President Donald Trump’s federal hiring freeze may exacerbate abacklog of appeals for Social Security DisabilityInsurance that has grown so big that an average case takesmore than a year to be heard.

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“These are people who are desperate,” Judge Marilyn Zahm,president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges union,said. “There may be a hiring freeze on federal employment, butthere’s no freeze on people getting older, people getting sicker,people having injuries and accidents, and people needing disabilityinsurance.”

Zahm is among around 1,650 judges tasked with considering claimsfrom Americans whose initial requests for Social SecurityDisability Insurance benefits have been denied by stateagencies.

As of May 2016, the average wait for an appeal to get processedwas 526 days, according to the Social Security Administration’sinspector general. A total of 1.1 million people were waiting for adecision on their eligibility for benefits under the sixty-year-oldprogram, which provides income support to people who paid into thesystem and due to disability will be unable for at least a year towork.

The ranks of beneficiaries in the program have grownsubstantially in recent years: Whereas fewer than 2.5 percent ofworking-age Americans got checks in 1990, more than 5 percent didin 2015.

Issuers of commercial disability insurance have a stake in theefficiency of the SSDI program, because many deduct a beneficiary'sSSDI benefits from what the private coverage will pay.

Last year the Social Security Administration announced that,along with efforts to streamline the process, it wanted to grow theranks of judges to 1,900 by the end of fiscal year 2018.

That may be impossible now that Trump, in one of his firstexecutive actions, has imposed a federal civilian employee hiringfreeze. Trump’s order allows agencies to exempt staff needed for“national security or public safety responsibilities,” andauthorizes the director of the Office of Personnel Management togrant exemptions. The order requires the Office of Management andBudget to develop a plan within 90 days for shrinking theworkforce, and says the blanket freeze will expire once that planis implemented. White House press secretary Sean Spicer toldreporters Monday that the order “ensures that the Americantaxpayers get effective and efficient government.”

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But like the judges’ union, former Social Security commissionersfrom both parties expect the freeze will worsen the backlog ofappeals cases.

“To better serve the American public, the Social SecurityAdministration needs more budget and staff resources, not less,”said Kenneth Apfel, who led the agency under President Bill Clintonand now teaches at University of Maryland’s public policy school.“I think it’s going to be pretty devastating,” said Michael Astrue, a George W. Bush appointeewho served in the same role.

Multiple culprits

Astrue blamed the backlog on multiple culprits, including whathe said was a long-running failure by the personnel office toefficiently vet candidates and insufficient focus on the issue fromhis Obama-appointed successor. But he said freezing the agency’shiring would only make the problem worse. “I don’t agree with theunion on much, but I do agree with them on that.” Astrue said hehopes Social Security officials will seek an exemption for appealsjudges and their clerks, and that Trump’s personnel departmentwould grant it.

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Officials at the Social Security Administration declined todiscuss their plans. “At this time, we have no further informationand are awaiting guidance,” spokeswoman Dorothy Clark saidWednesday. The Office of Personnel Management referred an inquiryto a budget office spokesperson, who did not respond.

Trump’s nominee to helm the budget office, South CarolinaCongressman Mick Mulvaney, did address the issue briefly during hisTuesday confirmation hearing. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, HillaryClinton’s 2016 running mate, cited the backlog of claims, alongwith veterans’ benefits and drug approvals, as areas where a hiringfreeze “could have the effect of even making it harder for citizensto get the services they need.”

“I don’t think you’re wrong to be concerned about it, Senator,"Mulvaney responded. "I don’t think it automatically follows thathiring more people will create more efficiency.”

Judge Zahm said many judges have been working extrauncompensated hours every day to try to get through the outstandingcases, some of which require reviewing 1,000 pages of medicalrecords as well as experts’ assessments. “This is not a job whereyou should be doing slapdash work,” she said. “People’s lives,livelihoods, are at stake.”

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