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Washington, D.C.—The nation’s largest independent union of federal employees has joined with a group of 40 organizations in urging key members of the House and Senate to support additional funding to allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make significant inroads in the growing and highly damaging backlog of disability appeals hearings.

NTEU represents some 900 employees in SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), which deals such claims.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley has testified repeatedly before congressional committees about the often-severe impact on disability claimants generated by the huge backlog of cases that result in delayed decisions of more than a year—including serious financial crises and a rising number of home foreclosures.

“These claimants are among the most vulnerable members of our society,” Kelley said. “We simply must address this problem.”

The message from NTEU and other groups comes on the heels of a similar request from House and Ways Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and the heads of two Ways and Means subcommittees to Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The lawmakers’ letter in support of additional SSA funding cites the “critical state” of the SSA disability claims backlog. “At the end of fiscal 2008, more than 767,000 Americans were awaiting a hearing on their disability claim—more than twice as many as in fiscal 2000—and the average waiting time to receive a hearing decision was almost 17 months,” they wrote.

The NTEU-signed letters to the chairmen and ranking members of House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over SSA’s budget, took note of the efforts legislators already have made to boost SSA funding.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts you have made already this year to provide additional funding above the president’s budget request so that SSA may further address the unacceptable backlog of disability hearings appeals and other serious problems with service delivery to the public,” the letters say.

The organizations seek final administrative funding for SSA in fiscal 2009 of no less than the House-recommended level of $10.427 billion—which is $100 million above the president’s budget request. The administration’s budget proposal did recommend an increase in SSA administrative funds, but the groups say that proposal is insufficient. “We strongly believe” funding of less than $10.427 billion “would exacerbate the massive backlog” of disability appeals hearings, they wrote.

President Kelley has been pressing SSA funding and related staffing issues for some time. “The only way to stem—much less reverse—the outrageous growth in this backlog is by providing adequate funding for SSA,” she said. “ODAR employees perform exemplary work, but they suffer from a lack of resources.”

The letters signed by NTEU further note that “these enormous delays are in addition to the average time period of 250 days that most disability applicants must wait before even filing for an appeals hearing” and that “thousands of people have died before receiving a decision on their disability claims.”

Their letters went to Reps. Obey, Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and James Walsh (R-N.Y.); and Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.