Scifers

MEMORANDUM **

1. “[A]n ALJ must ordinarily give great weight to a VA determination of disability.” McCartey v. Massanari, 298 F.3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir.2002). But the VA’s disability determination is not binding on the Social Security Administration (SSA). See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1504 . “Because the VA and SSA criteria for determining disability are not identical, ... the *17 ALJ may give less weight to a VA disability rating if he gives persuasive, specific, valid reasons for doing so that are supported by the record.” McCartey, 298 F.3d at 1076 . The ALJ in this case properly accorded less weight to the VA’s disability rating, after explaining that the medical evidence does not support a finding of disability under the SSA’s definition.

2. Although Scifers’s current treating physician concluded that Scifers’s disability is “ongoing and permanent,” that physician did not begin treating Seifers until 17 years after the date that Seifers was last insured for Social Security disability benefits. The ALJ’s decision to accord less weight to that physician’s opinion, and to accord more weight to medical records contemporaneous to Scifers’s “date last insured,” is supported by clear and…