Democrats say cuts to social security have caused ‘customer service chaos’ for American seniors | US social security
Cuts at the Social Security Administration have caused “customer service chaos” for millions of older Americans and people with disabilities who rely on the agency’s services, according to a study. new report From a group of Democratic senators.
An investigation found that phone wait times, even if calls were answered, were 10 times higher than claimed on the agency’s website.
The longer wait times come after the Trump administration laid off more than 7,000 workers at the Social Security Administration; This led to devastating service disruptions for beneficiaries, the report said.
“The consequences of these outages have been catastrophic, increasing wait times for telephone services and in-person field office appointments,” the report said. “The capacity of some rural field offices is reportedly so limited that [they] effectively closed; cannot provide the in-person services that millions of older Americans and people with disabilities rely on.”
Elizabeth Warren’s report includes updates from the first year of the “Social Security War Room,” created to combat the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine social security. Warren founded the group with other senators on the chamber’s finance committee, including ranking member Ron Wyden, Mark Kelly and Raphael Warnock.
Senators fact-checked billionaire Elon Musk, who as chairman of the Doge said there was fraud, waste and abuse at the Social Security Administration.
Musk falsely claimed He said dead people and undocumented immigrants were benefiting from social security benefits, which he called a “ponzi scheme.”
Doge in question Last year, 40% of calls to the Social Security agency to change direct deposit information turned out to be fraudulent. However data The Social Security Administration (SSA) found that out of 110,000 new claims made by phone, only two cases of fraud were detected.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement about the report: “Since day one, Donald Trump’s attacks on Social Security have made it harder for Americans to receive social security benefits.” “We launched our Social Security War Room a year ago to combat and stop Trump’s harm, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
“Instead of trying to solve the customer service crisis, Doge was busy stealing sensitive and personal information of SSA beneficiaries,” the report said. investigations by members of Congress and an internal government watchdog over allegations that an employee misused sensitive Social Security data.
The report also criticizes the institution’s management for putting forward misleading data and claims, mismanaging the staffing crisis and recommending service cuts.
In October, Trump appointed Social Security Administration investment banker Frank Bisignano as chairman. accepted He had to Google the position when it was offered to him during a town hall.
The report said Bisignano planned to limit disability benefits through Social Security and raise the retirement age last fall, but ultimately scrapped plan after serious backlash.
“Commissioner Bisignano’s disastrous leadership continues to put Americans’ interests at risk,” the report concluded. “The administration is haphazardly shifting employees and limiting field office services to accommodate catastrophic staffing cuts, and the SSA is considering alarming solutions to address the insolvency of Social Security, including raising the retirement age,” he said.
Social Security Administration spokesperson denies Senator Warren’s claims waiting timesby quoting inspector general report.
“The false claims made by Senator Warren and perpetuated through her so-called ‘War Room’ serve the sole purpose of intimidating America’s seniors and the most vulnerable who rely on Social Security,” they said. “Senator Warren refuses to acknowledge the significant customer service improvements that have occurred at SSA under Commissioner Bisignano’s leadership.”
“President Trump has fought and served more for America’s seniors than any of his predecessors,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in an email.
They did not comment on Warren’s claims about misinformation and cuts to the Social Security Administration, but did quote: temporary tax reduction about the benefits.
“President Trump will always protect and strengthen Social Security, which is why he signed historic legislation eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits for nearly all beneficiaries. While President Trump fights to put more money in the pockets of seniors with his historic tax cut, radical Democrat Elizabeth Warren voted to block these significant tax cuts.”
