SSA official defends telework productivity to Congress amid benefits backlog concerns
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Oren "Hank" McKnelly of the Social Security Administration testified before the House Oversight Committee on federal telework policies.
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Rep. Lauren Boebert confronted McKnelly about allowing "delinquent employees" to work from home, leading to backlogs.
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McKnelly defended his employees' efficiency whether teleworking or in the office, citing performance monitoring systems.
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When Boebert cited the increased backlog numbers, McKnelly said it's due to historical underfunding combined with an 8 million increase in beneficiaries over 10 years.
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McKnelly said with workloads increasing but staff decreasing, backlogs are a "math problem."