Questions for Adrian Haro, Chief Executive Officer, The Workers Lab — Questions from Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (March 31, 2022)

Summary

Questions for Adrian Haro, Chief Executive Officer, The Workers Lab, from Chairman Gerald E. Connolly of the Subcommittee on Government Operations follow the March 31, 2022 hearing "Follow the Money: Tackling Improper Payments." The first question cites minority witness Rachel Greszler's argument that benefit delivery involves trade-offs between improper payments and ease of access. In answer, the text says increasing access to public benefits and increasing efficiency inside government can be done at the same time, calling the tradeoff false. It cites a survey of 256 workers associated with Gig Workers Rising in California. Asked how The Workers Lab acquired the data states needed to verify claimant income, the answer is that it did not, because workers consented and chose to link their accounts with the income passport.

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                                           Questions for Adrian Haro
                                    Chief Executive Officer, The Workers Lab
                                 Questions from Chairman Gerald E. Connolly
                                   Subcommittee on Government Operations
                   March 31, 2022, Hearing: “Follow the Money: Tackling Improper Payments”

1. In her testimony, minority witness Rachel Greszler argued that providing benefits and services to families and
   businesses is “like a seesaw” and that “there are trade-offs between improper payments and the ease with which
   individuals can access benefits.” You’ve actually worked during your career to develop technology to streamline
   benefit distribution processes. How do you think about the tensions between getting a benefit out quickly and
   making sure it’s going to the right person in the right amount?

    What we’ve demonstrated in this project is that you can actually do both – increase access to public benefits and
    also increase efficiency inside government all at the same time. It’s a false tradeoff to say that you have to sacrifice
    efficiency to increase access. Doing so can stifle innovation in the public sector and we should be doing everything
    we can to encourage it.

    Deploying cutting-edge technology to help government and claimants shouldn’t come at the cost of taking away
    existing service that happens over the phone, in person, by mail.

    Today, most of us are used to having the best technology and services accessible through our phones, and apps.
    People are expecting this level of service from government, so modernization is essential to keep pace and to
    ensure that government is efficient and effective. Most people are increasingly comfortable with smartphones and
    computers, so the focus should be on ensuring that technology is user friendly, accessible in multiple languages and
    for people with disabilities, and that non-online alternatives exist for people who might prefer that, such as older
    folks.

    While not everyone has a gig account (or account from app-based work), nearly two thirds of Americans bank online
    today (source: Statista). Providing easy, secure access to earnings on online bank accounts may not help every
    person, but it can help a large majority.

    Furthermore, We learned through a survey of 256 workers associated with Gig Workers Rising in California that 9 out
    of 10 of those workers would be willing to share data from their gig or work app accounts if it would lead to faster
    and more accurate benefits.

2. The Worker’s Lab conducted a pilot with several states allowing gig workers to securely link gig worker platforms
   and financial accounts for the purpose of receiving benefits from their state. How has your organization used
   technology to help the government improve its benefits programs?

    Technology like the one I described in my testimony needs government to have REAL skin in the game on
    innovation. Ideally, government partners are at the table with workers and technologists helping to support, inform,
    and build technology solutions aimed at providing better service delivery to its constituents. Part of our value
    proposition at The Workers Lab is that we are really effective at bringing these kinds of unlikely partners together
    and holding/creating a low-risk high impact collaborative workspace for innovation. This is what we do. Government
    and this committee can help create this workspace. And like I said in my testimony, The Workers Lab stands ready
    and willing to help.

3. Your project with gig workers highlighted how data sharing can benefit the public and enhance program integrity
   at the same time. How did The Workers Lab work with gig worker platforms to acquire the data states needed to
   verify claimant income?

    We didn’t. Where applicable workers consented and chose to link their accounts with the income passport.


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