COMMISSIONER ASTRUE: THANK YOU, ALLEN, FOR THAT VERY
KIND INTRODUCTION. WHEN I RETURNED TO THIS AGENCY
IN 2007, I COMMITTED TO INCREASE OUR TRANSPARENCY AND IMPROVE OUR
COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC TO THE EXTENT THAT I HAVE DRIVEN
MANY OF YOU CRAZY IN THE ROOM ON THE CLEAR USE OF LANGUAGE.
IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE CLEAR, CONCISE, AND OPEN COMMUNICATION
IS ESSENTIAL TO GOOD PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND EVEN BEFORE BEING ELECTED, PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLED FOR
GREATER OPENNESS ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
WITH THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITMENT, THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS RAISED
THE BAR EVEN HIGHER IN MANY AREAS WHERE WE WERE ALREADY
WORKING AND IN PARTICULAR CHALLENGED US TO USE NEW
TECHNOLOGIES TO DO SO. I KNOW ALL OF US AND
ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM, WELCOME THAT CHALLENGE AND
WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO EXCEED THE STANDARDS
THAT HAVE BEEN SET FOR US. AND I THINK THE DATA SET EXAMPLE
THAT ALLEN JUST MENTIONED IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW WE
SHOULDN'T SIT ON OUR LAURELS AND WE SHOULD TRY TO DO BETTER
THAN PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS. THIS YEAR, IN FACT EXACTLY
ONE MONTH FROM TODAY, WE'LL MARK 75 YEARS SINCE
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SIGNED THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.
SINCE THAT TIME, WE HAVE BEEN DELIVERING VITAL BENEFITS
TO HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AT CRITICAL
POINTS IN THEIR LIVES. AT RETIREMENT, DISABILITY,
OR AFTER THE PASSING OF A LOVED ONE.
SINCE THAT TIME, WE HAVE ALWAYS COMMITTED TO
EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS AND PROVIDING
THEM WITH THE EASIEST AND MOST COMPASSIONATE
ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES. AND SINCE THAT TIME,
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, ADVOCATES OVERSIGHT GROUPS
AND OTHERS HAVE OFFERED FEEDBACK ABOUT WAYS WE MIGHT
IMPROVE OUR INCREDIBLY COMPLEX PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
SO THE BASIC CONCEPT TO OPEN GOVERNMENT IS
NOT NEWS TO ANY OF US. NEVERTHELESS, THE FOCUS THAT
THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS PLACED ON THESE VALUES PROVIDES AN
OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENHANCE OUR EFFORTS.
THE PRINCIPALS OF OPEN GOVERNMENT EMPHASIZE SHARING
MORE GOVERNMENT, EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC
DIALOGUE AND PARTICIPATION. AND USING TECHNOLOGY TO
COLLABORATE IN WAYS THAT WE COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY
IMAGINED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO. IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS,
WE HAVE AS ALLEN MENTIONED PLACED OVER 20 NEW DATA
SETS ON OUR PROGRAMS. INCLUDING CRITICAL DATA FOR
BACKLOG REDUCTION SUCH AS DATA ABOUT THE PRODUCTIVITY OF OUR
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES. WE PUBLISHED OUR OPEN GOVERNMENT
PLAN BASED ON EXTENSIVE PUBLIC INPUT AND STARTED TRACKING OUR
ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST THE MILE STONES THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED.
WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A DEDICATED WEB PAGE TO SHARE INFORMATION,
REPORT ON OUR PROGRESS, AND ENCOURAGE PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION. OUR OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN
HAS MANY INITIATIVES BUT INCLUDES THREE KEY ONCE THAT
WILL IMPROVE OUR SUITE OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES.
FIRST, WE'LL BE MAKING OUR ON LINE RETIREMENT
ESTIMATOR AVAILABLE IN SPANISH WE HOPE BY
THE END OF NOVEMBER. IT WILL BE THE FIRST NON ENGLISH
SPEAKING ON LINE SERVICE IN THE ENTIRE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO STOP THERE BECAUSE WE HAVE GOT THE
DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS GOING FOR THE RETIREMENT APPLICATION
AND THE MEDICARE EXTRA HELP APPLICATION AS WELL.
THIS TOOL WILL OFFER THE SPANISH SPEAKING PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY
TO GET INSTANT ESTIMATES OF FUTURE RETIREMENT BENEFITS.
LAST YEAR, OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE USED THIS POPULAR
ON LINE SERVICE. AND IT IS RANKED AS
ONE OF THE THREE BEST. WE HAVE THREE BEST
ELECTRONIC SERVICES IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS FASCINATING I
THINK SHOWS THAT WE ARE CATCHING THE SPIRIT OF THIS,
I MET WITH THE TEAM ON THIS EARLIER THIS WEEK.
AND IN THE COURSE OF REALLY PICKING AT WHAT SOME OF THE
ISSUES WERE THAT PEOPLE WERE HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING
WITH OUR NEW SPANISH VERSION, WE ACTUALLY STARTED PICKING
UP ON THINGS THAT WERE ISSUES ON THE ENGLISH.
IT IS A GREAT CREDIT OF THE TEAM AND WE HAVEN'T ALWAYS
DONE THAT IN THE PAST. WE HAVE GONE BACK TO TAKE WHAT
IS AN APPLAUDED BUSINESS PROCESS AND SAY YOU KNOW WHAT,
WE CAN MAKE THAT BETTER TOO. WE HAVE GOT AND UNEXPECTED
BENEFIT FROM THIS EFFORT. AND NOT ONLY ARE WE GOING
TO BE OFFERING NEW SERVICE TO NEW COMMUNITY.
IT IS GIVING US IDEAS TO GO BACK AND IMPROVE SOMETHING
THAT IS ALREADY WIDELY REGARDED AS OUTSTANDING.
SECOND, WE'LL UNVEIL A NEW SERVICE CHANNELING
TOOL TO HELP PEOPLE MORE EASILY FIND OUR INFORMATION
AND SERVICES IN OUR WEBSITE. KEY FEATURE OF THIS TOOL WILL
PROVIDE ON LINE USERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCHEDULE AN
APPOINTMENT WITH US IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO COMPLETE AND
INTERNET BENEFIT APPLICATION. ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES,
CHRISTIE DICKINSON OF BIRMINGHAM, SUBMITTED
THIS IDEA AND WAS A FINALIST FOR THE PRESIDENT'S
SAVE AWARD LAST YEAR. AND AS I SHOULD MENTION AND
AGAIN THEY DON'T PUT THIS IN THE SCRIPT BECAUSE THEY DON'T
WANT TO EMBARRASS ME BUT I PERSONALLY ENTERED TOO AND I
DIDN'T WIN. AND I WAS GOOD.
I DIDN'T SUBMIT AND SSA ONE. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CHEATING.
SO I HAD ONE FOR ANOTHER AGENCY AND I DIDN'T WIN.
BUT I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO GO AND I AM GOING
TO TRY AGAIN THIS YEAR. AND FINALLY, WE DEVELOPED THE ON
LINE LIFE EXPECTANCY CALCULATOR. ANOTHER TOOL TO ASSIST PEOPLE
AS THEY PLAN FOR RETIREMENT. BECAUSE AT SOME POINT WE
BECAME AWARE AS WE FOCUS ON THE ESTIMATORS THAT A
PROBLEM WHEN PEOPLE GO ON TO A RETIREMENT ESTIMATOR,
IS THAT THEY TEND TO UNDER ESTIMATE BY ABOUT 7 YEARS
THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEY WILL LIVE.
THAT IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE
AUDIENCE THAT ARE GENETICALLY SUPERIOR, IE, WOMEN, BECAUSE YOU
LIVE MUCH LONGER THAN MEN DO. AND THERE IS AN INCREASING
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE LIVING INTO THEIR 90'S PARTICULARLY WOMEN
AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU ARE MAKING THE RIGHT ECONOMIC
CALCULATION THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF HOW LONG
YOU ARE LIKELY TO LIVE. AND THIS IS I THINK ANOTHER
VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE AND IT IS JUST UP IN THE
PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. SO AS WE IMPLEMENT OUR
OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN AND LOOK FOR NEW AND BETTER
WAYS TO REVISE THE PLAN, WE ARE LOOKING TO ALL OF YOU
FOR IDEAS AND FEEDBACK TO HELP US BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT,
TO ENCOURAGE MORE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND TO
FOSTER MORE COLLABORATION. I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF TODAY'S EVENT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OPEN GOVERNMENT
AND YOUR ROLE IN ACHIEVING IT. WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING
LIST OF SPEAKERS WHO WILL PROVIDE THEIR INSIGHTS ON THE
PRINCIPALS OF OPEN GOVERNMENT. AND WE ARE PARTICULARLY EXCITED
ABOUT OUR KEY NOTE SPEAKER, BETH NOVECK THAT
COULD JOIN US TODAY. WHO IS THE DEPUTY CHIEF
TECHNOLOGY OFFICER LEADING THE OPEN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE.
SO WELCOME TO BETH. WELCOME TO ALL OF YOU.
AND ENJOY TODAY'S PROGRAM. THANK YOU.
(APPLAUSE)