Harding

MEMORANDUM ***

Carole M. Harding appeals a judgment remanding her Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability insurance benefits claim for additional administrative proceedings. We affirm.

On August 26, 1997, an Adjudication Officer issued a decision finding Harding disabled under Section 1614(a)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act as of the date of her March 12, 1996 application. Before the decision became final, the Appeals Council exercised its review authority, and by Order dated December 15, 1997, vacated the Adjudication Officer’s favorable decision and remanded the case to an ALJ for further proceedings.

On September 23, 1998, ALJ Stewart issued a decision finding Harding not disabled. In arriving at this conclusion, the ALJ rejected the testimony of the appellant’s examining psychologists primarily on the ground that since the claimant represented to her evaluators that she was no longer abusing alcohol, “their diagnostic impressions and conclusions regarding her clinical findings and capacity for work have all been marred by this intentional misrepresentation.” The ALJ then proceeded to apply the five-step sequential evaluation process for determining disability under…