Letter Comes as Acting Commissioner Continues to Enable DOGE to Fire Workers, Close Offices and Access Americans’ Sensitive Personal Data
ICYMI: Murray, Colleagues Blast Trump and Musk’s Plans to Gut Social Security Administration, Threaten Americans’ Social Security
FACT SHEET: Trump and Musk’s Plot to Make It Harder for Americans to Get Their Social Security Benefits
Washington, D.C. — Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), led Senate Democrats in a letter yesterday warning that Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s scheme to purge the Social Security workforce will threaten the ability of millions of Americans to get their earned benefits.
In their letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek, the senators
underscored, “Your characterization of its recent reorganizations and staffing reductions as ‘duplicative,’ ‘redundant’ or ‘non-mission critical’ is an utter farce and insulting to the thousands of Americans who dedicated their career in service of the agency’s mission. These public servants worked on critical projects focusing on improving customer service for all its customers, reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring that all Americans, particularly those with disabilities, can access SSA offices and their earned benefits.”Social Security is one of the nation’s most popular and effective programs, providing a foundational income that workers pay into the system to accumulate for their retirement and providing insurance protection against unexpected hardship. Social Security workers help Americans navigate some of their most important moments, such as birth, marriage, and retirement, to ensure they can access their earned benefits. In-person services are critical for people who lack reliable internet access and cannot navigate Social Security’s website. On average, 120,000 Americans visit and 233,000 call the agency’s field offices every day. Slashing staff and eliminating field offices will put Americans at risk of missing their earned benefits when they need them most.
To ensure customer service for millions of Americans is not disrupted, the senators requested answers from Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek on how driving out staff with 20 years of experience would support Americans accessing benefits. In addition, the letter requests information on the number of SSA employees that have left or been fired. The letter also seeks information about how SSA will determine which field and regional offices are shut down—as DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” touts a list of field offices they have or will terminate leases for.
In February, Senate Democratic leaders on Social Security demanded answers from the DOGE-appointed acting head of the Social Security Administration regarding the recent turmoil at the agency as DOGE embeds itself and gains access to Americans’ most sensitive personal information.
Senator Murray has an extensive record of protecting Social Security benefits and fighting to secure essential funding for the SSA. Under Murray’s leadership as Chair, the Senate Appropriations Committee secured $14.2 billion for SSA in the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill—a $100 million increase over Fiscal Year 2023 funding levels—and advanced a draft Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill that would provide another $509 million increase for SSA. Millions of Americans rely on Social Security and have earned benefits over lifetimes of work. Half of seniors rely on Social Security for most of their income and a quarter of seniors rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.
The full letter can be found HERE.
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