Sections 20 CFR 404.953 and 416.1453
of our regulations state that if an Administrative Law Judge makes
a wholly favorable oral decision for a claimant of Title II or
Title XVI payments at an administrative appeals hearing, and if
this oral decision includes all findings and the rationale for the
decision, the records from the oral hearing preclude the need for a
written decision. This is known as the incorporation-by-reference
process. These regulations also state that if the involved parties
want a record of the oral decision, they may submit a written
request for these records.
The reduction in the number of
annual burden hours by half is based on SSAs experiences during
the past three years. The estimate given in 2004 was based on SSAs
projections and not on experience. Now that we have experience to
work with, we have lowered our numbers to reflect our current
knowledge of the response rate.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.