Administrative Agencies

The administration would be fairly simple and relatively inexpensive for a program of this size. The following organizations would be required:

1. Eligibility determination and enrollment: This could be an expansion of the role of the Social Security Administration, since that agency already does this type of activity for a huge number of people and they maintain the roster of Social Security Numbers that would probably be used in this process. Assuming the family so chooses, all of the benefits for members of a family may be aggregated into one account. This task will include adding and subtracting people from each family as certain events occur. Appropriate use of computer and communication technology should be made to reduce the costs associated with maintaining the database. The computers could be linked with other government agencies to handle maintenance such as the addition or deletion of foster children from families, deaths, and divorce and custody matters. The enrollment process would include allowing the family to specify the financial institution handling the funds. We suspect that it will work out that health insurers will be the best companies to handle the health benefits, while banks with credit / debit card operations will handle the rest. The enrollment process would also include the opportunity for the account owner(s) to designate beneficiaries in the event of death.
   
   While this agency would be responsible for this process, much of the cost could be borne by the card providers. Let them market the program, accept applications, changes, etc. and report them to this agency via computer links. (This would be similar to the marketing and compliance currently provided by the private sector for individual retirement accounts.)
    

2. Fund transfer: The Treasury Department would wire the amounts with a system similar to that which currently handles direct deposits of Social Security checks.
    

3. Commission(s) on eligible expenses: There should be a commission responsible for issuing decisions about what expenses are eligible to be applied to each type of benefit.
    

4. Auditing: There will be a requirement for auditing of the companies handling the funds and the merchants transmitting requests for disbursements. The auditing agency would report intentional fraud to federal prosecutors, and would have the authority (subject to appropriate appeals process) to levy civil fines or discontinue a company’s participation in the program. The auditing of the merchants would be similar to the current enforcement of those who accept food stamps. While there may be a new agency name in a different part of government, it would seem logical to move the employees already trained in this function to the new agency.
    

5. Tax collection: The process of collecting revenues would become much simpler under this ComingTogether Plan so the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would have a substantially reduced workload. Furthermore, since the tax code would no longer be a vehicle by which welfare (the Earned Income Credit) is distributed, the IRS can focus on its main job, the collection of taxes. This consistency of mission should allow the agency to be far more efficient.