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Former Md. Gov. Martin O'Malley

Retirement Planning > Social Security

Biden Picks Ex-Maryland Governor to Lead Social Security Administration

By Melanie Waddell

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President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley as the next commissioner for the Social Security Administration.

The news was first reported on Reuters.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, applauded O’Malley’s nomination Wednesday, stating that O’Malley is “a longtime Social Security champion.”

Like Biden, “O’Malley supports expanding Social Security’s modest benefits, not cutting them,” Altman said. “At a time when Social Security is under attack from Republicans in Congress, O’Malley is the fighter that the American people need at SSA’s helm.”

The Senate “should swiftly confirm O’Malley so he can work to provide the American people with that first-class service and fight for increasing, not cutting, their benefits.”

Senate Democrats pressed Biden last October to protect and expand Social Security by filling the vacant commissioner and deputy commissioner seats at the Social Security Administration — which have been open for more than a year.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., tweeted Wednesday that “Martin O’Malley never backs down from a challenge. I’m excited by the news that @POTUS has nominated my friend, and one of Maryland’s most successful governors, to be the next Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday in a statement that “Social Security needs a confirmed commissioner in order to ensure Americans are receiving the best service possible for their earned Social Security benefits.”

Gov. O’Malley, Wyden continued, “is a proven leader with experience running a large organization that millions of families count on. I look forward to moving this nomination through the Finance Committee as soon as possible.”

The Social Security Administration “has not had a Senate-confirmed commissioner nominated by a Democratic president since 2001,” Altman said. “During that time, Congressional Republicans have starved SSA of resources, resulting in backlogs and long waits. With staffing the lowest it has been in a quarter of a century, SSA’s hardworking and dedicated public servants are overworked and underpaid.”

As commissioner, Altman said that O’Malley “will be in prime position to persuade Congress to allow SSA to spend just a few percentage points more of Social Security’s $2.8 trillion surplus on administrative expenses, as President Biden has requested.”

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, added in a statement that the group commended Biden’s choice, stating that as a confirmed commissioner, O’Malley “will be able to advocate effectively for SSA, which has been chronically underfunded and has struggled to provide adequate customer service.”

As a presidential candidate in 2016, O’Malley “championed the expansion of Social Security,” Richtman said. “He proposed boosting benefits and adopting a more generous (the CPI-E) for calculating COLAs — while adjusting the payroll wage cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share.  He insisted that ‘it is our responsibility to ensure that Americans who put in a lifetime of hard work are able to retire with the dignity they deserve.’”

The Senate, Richtman added, should confirm O’Malley “in a timely manner when it returns from August recess.”

Melanie Waddell

@Think_MelanieW

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