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U.S. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
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DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2013
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,
Washington, DC.
[CLERK'S NOTE.-The subcommittee was unable to hold hearings
on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and letters of those
submitting written testimony are as follows:]
DEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICHAEL S. SCHWARTZ, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: We are pleased to present the fol-
lowing information to support the Railroad Retirement Board's (RRB) fiscal year
2013 budget request of $112,415,000 to operate the agency.
The RRB administers comprehensive retirement/survivor and unemployment/sick-
ness insurance benefit programs for railroad workers and their families under the
Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts. The RRB also has
administrative responsibilities under the Social Security Act for certain benefit pay-
ments and Medicare coverage for railroad workers. In recent years, the RRB has
also administered extended unemployment benefits under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) and the Worker, Homeownership,
and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-92), as amended. The recently
enacted Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, (Public Law 112-
96) provides extended unemployment benefits for periods of eligibility beginning
through calendar year 2012.
During fiscal year 2011, the RRB paid $11 billion, net of recoveries and offsetting
collections, in retirement and survivor benefits to about 578,000 beneficiaries. We
also paid $90.9 million in net unemployment and sickness insurance benefits under
the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and $7.8 million under Public Law 111-
92, as amended, for special extended unemployment benefits to a total of about
28,000 claimants. In addition, the RRB paid benefits on behalf of the Social Security
Administration amounting to $1.4 billion to about 115,000 beneficiaries.
PROPOSED FUNDING FOR AGENCY ADMINISTRATION
The President's proposed budget would provide $112,415,000 for agency oper-
ations, which would enable us to maintain a staffing level of 885 full-time equiva-
lent staff years (FTEs) in 2013. The proposed budget would also provide $3,562,000
for conversion of our obsolete integrated financial management system to a shared
service provider. Furthermore, $1,176,000 would be invested into more information
technology (IT) to continue stretching the value of our baseline funding that has re-
mained substantially below required amounts for the past 3 years. The IT invest-
ments include $621,000 for IT tools and infrastructure replacement, $275,000 for
network operations and emergency services, and $280,000 for E-Government initia-
tives and conversion of employee official personnel files to an electronic format.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.cbhear/fdsysaqsc0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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