Social Security Administration: Subcommittee Questions Concerning Information Technology Challenges Facing the Commissioner

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the challenges the Social Security Administration (SSA) faces in preparing its information systems for the new century and in implementing technology initiatives such as the Intelligent Workstation/Local Area Network (IWS/LAN), focusing on whether: (1) SSA's information systems will be year 2000 compliant and whether SSA is responding to the issue with a sense of urgency; (2) it is commonplace for government information technology contracts to have a refreshment clause; (3) SSA's 100-megahertz computers will be able to run all of the software that SSA plans to install; (4) SSA will be able to effectively develop the software that will be needed to support its operations into the next century; (5) the concerns of state disability determination services (DDS) agencies about SSA's management and control of IWS/LAN operations are justified; and (6) SSA plans to implement the on-line Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES) system.