SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (SSA)

Statement of Regulatory Priorities

We administer the Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance programs under title II of the Social Security Act (Act), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under title XVI of the Act, and the Special Veterans Benefits program under title VIII of the Act. As directed by Congress, we also assist in administering portions of the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Act. Our regulations codify the requirements for eligibility and entitlement to benefits, and our procedures for administering these programs. Generally, our regulations do not impose burdens on the private sector or on State or local governments, except for the States' Disability Determination Services. We fully fund the Disability Determination Services in advance or by way of reimbursement for necessary costs in making disability determinations.

The ten entries in our regulatory plan (plan) represent issues of major importance to the Agency. We describe the individual initiatives more fully in the attached plan.

Improving the Disability Process

Since the continued improvement of the disability program is of vital concern to us, we include initiatives in the plan addressing disability-related issues. These initiatives include one proposed and four final rules that update the medical listings used to determine disability. The revisions reflect our adjudicative experience and advances in medical knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment.

Enhance Public Service

There are five proposed rules that will propose to:

require claimants to submit or inform us about all evidence known to them that relates to their disability claim,

clarify our guidelines regarding how we will evaluate work experience for persons characterized as "Illiterate," and clarify our guidelines on how we evaluate previous work experience for persons who are "Illiterate",

remove the expiration date from our rule authorizing State agency disability examiners to make fully favorable determinations without the approval of a State agency medical or psychological consultant in claims we consider under our quick disability determinations and compassionate allowances processes,

revise our rules regarding returning evidence at the Appeals Council level to give the Appeals Council discretion in returning additional evidence that it receives when it determines the additional evidence does not relate to the period on or before the date of the Administrative Law Judge's decision, and

create a new system of records that exempts certain records from disclosure. This new system tracks anti-harassment claims made by our employees.

Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations

Pursuant to section 6 of Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (January 18, 2011), the following Regulatory Identifier Numbers (RINs) have been identified as associated with retrospective review and analysis in our final retrospective review of regulations plan. Some of the entries on this list may be completed actions, which do not appear in The Regulatory Plan. You can find more information about these completed rulemakings in past publications of the Unified Agenda at: www.Reginfo.gov in the Completed Actions section for the Social Security Administration. You can also find these rulemakings at www.Regulations.gov. The agency final plans are located at http://mwww.ba.ssa.gov/open/regsreview/EO-13563-Final-Plan-Progress-Update.html.

RIN	Title	Expected to Significantly Reduce Burdens on Small Businesses
0960-AF35	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Neurological Impairments	No
0960-AF58	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Respiratory System Disorders	No
0960-AF69	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Mental Disorders	No
0960-AF88	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Hematological Disorders	No
0960-AG21	New Medical Criteria for Evaluating Language and Speech Disorders	No
0960-AG28	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Growth Impairments	No
0960-AG38	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Musculoskeletal Disorders	No
0960-AG65	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Digestive Disorders	No
0960-AG71	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection and for Evaluating Functional Limitations in Immune System Disorders	`No
0960-AG74	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Cardiovascular Disorders	No
0960-AH43	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases)	No
0960-AH54	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Hearing Loss and Disturbances of Labyrinthine-Vestibular Function	No