiency. The OIG also investigates improper receipt of federal benefits; certain crimes
committed by SSA employees, contractors, and program beneficiaries; and supports larger
government-wide homeland security efforts. The President’s FY2012 budget request for the OIG
is $107.1 million, of which $30 million is from general revenue and $77.1 million is from the
OASI and DI trust funds as authorized by Section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act for costs
associated with the OASI and DI programs.23
D. Limitation on Administrative Expenses
The appropriation for the limitation on administrative expenses (LAE) account funds the SSA’s
administrative costs associated with the OASI, SSDI, and SSI programs as well as costs incurred
by the SSA to support the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This account also funds
administrative functions such as the operations of SSA field offices, employment verification,
agency information technology activities, and the Social Security Advisory Board.
The LAE account is discretionary and subject to annual appropriation. The funds that make up
this account come from the OASI and DI trust funds, the Medicare trust funds, general revenue,
and certain fees collected by the SSA, with funds from the Social Security trust funds making-up
half of the LAE budget authority. Thus, unlike a traditional appropriation in which Congress
provides money from the Treasury to an agency, the LAE appropriation is actually a limitation on
the amount of money from these various sources that the SSA can spend on its administrative
activities. Figure 2 provides the breakdown of budget authority for the LAE account in the
President’s FY2012 budget request.
The FY2012 President’s budget request for SSA’s LAE account is $12.5 billion. This total
appropriation consists of the base LAE appropriation, additional appropriations for program
integrity activities, and appropriations for LAE activities from user fees paid to the SSA. The
base LAE appropriation is the general appropriation for the SSA’s administrative expenses. The
President’s FY2012 budget request for the base LAE account is $11.7 billion.
22 Sections 1110 and 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 1310 and 1315) authorize the SSA to conduct
research and demonstration projects relating to the SSI and Medicaid programs. Section 1144 of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. § 1320b-14) requires the SSA to conduct certain outreach activities on behalf of the Medicare program
including identifying Medicare beneficiaries who may be eligible for Medicaid or prescription drug subsidies under
Medicare Part D.
23 42 U.S.C. § 401(g).
Congressional Research Service
6
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Figure 2. SSA Total LAE Budget Authority
FY2012 President’s Budget Request
Source: Social Security Administration, Justifications of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Fiscal Year 2012,
February 2011, p. 88, http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2012FullJustification.pdf.
Notes: “OASI and DI Trust Funds” includes administrative costs for Special Benefits for Certain World War II
Veterans.
Processing Social Security and SSI Claims and Hearings
The amount of the LAE appropriation affects the SSA’s ability to process initial claims for OASI
and SSDI benefits and applications to the SSI program. Applications for all three programs have
been steadily increasing. As shown in Figure 3, there have been significant increases in new
claims for SSDI and SSI benefits since FY2008, likely caused by worsening overall economic
conditions and rising levels of unemployment.24 Because the administrative costs associated with
disability claims are higher than those associated with OASI claims, the increase in SSDI and SSI
claims will place an increased burden on the administrative resources of the SSA.25
24 For a more complete discussion on the economic and other factors that affect the growth in disability applications see
Kalman Rupp and David Stapleton, “Determinants of the Growth in the Social Security Administration’s Disability
Programs-An Overview,” Social Security Bulletin, vol. 58, no. 4 (Winter 1995), pp. 43-70; and David H. Autor and
Mark G. Duggan, “The Rise in the Disability Rolls and the Decline in Unemployment,” Quarterly Journal of
Economics, vol. 18, no. 1 (February 2003), pp. 157-205.
25 SSA, FY2012 Key Tables, Table 9. Administrative expenses equal 2.4% of SSDI and 8.0% of SSI benefits, but only
0.5% of OASI benefits.
Congressional Research Service
7
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Figure 3. New Claims for Social Security and SSI Benefits
FY1999 to FY2009
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) with data from Social Security Administration, Annual Statistical
Supplement to the Social Security Bul etin, 2000 Washington, DC, February 2001, Section 2.F, and subsequent
editions.
Approximately 65% of all new claims for SSDI and SSI benefits are initially denied and more
than one-third of denied claimants request an appeals hearing before an SSA administrative law
judge (ALJ).26 For much of the past decade until FY2008, the SSA had seen an increase in the
number of pending hearings. Starting in FY2008, however, the number of hearings pending at the
end of each fiscal year began to drop. At the end of FY2010, there were 705,367 hearings
pending, and the average processing time for hearing requests was down to 390 days from a peak
of 532 days in August 2008.27 In recent years, the SSA has hired additional ALJs and support staff
and made other administrative changes that have reduced the number of pending hearings,
reduced the processing time for hearings, and eliminated nearly all cases with hearing requests
that have been pending for more than 825 days.28 The SSA reports that it is on track to “eliminate
the hearings backlog” by reducing the backlog of hearings to below 500,000 by FY2013.29
However, extended continuing resolutions that largely fund the agency at previous year levels,
LAE appropriations that are below the President’s budget request, and rescissions like those
passed by the House of Representatives in H.R. 1 may make this goal difficult to attain.
26 SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, p. 103.
27 Social Security Administration, Performance and Accountability Report, Fiscal Year 2010, November 2010, pp. 50-
51, http://www.ssa.gov/finance/2010/Full%20FY%202010%20PAR.pdf; hereafter cited as SSA, FY2012 Performance
Report; and SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, p. 12.
28 SSA, FY2012 Performance Report, pp. 51-52.
29 SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, pp. 12-13.
Congressional Research Service
8
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Figure 4. SSA Hearings Pending at the End of Each Fiscal Year
FY1999 to FY2010
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) with data from Social Security Administration, Annual Statistical
Supplement to the Social Security Bul etin, 2000 Washington, DC, February 2001, Section 2.F, and subsequent
editions; and SSA, FY2012 Performance Report, pp. 50-51.
Notes: Includes hearings for al programs administered by the SSA.
Program Integrity Activities
Within the base LAE, funds may be directed to specific activities. For example, in the FY2012
request, $2.2 million is for the Social Security Advisory Board, $1.9 million is for strengthening
the agency’s acquisitions workforce, and $315 million is for costs associated with conducting
continuing disability reviews (CDRs) and SSI redeterminations. CDRs are periodic reviews of
SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients to determine if they still meet the statutory definition of
disability. In the majority of cases, a CDR mailer that does not involve a medical review is used
instead of a full medical CDR. SSI redeterminations are used to determine if SSI recipients
continue to fall below the program’s income and asset limits.
In addition to the base LAE appropriation, the FY2012 President’s budget requests $623 million
for additional CDRs and SSI redeterminations. This request is for funding above the discretionary
spending caps set by Congress pursuant to Section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.30
30 P.L. 93-344. For additional information on the Section 302 spending caps see CRS Report R41521, Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education: FY2011 Appropriations, coordinated by Pamela W. Smith, p. 6.
Congressional Research Service
9
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
The SSA estimates that every $1 spent on CDRs saves $10 in lifetime program costs. In addition,
the agency estimates that every $1 spent on SSI redeterminations saves $7 in program costs over
ten years, including savings to the Medicaid program.31 However, because LAE appropriations
are made annually and their costs are applied to each fiscal year’s annual budget, the long-term
savings from these program integrity activities does not fully offset their costs in the fiscal year of
the appropriation. As a result, the SSA has not traditionally been able to secure enough funding
each year to gain the maximum potential program savings from CDRs and SSI redeterminations.
However, as shown in Figure 5, since FY2007, the number of medical CDRs, total CDRs, and
SSI redeterminations has generally increased, reducing an overall downward trend in CDRs and
redeterminations that lasted for much of the period since the early 2000s.
Figure 5. SSA Program Integrity Activities
FY1999 to FY2010
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) with data from Social Security Administration, Performance and
Accountability Report, Fiscal Year 1999, November 1999, and subsequent editions.
Note: “All CDRs” include both full medical CDRs and CDR mailers that do not include a medical review.
User Fees
The FY2012 President’s budget request includes $164 million in LAE appropriations from two
user fees collected by the SSA with $163 million from fees collected from states for the
administration of their SSI supplement programs. An additional $1 million is requested from fees
paid by non-attorney representatives for certification to represent claimants before the SSA.
31 SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, pp. 20-21.
Congressional Research Service
10
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Research and Demonstrations
The FY2012 President’s budget request also includes $38 million for Title II research and
demonstration projects. While this request is not part of the formal requested LAE language, it is
a component of the SSA’s total administrative funding request. The FY2012 President’s budget
request includes a legislative proposal to reinstate, for five years, the SSA’s authority to conduct
demonstration projects under Title II of the Social Security Act.32
Carryover
The annual LAE appropriations language enacted by Congress permits the SSA to carryover
unobligated administrative funds to be used in future fiscal years for information technology
activities. A portion of these unobligated funds are transferred into the agency’s no-year ITS
account. The SSA currently estimates that it has $480 million in no-year ITS funding available for
FY2011 and an additional $195 million available for transfer into the no-year ITS account.33 The
sixth continuing resolution for FY2011 rescinded $200 million from the SSA no-year ITS
account.34
SSA Commissioner’s Budget
The Social Security Administration became an independent federal agency in March 1995 after
enactment of the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994.35
Section 104(a) of this legislation granted the SSA Commissioner the authority to submit to the
Congress, without revision, a budget request.36 This budget request is independent of the
President’s budget request for the agency and generally includes a request for total administrative
funding and a request for funding for the OIG. The Commissioner’s budget is included in the
section on the SSA in the appendix to the President’s budget. The FY2012 Commissioner’s
budget for administrative funding for the SSA is $12.9 billion with an additional $110 million for
the OIG.37
The FY2012 Commissioner’s budget is larger than the President’s FY2012 budget request. As
shown in Figure 6, for each year since the SSA became an independent agency, the
Commissioner’s budget has exceeded the President’s request. In all but two of these fiscal years,
FY1997 and FY2009, the final appropriation from Congress, taking into account any rescissions,
has been less than the Commissioner’s budget and only in FY1997, FY2008, and FY2009 has the
final congressional appropriation exceeded the President’s request. Given that the SSA is
32 Section 234 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 434) granted the SSA the authority to conduct demonstration
projects on programs under Title II of the act. This authority terminated on December 18, 1995. The SSA has
permanent authority to conduct demonstration projects on the SSI program pursuant to Section 1110(b) of the act (42
U.S.C. § 1310(b)).
33 SSA, FY2012 Budget Justification, p. 99.
34 P.L. 112-6.
35 P.L. 103-296.
36 Section 704(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 904(b)).
37 Office of Management and Budget, Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012,
Washington, DC, February 14, 2011, p. 83, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2012-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2012-
APP.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
11
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
currently funded for FY2011 through a short-term continuing resolution and the full-year
continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives includes rescissions that will
effectively reduce the amount of administrative funding available to the agency, it is unlikely that
total funding for FY2011 will exceed either the Commissioner’s budget or the President’s
request.38
Figure 6. SSA Administrative Budget Requests and Appropriations
FY1997 to FY2012
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) using data from each fiscal year’s President’s budget and
appropriations for the SSA.
Notes: Excludes funding for the OIG. “President’s Request” includes LAE, funding for research and
demonstrations and for FY2000 a $100 million requested transfer of automation investment funds to base
operations. “Final Appropriation” includes al rescissions but does not include any supplemental appropriations.
The SSA became an independent agency in 1995 and first submitted a Commissioner’s budget for FY1997.
38 Funding for the SSA and all other federal agencies for FY2011 is currently provided by a short-term continuing
resolution, P.L. 112-6 which expires on April 8, 2011. Section 288 of P.L. 112-6 rescinded $200 million from the
SSA’s no-year ITS account. On February 19, 2011 the House of Representatives passed a full-year continuing
resolution, H.R. 1, that would rescind $500 million from the no-year ITS account and any unobligated funds originally
provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, P.L. 111-5. The Senate failed to pass H.R. 1 on March 9,
2011.
Congressional Research Service
12
.
Social Security Administration (SSA): Budget Issues
Author Contact Information
Scott Szymendera
Analyst in Disability Policy
sszymendera@crs.loc.gov, 7-0014
Congressional Research Service
13