Andrew Saul Tapped For SSA Commissioner Position

President Donald Trump has tapped Andrew Saul to become the Social Security Administration’s commissioner, who has said he will look at the five-year IT modernization plan and look back at its increasing disability backlog.

Saul said, if confirmed, he’d use his time as the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board chairman, to make decisions with the SSA.  He said the time on the board, which controls the Thrift Savings Plan, is something he is quite proud of.

Saul said when he became chairman, the board systems were in terrible shape, but he was able to modernize them and the technology and restructure personnel and executive staff.

It’s been five years since a permanent commissioner has been in control over the SSA; the longest vacancy for a major agency.

According to Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee said the SSA commissioner job is one of the federal government’s most important roles. He said a confirmed leader helps to create and carry out the long-term vision of how to make the program better.

Wyden said acting directors are unable to hire qualified individuals to Senior Executive Service positions such as IT security.  He said the country deserves the best, and the barrier must be overcome finally.

Orrin Hatch, the committee chairman, said the agency must have permanent leadership to ensure IT modernization stays on budget and current. He said there was a time when the SSA was wasting millions and millions of dollars on failed projects. He said the Obama administration tried various approaches but the problems continue this day and still not success has been seen.

For example, the SSA tried implementing the Disability Case Processing System, which failed after the first attempt and the agency spent over $350 million.  A second launch of the system saw greater success, however.

Saul said he wants to focus on the SSA’s IT issues, overhauling it like he did the IT sector of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. He said the system he had inherited was failing and non-functional. There were huge lawsuits and more than $100 million in losses in the failed system.

Saul said will look at the current five-year IT modernization plan to ensure it’s on the right track.

His other pressing issue is the backlog of disability claims. There are over one million people who are stuck in a backlog and have to wait a year or more for a hearing.

Saul said the other commissioners attempted to address the issue but it still has yet to be fixed, and one way to find out what is causing the issue is to go to field offices.  He said personal contact in the various field offices around the nation would help to understand what the problems are. Saul did not say if he would close any field offices before finding out what the issue is causing the backlog.

Saul said he wouldn’t make any decisions about field offices until he stepped foot in them himself and saw what the issue was.  He said nothing is done without his approving it.

Saul said if he was confirmed as the SSA commissioner that he would manage the agency to deliver beneficiaries their service.