|
About 11 million people receive disability benefits from Social Security, an increase of more than 23 percent over the past five years. Benefits average a little less than $1,000 a month. About 8.2 million people receive Supplemental Security Income, a disability program for poor people who don't have substantial work histories. SSI benefits average a little more than $500 a month. Coburn said he called for the investigation after he learned that a man he had hired to cut down trees in the yard of his home was also collecting Social Security disability. Coburn said he wanted to learn how widespread cheating was in the system, though the report doesn't determine whether undeserving people are getting benefits. Instead, the report is limited to whether officials followed proper procedures. The subcommittee's staff asked the Social Security Administration to randomly select 100 cases apiece from counties in three states
-- Virginia, Alabama and Oklahoma. The cases were limited to those in which benefits were awarded. The investigation was done by both Republican and Democratic staff members. However, subcommittee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., did not sign off on the final report because he disagreed with some of its recommendations. The subcommittee released the report ahead of a hearing on the issue scheduled for Thursday morning. The report acknowledged that the findings may not be representative of the entire country. However, it said, "The same types of issues affected decisions across all three counties, suggesting they may be a factor elsewhere in the nation."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor