The Committee recommends an appropriation of $663,452,000 for special benefits for disabled coal miners, which is in addition to the $252,450,000 appropriated last year as an advance for the first quarter of fiscal year 1988. The recommendation is $29,985,000 less than the comparable fiscal year 1987 amount of $693,437,000, and $12,000,000 above the House allowance.

These funds are used to provide monthly benefits to coal miners disabled by black lung disease and to their widows and certain other dependents, as well as to pay related administrative costs.

The 1988 decrease of $29,985,000 reflects the continuing decline in the number of beneficiaries receiving payments, since Social Security's major responsibility is for claims filed before June 1973, and the Department of Labor has responsibility for claims filed after that date. The effect of the decline in beneficiaries is partially offset by a 2-percent benefit increase projected for 1988. Black lung benefit levels are tied directly to Federal pay increases.

The administration also requested, but the Committee did not consider, a full year appropriation for fiscal year 1989 and an advance appropriation for the first quarter of fiscal year 1990. The Committee concurs with the House in recommending an advance of $250,000,000 for the first quarter of fiscal year 1989.

The administration's proposed bill language and the budget request reflect proposed changes in substantive legislation which would change the way black lung benefit levels are determined and save $12,000,000 in fiscal year 1988 and $26,000,000 in fiscal year 1989. The Committee recommendation restores these savings assumed in the budget but not enacted.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $9,535,384,000 for supplemental security income [SSI], which is in addition to the $2,765,000,000 appropriated last year as an advance for the first quarter of fiscal year 1988. This is the $2,549,000 below the administration request and the same as the House allowance.

These funds are used to pay benefits under the SSI Program, which was established to insure a Federal minimum monthly benefit for aged, blind, and disabled individuals and which enables them to meet basic needs. In many cases, SSI benefits supplement income from other sources, including Social Security benefits. The funds also are used to pay costs of administering the program, to reimburse State vocational

rehabilitation agencies for successful rehabilitation of SSI recipients, and to support the referral and monitoring of certain disabled SSI recipients who are drug addicts or alcoholics.

The Committee's recommendation for fiscal year 1988 represent an increase of $1,010,696,000 from the comparable fiscal year 1987 level. The primary reason for this increase is that the fiscal year 1988 estimate reflects 13 monthly payments compared to 12 monthly payments in fiscal year 1987. This occurs whenever the first day of the month on which payments are usually made falls on a weekend or holiday and the payment is advanced to the next preceding business day. For this reason, benefits payable for October 1988, which is the first month of fiscal year 1989, will be advanced into fiscal year 1988. Other significant factors in the increase in the 1988 appropriation over the 1987 level are the projected cost-of-living adjustment in January 1988 and a continuing increase in the number of blind and disabled beneficiaries.

The reduction of $102,000,000 from the budget request, based on current law estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, is offset by an increase of $99,451,000 to cover a shortfall in prior-year administrative costs.

The Committee concurs with the House in not considering an appropriation of $12,102,224,000 for fiscal year 1989 and an advance appropriation of $2,684,000,000 for the first quarter of fiscal year 1990. Instead, the Committee recommends an advance appropriation of $3,000,000,000 for the first quarter of fiscal year 1989.

LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

The Committee recommends a limitation on administrative expenses [LAE] of $3,680,921,000, $124,200,000 less than the administration request and the same as the House allowance. This recommendation is $190,641,000 less than the fiscal year 1987 appropriation of $3,871,562,000.

This account provides resources from the Social Security trust funds. for the Social Security Administration [SSA] to administer the Social Security retirement and survivors and disability insurance programs, certain Social Security health insurance functions, and the construction needs of the trust funds programs. As authorized by law, it also provides resources from the trust funds for certain non-trust fund administrative costs, which are reimbursed from the general funds. These include administration of the supplemental security income programs for the aged, blind, and disabled; work associated with the Pension Reform Act of 1974; and the portion of annual wage reporting work done by SSA for the benefit of the Internal Revenue Service. The dollars provided also support automated data processing activities.

The 1988 recommendation represents the net effect of a number of offsetting increases and decreases including a decrease in the contingency reserve from $160,000,000 to $50,000,000.

Testimony before the Committee by the General Accounting Office reiterated that the Social Security Administration's claims modernization plan is far behind schedule, that modernization efforts need redirection, and that large amounts of unspent funds are accumulating from prior appropriations. Subsequently, the Social Security Commissioner announced a major refocusing of the systems modernization effort. As a result, a selective moratorium is recommended, pending a thorough review by the Commissioner in cooperation with the General Accounting Office.

The Committee urges the administration to consider establishing an advisory board to assist the Social Security Administration with respect to the systems modernization plan. The board should be chaired by the Commissioner, seeking the best talent available to serve as members. The Commissioner is expected to promptly inform the Committee of what she intends to do with respect to formation of an advisory board, including specifics on its composition.

A reduction of $110,000,000 below the budget request, and $10,000,000 below the House allowance, is recommended in information technology services, primarily due to the larger than anticipated carryover of funds from prior years. The recommendation thus includes new funding of $55,400,000 for automatic data processing and telecommunications activities, compared to the $65,400,000 House allowance. The Commissioner is expected to inform the Committee if additional savings are possible as the result of revised fiscal 1988 information systems requirements.

The Committee has added $30,800,000 to the budget request, $10,000,000 more than the House allowance, in order to maintain staffing at no less than expected levels as of the end of fiscal year 1987. Bill language establishes a floor of 70,345 full-time equivalent positions, 1,000 more than the budget request. This provides a total of 73,675 work-years, compared to the House allowance of 73,314, and the budget request of 72,675.

With these resources, in addition to maintaining onboard strength at no less than current levels, increases can be directed at problem areas such as disability hearings and appeals, and enumeration work resulting from recently enacted legislation such as the immigration reform law.

The Committee has received three reports this year from the General Accounting Office monitoring Social Security Administration services to the public, as well as a recent report from the Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services. The last GAO report (September 1987) noted staff reductions of 4.8 percent during fiscal 1987, but stated:

With few exceptions, however, SSA's key performance indicators for the third quarter showed stable or improved performance for claims processing times, pending workloads, process accuracy, and client wait time.

One exception was that processing times for hearings continued to increase while staffing decreased. Also, GAO indicated that wait time data does not reflect actual client wait time. Another recent GAO report on telephone accessibility shows that 33 percent of calls experienced difficult access. Calls on hold longer than 2 minutes, disconnected, terminated by GAO after 10 rings, or getting busy signals were categorized as difficult access.

The Committee, therefore, remains deeply concerned about the impact of staffing reductions on the quality of Social Security services to the public. The General Accounting Office is requested to continue monitoring this situation, and provide the Committee a further report by May 15, 1988, including an examination of the integrity of Social Security Administration performance data. Thereafter, regular reports are requested at 6-month intervals.

The Committee concurs with the House in reducing the request by $45,000,000, reflecting a savings expected from budgeted amounts for the Federal Employees Retirement System.

The Committee expects the Social Security Administration to install needed ergonomic furniture as it installs its new computer terminals; failure to install necessary furniture could result in a loss of productivity and serious health problems for workers using these machines.

The Committee is aware that Social Security trust funds are used to support union activities, which include protecting the interests of employees and maintaining high-quality standards for services to the public. Because trust fund moneys are involved, the Committee directs the Commissioner to include in the fiscal year 1989 budget submission, and subsequent submissions, information on the use of trust funds in support of union activities. Such information shall include data on expenditures for salaries, training, travel, and any other information the Commissioner feels would be of use to the Committee.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $8,644,385,000 for family support payments to States, which is in addition to the $2,480,615,000 appropriated last year as an advance for the first quarter of fiscal year 1988. This is $881,332,000 more than the administration request and the same as the House allowance. The recommendation is $595,146,000 more than the fiscal year 1987 comparable appropriation of $8,049,239,000.

These funds provide grants to States for the Federal share of activities related to public assistance to the needy as well as for child support enforcement activities. The largest single program is aid to families with dependent children [AFDC] which provides benefits to needy children

deprived of parental support by death, disability, or continued absence from the home. Other benefit programs include AFDC benefits for families in which the principal wage earner is unemployed, emergency assistance, assistance to destitute or ill Americans who are being repatriated, and adult assistance in Puerto Rico and the territories. The Child Support Enforcement Program is aimed at assuring that absent parents meet their responsibility to provide support for their children. The grants also include funds to pay the Federal share of the costs State and local governments incur in administering these benefit programs.

The Committee recommendation includes $9,624,132,000 for aid to families with dependent children, the current law estimate of the Congressional Budget Office for these entitlement payments. The Committee recommendation also includes $1,045,500,000 for State and local welfare administration, $100,000,000 for emergency assistance and repatriation, and $13,368,000 for payments to territories.

The Committee recommendation provides $772,000,000 for State and local administration of the Child Support Enforcement Program, and $216,000,000 for Federal incentive payments. These costs are offset by the Federal share of collections, estimated at $646,000,000.

The Committee concurs with the House in recommending a fiscal year 1989 first quarter advance appropriation of $2,500,000,000. Like the House, the Committee did not approve the requested full-year advance funding.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $1,237,000,000 for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program [LIHEAP]. This is the same as the administration request and $585,265,000 below the fiscal year 1987 appropriation.

This program provides grants to States to help low-income individuals pay the high cost of energy, particularly heating costs in winter. There is a wide variation among the States in the ways assistance is provided, including direct payments to individuals and vendors and direct provision of fuel.

The amount recommended reflects the extremely tight outlay restrictions facing the Committee in fiscal year 1988. Given the availability of large amounts of oil overcharge funds and anticipated additional amounts from pending cases, the Committee expects the States to be able to mitigate the impact of declining Federal funding.

To date, States have received $3,300,000,000 from oil overcharge settlements, with an additional $1,000,000,000 expected by 1988. States so far have not earmarked significant amounts for low-income home energy assistance, and continue to divert nearly $100,000,000 annually from LIHEAP appropriations to other block grants. State reports submitted to the Department of Energy indicate the bulk of oil overcharge