 SOCIAL
SECURITY
Jo Anne B. Barnhart
Jo Anne Barnhart is the 14th Commissioner of Social Security,
filling a six-year term of office that will run through January 19,
2007. She was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 17, and
confirmed by the United States Senate on November 2, 2001.
As head of the Social Security Administration (SSA), she has responsibility
for administering the Social Security programs (retirement, survivors
and disability), as well as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
Social Security provides financial protection to more than 152 million
workers and their families, and more than 45 million Americans receive
monthly Social Security retirement, disability or survivors benefits.
The SSI program pays monthly benefits to more than 6.6 million Americans
who have little or no resources and who are aged, blind or disabled.
The 65,000-person independent, federal agency is headquartered in suburban
Baltimore, with offices in Washington, D.C., and in 1,500 other locations
nationwide.
Before her appointment by President Bush, Commissioner Barnhart served
for more than four years as a member of the Social Security Advisory
Board, an independent body created to advise the Congress on Social
Security issues and policies.
A former SSA employee, Ms. Barnhart worked in the Office of Family
Assistance from 1981-1986, first as Deputy Associate Commissioner and
then as Associate Commissioner. She served as minority staff director
for the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1986-1990. From
1990-1993, she served as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
at the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing more than
65 programs, including Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
During her career, Ms. Barnhart has served as Senator William V. Roth,
Jr.’s legislative assistant (1977-1981) and as his campaign manager
(1988, 1994 and 2000), and managed her own political and public policy
consulting firm.
A graduate of the University of Delaware, Commissioner Barnhart was born
in Memphis, Tennessee. She lives in Virginia with her husband and son.
Social Security Administration Baltimore,
MD 21235-0001
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