From an AP piece:

Driven to reduce a huge backlog of disability claims,
Social Security is pushing judges to award benefits to people who may
not deserve them, several current and former judges told Congress
Thursday. 

Larry Butler, an administrative law judge from Fort Myers, Fla., called the system “paying down the backlog.” 

A former Social Security judge, J.E. Sullivan, said,

     Some excerpts from the written statements of witnesses at today’s hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee:

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Larry Butler (31% reversal rate): “The Social Security disability programs are bankrupt. … Is SSA managing the disability system for the primary benefit of genuinely disabled individuals and taxpayers or has the disability