SSA Response to Public Comment from 12/31/07

Dear Mr. ____:

Thank you for your e-mail dated December 31, 2007, providing your comments on the Information Collection published in the Federal Register on November 30, 2007 (Docket No. SSA-2007-0095)(72 FR 67776). This letter is in response to your remarks regarding the “Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order”, Form HA-520. You expressed two concerns relating to the information collection as published in the Federal Register: 1) the Agency’s estimated burden of 10 minutes per response for completion of the Form HA-520 is too low and 2) the completion by a Social Security employee of a portion of the Form HA-520 is not included.

The public reporting burden for completing the first portion of this form has been 10 minutes for quite some time and is based on long Agency experience with this workload. The form is simply being republished. We find no basis for changing the average burden estimate.

We have not provided a burden estimate for the second portion of this form. The need to provide public reporting burden estimates does not extend to forms or portions of forms completed by Social Security employees. In these situations, federal employees are not considered the public under the terms of the Government’s “Paperwork Reduction Act.”

If you have any questions, please let me know. The staff contact is Brent Hillman, who may be reached at (703) 605-8280.

Sincerely,

/s/

Frank V. Smith III

Assistant Deputy Commissioner