SSA Commissioners
Kenneth S. Apfel
September 29, 1997 to January 19, 2001
Kenneth Apfel was confirmed as Commissioner of Social Security
on Sept. 19th and sworn-in
as SSA's 13th Commissioner during a ceremony at SSA Headquarters
in Baltimore on Sept. 29, 1997.
"It is hard to overstate the importance of Social Security
in improving the lives of Americans," said Commissioner
Apfel during his confirmation hearing. "Social Security
has been the most successful domestic government program in our
nation's history. It has made a decisive difference in providing
financial security for older Americans."
Commissioner Apfel was the Associate Director for Human Resources
at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of
the President, where he served from 1995 to the present. His responsibilities
included budget, policy and management review of all the human resource
agencies of the federal government, including SSA, the Departments
of Labor and Education and parts of the Departments of Agriculture
and Health and Human Services.
Prior to his appointment to OMB, he served as Assistant Secretary
for Management and Budget at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. He was nominated by President Clinton in March 1993 and
was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In this capacity, he served as
the senior budget official and chief financial officer for HHS.
He formulated and executed the third largest budget in the world--a
$700 billion budget for a department staffed nationwide by 125,000
people, with half of HHS resources in support of the Social Security
Administration. During his tenure, he served as a principal on the
Secretary's task force to elevate the Social Security Administration
to independent agency status.
Before joining the Clinton Administration, he worked for the prior
two decades in the area of social policy. From 1989-1993 he served
as legislative director to Senator Bill Bradley, overseeing the
formulation and development of all aspects of congressional policymaking.
During 1982-1989, he was the Senator's chief staff person for federal
social policy, with particular focus on programs under the jurisdiction
of the Senate Finance Committee. He served as the Senator's key
staff person for the Committee's actions on the historic 1983 Social
Security reform legislation.
Between 1980-1982, he was committee staff for human services, education,
training and income security programs for the U.S. Senate Budget
Committee. From 1978-1980, he served as a Presidential Management Intern
at the U.S. Department of Labor. He was a college administrator
from 1973- 1976 at Newbury College in Massachusetts, coordinating
a grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to
provide outreach and remediation to veterans.
"I have known Ken for a number of years," said
Acting Commissioner John J. Callahan, following the Senate confirmation,
"and I can think of no more highly qualified individual
to serve as the first confirmed Commissioner of an independent Social
Security Administration. He has the experience, the knowledge, the
insight and the compassion to guide Social Security into the next
millennium."
The new Commissioner was born in Worcester, Mass. He received
his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
in 1970; a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, Northeastern
University in 1973; and a master's degree in public affairs from
the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas in 1978.
He is married and has two children.
Apfel's Departure Letter to President
Clinton (in PDF format)
Summary of Apfel's Tenure