Michael Astrue was sworn in as commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Feb. 12.

Astrue, who is to serve a six-year term, took over for Jo Anne Barnhart, whose term expired on Jan. 19.

"My goal is to be a good steward of the Social Security program for both current and future beneficiaries," Astrue said. "For current beneficiaries, this means setting high standards for management, performance and service and committing to meeting those standards. For future beneficiaries, this means engaging with the executive branch, with members of Congress and with outside groups and experts to provide unbiased data about all the options for safeguarding the financial stability of the program."

At his Jan. 24 nomination hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Astrue pledged to stay out of the privatization debate. During questioning by panel Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., who opposes allowing a portion of Social Security taxes to be invested in personal accounts, Astrue acknowledged that there would be "huge difficulties with the transition costs" of such partial privatization, but promised not to take sides on the issue while leading SSA.