Social Security Nominee Denies ‘Whimsical’ Acts

President Reagan’s nominee to head the Social Security Administration, testifying on the eve of her confirmation hearing, denied Wednesday that she whimsically passed out millions of dollars in discretionary federal grants in her present job.

But Dorcas Hardy confirmed to a House subcommittee that she appeared on a Denver telethon in March and pledged to use federal money to match viewer pledges to a local adoption agency.

The promise elicited $20,000 in pledges, Hardy told the House Government Operations subcommittee on intergovernmental relations. “That’s what I think public service is all about,” she said.

Heads Child Welfare

Hardy is assistant secretary for human development services in the Health and Human Services Department. The office is in charge of programs such as child welfare and family development.

The incident was expected to be scrutinized today during Senate Finance Committee hearings on her nomination.

Rep. Ted Weiss (D-N.Y.), the subcommittee chairman, has written Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), chairman of the Finance Committee, contending “serious irregularities” in Hardy’s handling of the grant program. He said many of her decisions apparently were based on “whims.”