evidence: Applicants now wait over seven months for a decision on an initial application, up 86% from 2019. [...] Still, wait times in November 2023 are higher than they have been at any other point in the past 14 years. Between November 2019 and November 2023, the average wait time increased 86% from four months to over seven months. In September 2022, the SSA released a letter to the public remarking that the increased wait time on initial application decisions is "unacceptable" and "cause[s] significant financial hardship for the most vulnerable people."