coming up here on c-span3, the confirmation hearing for the nominee to head the social security administration. then the director of u.s. citizenship and immigration services testifying before the house judiciary committee. after that, an update from the u.s. nuclear negotiator on iran's nuclear program. sunlds, on book tv's in-depth, former republican congressman from texas and presidential candidate ron paul. he has written more than a dozen books on history in the latest, school revolution on america's education system. join the conversation as he takes your calls, e-mails and tweets, live, three hours, sunday at noon eastern on c-span2. watch more book tv next week while congress is in recess. book tv in primetime, 8:30 p.m.

eastern and tuesday through friday at 8:00, featuring a wide range of topics, and covering book fairs and festivals from across the country. the senate finance committee today held a confirmation hearing for the president's nominee to head the social security administration. the nominee, carolyn colvin, outlined her priorities for the agency, if she's confirmed. senator ron wyden of oregon chaired the hour-long hearing. >> the finance committee will come to order. the finance committee is here today to consider the nomination of carolyn watts colvin to fill a role of extraordinary importance to millions of americans. and that is, the position of

commissioner of the social security administration. if confirmed, ms. colvin will be managing the nuts and bolts of the social security program, a vital task given that more than 62 million americans depend on social security as an economic life line. and i thought, ms. colvin, and chairman ma cull ski, i'll hold off. when americans get this document, that demonstrates the amount that they have paid for their social security insurance, and what the benefits are that they have earned, this is a document people hang on to. and they hang on to it because it's a testament to just how

important this program is. and if confirmed, americans are going to depend on you to ensure that social security is operating efficiently, and providing the right amount to the right person at the right time. and we all know that this is not a new role for you. because you have been the acting commissioner since february of 2013. before that, you served as the deputy commissioner for more than two years, coming out of a well-deserved retirement to engage in this critical public service. and colleagues, as we begin consideration of the nominee, i would just like to note for the record, that the finance committee approved ms. colvin's nomination for that position by a vote of 23-0. and sometimes i'll tell you, ms. colvin, i'm not sure i could have gotten a 23-0 vote. so you have very strong support.

>> i'm not so sure either. >> oh, yeah. i was leading with my chin on that one. >> i think so. >> because of ms. colvin's years of experience, ms. colvin is well versed with the challenges involved with running the social security administration. one of those challenges is working within a tight budget and fiscal constraints. the social security has felt the same fiscal squeeze that every federal agency has in recent years. and social security has worked hard to maintain critical services. that's required making some tough decisions, including reducing field office hours and consolidating some offices to address budget and staffing challenges. ms. colvin has been actively working on ways that social security can effectively manage its program integrity work load. as acting commissioner of social security, ms. colvin has made a

strong push to make social security information more user friendly and accessible to a broader swath of americans. she's made social security work more efficiently with other federal partners. and she has devoted significant time and significant resources to addressing the needs of the many disabled americans, the agency serves. and i'm very pleased that that's the case, ms. colvin, because just a few weeks ago we had a hearing looking at chronic disease and those who are disabled, and right next to chair mukulski was ms. dempsey from georgia who had done everything right in america, and had been pounded with one illness after another. and the table was almost overflowing with medications she had to take every day because she depends on that disability

program that you have focused on. so i have no doubt that you're going to continue that important work. that advocacy work for disabled americans once confirmed. today's hearing, of course, is an opportunity for the finance committee and miss colvin to discuss the guarantee of the social security promise for today's seniors and future generations. i hope to see this nomination to lead social security move through the committee and the full senate quickly so the social security will have a confirmed leader in place. senator hatch will make his opening statement. i'm very pleased to be working with my colleague on this in a bipartisan way. then we'll have an introduction from chair makulski. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, ms. colvin. i think it's a little unfair for you to bring barbara here to talk for you have. we're all scared to death of her. we do whatever she tells us to

do. we learned that a long time ago. i've enjoyed meeting with you in the past. today we have an opportunity to learn more about your past management performance. and how you would, if confirmed, face the challenges of the future. over the past ten years the administrative budget has increased by 34%. that's well above the 24% growth in the number of disabled, and retired beneficiaries, to a level of almost $11.7 billion. are the budget has grown at an average annual pace of more than 3.5%, above the average growth of even nominal gdp. social security's administrative funding continues to take up greater shares of the hhs appropriations bill. inevitably crowding out other programs relating to health and education. we always hear from ssa that there's a need for more, and any problems in administering

programs can be solved if only ssa receives more funds. that's true of almost every agency today. in a hearing on this committee, last week, that was supposed to be a fresh look at the disability program. a representative of ssa devoted significant time to repeating what our in my view are becoming still talking points, demanding more funds for the agency. ssa officials have been marching to the hill repeatedly to decry staffing reductions that ssa decided to make. just as the agency decided to pay $244 million in bonuses between fiscal years 2008 and 2013. what i'd like to learn more about today, ms. colvin, is what you have done in managing the administrative funding provided to ssa, which has accumulated to more than $104 billion over the last ten years, and what you would do moving forward. i think those are fair

questions. and hopefully we can enjoy working together on these things. i hope that your answers will not simply be that ssa needs more funds. i hope to learn more today, and in follow-up questions about what you have done and what you would do if confirmed to increase efficiency in the ssa to reduce billions of dollars associated with the social security programs. of course, the effort to fight fraud. there are many concerns to discuss. let me briefly identify just a few items. the first fraud and overpayments. to give you an example, the disability has grown to more than $10 billion. think about that. overpayments in the disability program alone are almost equal to the social security administration's entire annual administrative budget. there are also unacceptably high overpayment raid in the ssi program. and there have been disturbing

discoveries of fraud as in the puerto rico cases, the new york city cases and west virginia cases. a bipartisan investigation led by senators mccain, coburn, harper and levin showed fraud in the di program in west virginia. even so, it is my understanding that an alleged rogue disability insurance attorney involved in the west virginia case, still representing claimants in social security's di program. as i understand it, alleged corrupt administrative law judges have retired with full retirement benefits from ssa. it's hard to see how that is an adequate response, how if this is indeed the case, we can effectively provide deterrence against future fraud. ms. colvin, i hope today we'll hear from you about your plans to address fraud, and overpayments in the social security program. the second item of concern is waste.

there have been recent revelations that the social security administration spent nearly $3 million on a computer processing system that has been identified by an outside evaluator that has delivered limited functionality. the chairman of the house ways and means subcommittee on social security has called for you to stop further spending on the system and called for an investigation into the failed implementation of the system. that's just one example of waste that ssa that has been uncovered. there are a number of other examples i could message, indeed it is not hard to find enormous amounts of questionable and likely wasteful spending and payments when you read thoroughly the numerous reports by social security's office of the inspector general. ms. colvin, during today's hearing, i hope to get a better sense from you what your plans are to eliminate the obvious instances of wasteful spending we've been seeing at ssa. as you can see, mr. chairman, we have a lot to discuss today, and

i'm pleased that you're here today. and i honor you, and expect a great deal from you as we go into the future. but naturally, today we want to learn more about your stewardship of the staggeringly large administrative budget and what your plans would be to improve ssa's management and stop the defraud and waste should you be confirmed. we welcome you to the committee. and these are matters that concern me greatly. thanks, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator hatch. carolyn watts colvin has been nominated to be the administrator of the social security administration. it's our practice to give you the opportunity to introduce your family. >> thank you, chairman wyden. i would like to introduce my sister. and if i may introduce a colleague from -- and earnest

and his wife stacy. thank you. >> we're glad that you all are here. and i would only say, as i reflect on chair makulski being with us, that we served together in the other body. [ applause ] colvin you are running with the right crowd as when your with chair makulski. please proceed. >> thank you very much, senator wyden. i want to thank you for expediting this hearing. on our last day in session before the august break, when there is much on you. particularly in matters related to moving the highway trust fund. so we thank you for this courtesy. to both you and senator hatch, it's an honor to be here in the finance committee. you know, your committee, the finance committee, my committee,

the appropriations committee, are the only two committees in the constitution. it is the only two committees that the founders of the united states of america felt important enough to put into the constitution. because it is the revenue committee, and the spending committee working hand in hand, where to provide the checks and balances to ensure the functioning of a democracy, not an elected monarchy. and i think when we look at this, your job is to be looking at really the significant issues of the solvency of the social security trust fund. what do we do to ensure the future of viability of medicare and medicaid. but there's also the administration of these agencies. often overlooked in today's media-driven congress, where the headlines are not in the nuts

and bolts of management. but i know the leadership of you two, working with senator shelby and i, let's take a look at how social security is run. does it have the right staff, the right technology, and the right way to do that, both at the social security administration, and also at cms. so hands across the aisle, hands across the committee, shoulder to shoulder. but no matter what we do, every agency needs a good leader. and this is why i'm so pleased to join with senator carden today in bringing carolyn colvin to you to be nominated for the permanent head of the -- as the social security commissioner. i first met carolyn colvin when she came into government under the legendary wmd donald shaffer, and worked hands-on with carolyn with mr. shaffer as both the mayor, she in the health department, i in the city council, he as governor.

i had moved to the senate. william donald shaffer was known for many things. one of which was his passion on making sure that government work, he was a legendary figure with his slogan, do it now, and do it right. so he recruited people that were intellectually brilliant, had enormous competency in terms of management skills, and a sense of urgency about solving problems of do it now and do it right. he also did something else. he reached out to people of color, to make sure that they were actually coming into government, and for all of their previous service were actually promoted in government. carolyn colvin was over there at the health department. bishop robinson was our police commissioner. it was a new day, a new profile, a new demographic and a new buzz in baltimore.

carolyn was part of that reform movement. that buzz, that do it now, and do it right, she has carried with her in the many positions that she had in government. after william donald shaffer moved on, she was the director of the human services in the district of columbia. was the director of the montgomery county health and human services department. a special assistant in the maryland department of transportation. and then became the deputy commissioner of social security, and in february, also then was appointed the acting commissioner. so you know her resume. and each way, it was the nuts and bolts of government, fix problems, do it now, do it right. she has inherited many significant issues at social security. backlogs, techno boondoggles, some of the issues that senator hatch has enumerated. but i think she's up for the

job. i think -- and i'm not the only one, the national committee that preserves social security has supported her nomination, the aarp has submitted a letter. i ask unanimous consent -- >> without objection, so ordered. >> and so i bring this to your attention, and also, she's been recognized by many of the women's groups and leadership groups in maryland. part of a group called leadership maryland, to actually train people in working together in bipartisan relationships. also, she's part of the maryland 100. she and i joined, we're now part of the maryland 1,000. people who have achieved prominence. but what i so admire about carolyn is she's ready to do the job. and i'm just going to close with one example. when i became the chair of the appropriations committee, one of the perplexing issues was the disability backlog at the

veterans administration. and as we talked then with general shinseki, it's because social security and irs were dragging their ability, their response to the information va needed from both of those agencies. working with senators tim johnson and mark kirk, i convened an all hands on deck hearing with these agencies. social security immediately responded under carolyn's leadership to make sure that the va gets on a biweekly basis -- am i correct? for the information that it needs, so that the veterans administration can deal with its backlog. she's got her own backlog with the disability benefits, this techno boondoggle, once again, before she took over, no one in charge. everybody in charge. everybody ditherring and moving

their microchips around. you know that deal. and we saw it in the health exchange, we see it over here. but i think she's the person to fix it. so, mr. chairman, and senator hatch, i really hope, as you can see my enthusiasm for her, and if you want william donald shaffer smiling on you today, the do it now and do it right, confirm carolyn colvin. >> that is some sort of sendoff. thank you, chairman mikulski. your commitment to these programs is renowned. and i especially appreciate your bringing up mr. shaffer. because i remember meeting him, and i saw how you could have a head and a heart, that you could focus on making sure you stretched resources and care for people. you said it very well. now senator carden has the challenging job of trying to match that. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i agree with senator mikulski. >> yeah.

>> you're not going to get away quite that easily, senator hatch. let me first concur completely in senator mikulski's comments about carolyn colvin. she's an extraordinary person. we only have 15 permanent commissioners of the social security administration. franklin delano roosevelt announced he wanted to send to congress the law creating the social security administration. he announced that in june of 1934, 80 years ago. he then by executive order set up a commission that reported back to him. by the end of the year, he introduced legislation. congress took it up. and by august, it was signed into law. 1935. that's a model for us, i think, in taking up issues and resolving issues. of course, it's a critically important program to millions of americans ars the only inflation-proof lifetime income source for millions of

americans. the permanent commissioner is an extremely important position, as chairman wyden has said it. not only millions of americans depending on its services, it ministers 68,000 employees. we are very proud, senator mikulski and i, that the headquarters of the social security administration is wooden woodlong, baltimore county, maryland. the dedicated work force that is dedicated to the mission, and to public service. and one-fifth of americans depend upon its services directly. carolyn colvin i've known for 30 years, mr. chairman. and i concur completely in senator mikulski's evaluations. when i think of carolyn colvin, i think of a person who's dedicated, has commitment, and integrity. carolyn is dedicated to public service and improving the lives of others. and throughout her career she has carried with her an unmatched level of commitment. to her current position of

acting commissioner, she has brought the integrity needed to ensure the beneficiaries, applicants and ssa work force are treated fairly, and that the benefits are administered according to the law. mr. chairman, senator mikulski brought out many of the parts of carolyn colvin's career. but it's interesting, she began in ssa in august of 1963, when she was hired as a clerk stenographer. and now she's acting commissioner. this really is the american story of a person who's worked hard, is dedicated to public service for the right reasons and accomplished so very much. she has experience working for municipalities, for counties, for a state and for the federal government. she's also worked in the private sector. so she brings all of that to this commitment, to our -- to the -- to this position. i might also say she was the

director of field operations for my predecessor, so she brings a great deal of experience. she knows us. and she also knows how to deal with challenges, whether it's a budget challenge facing social security, modernizing the disability claim system or restoring the positive relationship between labor and management at ssa. there is one thing i know, carolyn colvin has never shied away from a challenge. i know that she will give her best. i know she has the talent. i know she's there for the right reasons, and i strongly support her nomination and hope we will confirm it shortly. >> thank you, senator cardin. ms. colvin, with the ringing endorsement of 100% of maryland's senators, you will now have the opportunity to make a prepared -- to make a statement, your prepared statement is automatically going to be made part of the record. if you could perhaps take five minutes or so to summarize, we'd like you to proceed. chairman mikulski, you're

welcome to stay. i know you've got a very hectic day, so we appreciate your coming. >> chairman wyden, ranking member hatch, and members of the ghit tee -- >> you might want to speak right into the microphone. thank you, ms. colvin. >> chairman wyden, ranking member hatch, members of the committee, my name is carolyn colvin, and i'm the acting commissioner of the social security administration. i am honored and grateful to appear before you today as president obama's nominee as commissioner of social security. i want to thank senator mikulski and senator wyden for their very, very kind introduction. i would like to thank the senators and their staff for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with me during this confirmation process. it is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the social security administration as the commissioner. the scope of what we do is truly enormous. and it is both humbling and a rewarding experience to go to work every day knowing what my

colleagues and i do for families helps our fellow citizens. we serve the same spirit of compassionate public service that president roosevelt envisioned. i am very fortunate to have spent so much of my life in public service. most of it leading federal, state and local health organizations that provide critical safety net services to those most in need. quite often i have led these organizations through periods of change and uncertainty. my career has included several executive positions in policy and operations at ssa. i was confirmed as deputy commissioner on december 22nd, 2010, and since february 14th, 2013, i have acted as acting commissioner. one of my top priorities since becoming the acting commissioner has been to position ssa to provide excellent service for future generations. at ssa, we have not always

engaged in truly long-range strategic planning. this is why i created the position of chief strategic officer who reports directly to me and is responsible for developing strategy and promoting innovation across ssa. we are well on our way toward developing a long-range plan. i am committed to protecting ssa's programs from waste, fraud and abuse. and i'm proud to serve as the agency official for improper payments. i have promoted new and innovative ways to prevent and recover improper payments. i am pleased with the progress we have made in expanding our electronic services. we've created secure and convenient electronic services for individuals who want to do business with us online. as of june 2014, over 12.5 million users had registered for my social security online accounts. with the success of our online

services, we are able to conserve field office resources for those who prefer to visit the offices. we are fully committed now and in the future to sustaining a field office structure that provides face-to-face service, and is responsive to members of the public who need or prefer to come into the local office. i've appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with hi kmy colleagues at improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the ssa. ssa has many challenges ahead of it. if confirmed, i look forward to addressing them. first, we must complete a long-range plan that will help us adapt a rapidly changing world, and continue to provide excellent service for

generations to come. second, we must make wise investments in technology. if confirmed, i will continue aggressively to increase the agency's use of modern technology that maximizes a return on the taxpayers' investment. third, i am committed to ensuring that we balance high-quality service with our program integrity responsibilities. fourth, we must do more to help individuals with significant disabilities succeed in the work force. accordingly, the president's fy 2015 budget contains a proposal requesting resources and demonstration authority for us to collaborate with other agencies to test early intervention strategies, to help people with disabilities remain in the work force. and finally, if confirmed, i will continue to work to provide the best service possible for the american people. in the few years before fy 2014, limited funding and sequestration constrained our

ability to meet our mission. we lost employees, and we had to cut back on services. our employees are our best asset. despite tight budgets and growing work loads, i have witnessed our employees make often heroic efforts to serve our customers quickly and compassionately. however, without adequate resources, they can do only so much to serve the public. the fy 2014 funding level positioned us to begin to restore services to the public and increase our program integrity efforts. i ask you to support the president's fy 2015 request to keep us on this path. in conclusion i believe my policy making experience, management expertise, and passion for the work make me well suited to be commissioner of this wonderful agency. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. i would be happy to answer any questions you have. >> ms. colvin, thank you. now, i think you've been advised by the staff that we have a

number of standard nominee questions that we simply have to go through with all of our nominees. the first is, is there anything you're aware of in your background that would create a conflict of interest? >> no. >> do you know of any reason that would prevent you from discharging your responsibilities to the office of which you've been nominated? >> no. >> do you agree with our reservation to respond to appear and testify before any dully constituted committee of the congress if you're confirmed? >> yes. >> very good. let me start by reflecting on your plans after confirmation. i'ming itly struck by how at agency has changed over the years. you were there between 1994, and 2001. you joined the agency as deputy

commissioner in 2010. so obviously you've seen a lot and learned a lot. and particularly, in terms of your plans for the next two years, i have been struck by the comments that you've made about new technologies. and how you would apply new technologie technologies, and i note that the recent report from the national academy of public administration addresses that as well. so let's start with that. what are your thoughts about how, given the report, you can use new technologies, again, to better serve people, and make better use of scarce resources? >> thank you, mr. chairman. social security is a wonderful organization, and we have known for some time that our roles would increase. right now we have about 10,000 individuals per day -- per week who are turning 65. so it's not surprising that our roles are increasing as a result

of the demographics. in order to be able to keep up with those increasing work loads, and to get the efficiencies we need, technology is the solution. we have already begun to make great strides in online services. we have the "my social security" accounts, signing up for an account, and they can go online and transact much of their business. we've had great success there. well over 12 million individuals have already signed up in the short time we've had that. we also have other applications such as our disability and retirement applications, and about 50% of all people who apply for those benefits now apply online. we realize we have to continue to expand in that area. the reason is because our population is not homogeneous. there are people who must in fact have the availability of coming into the office to be personally served. their situation may be complex, or they may just simply not be comfortable with the internet or

they may prefer face-to-face services. so we will always have a field presence. on the other hand, my goal is to develop systems that will be easy to use, convenient, so that those people who prefer to handle their business in the privacy of their home can. what that does, mr. chairman, is it allows us then to free up people in the office to handle those people who have those special needs. we have been very successful in developing applications. for instance, we know that ssi do the people's inability, or unwillingness to report their wages. we now have both a telephone process, where they can call in their wages, but we also have a mobile application where they can report their wages. this is already seeing well over 80,000 people in a very short time we've had them sign up. my goal would be to get most of those people who are in need of reporting their wages, using those systems. we want to also have a process

where individuals would be able to go online, and be able to get the service that they need online in realtime, and chat service where they would be able to complete their business and not have to come back another time. for us, technology is extremely important. and it is what we need. >> let me -- that's helpful, ms. colvin. let me ask you about one other aspect of this whole i.t. issue, and it's no surprise that we're focusing on that. and this has been a special priority of mine since coming to the senate. you know, my state was always about wood products and forestry, and it always will be. but we've also put a major focus on information technology. that's what i wanted to ask you about in regard to social security. now, i've been informed that the agency has nearly 3,000 data exchange agreements, with federal, state and private entities, and