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social security administration
Do MAGA Republicans Care How a Shutdown Would Impact Seniors?
Older Americans shouldn’t have to worry about their earned benefits because MAGA House members once again are willing the hold the government hostage to their extremist aims.
Sep 04, 2023
The MAGA faction of the House Republican Conference is once again threatening to disrupt the basic functioning of government to push an unpopular agenda. Last spring, they brought the nation to the brink of default. Now, the House Freedom Caucus is refusing to keep the government from shutting down in September unless a set of extreme demands are met. In both cases, they have displayed a callous disregard for the effect of these machinations on everyday Americans who depend on the smooth operation of government—including, and especially, our nation’s seniors.
While the possibility of a government shutdown does not pose as serious a threat to Social Security and Medicare as the averted federal default would have, it is of serious concern to seniors and their advocates. Most Social Security payments likely would continue to go out because the process is largely automated. But, depending on how long a shutdown might last, customer service for Social Security claimants and beneficiaries could be significantly disrupted.
Customer service at the beleaguered Social Security Administration (SSA) is already suffering from chronic underfunding by Congress. In the event of a shutdown, SSA employees would be forced to continue working (without being paid until the shutdown ended) and they’d be limited to performing only their most basic work functions. Non-automated and non-exempted SSA operations would come to a screeching halt. Current work backlogs would begin to grow again. If that happens, seniors hoping to submit new Social Security claims, replace Social Security cards, or report a change in status may experience delays until the shutdown ends.
At the end of the day, government spending is a moral issue—revealing society’s priorities.
We’re worried that—after more than a decade of Tea Party-initiated budget cuts—the negative impacts on SSA and its customers will not end once the government has resumed operations. The current appropriations levels being considered for the new fiscal year will leave SSA unable to even “tread water” in terms of customer service. In recent years, claimants have experienced field office closures, interminable wait times on hold on the SSA’s 800-phone line, and delays of more than a year for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) appeals hearings. In 2017, Over 10,000 people died awaiting adjudication of their SSDI claims. The trend of Congress’ underfunding this agency looks to continue—and service will continue to deteriorate.
Again, the level of harm to seniors from a government shutdown really depends on how long it lasts. The deeper problem is the willingness of MAGA Republicans to hold the federal government hostage to their unreasonable demands—for the second time in a year. They risked a federal default last spring in order to extort deep cuts in domestic spending that the majority of Americans do not support.
In June, the White House and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were able to reach a last-minute deal to lift the debt limit and avert a default. But the deal effectively keeps non-defense spending flat, with funding for FY 2024 failing to keep up with inflation. Unfortunately, many House Republicans are ignoring even that miserly deal. The GOP-controlled House appropriations committees are marking up spending bills at FY 2022 levels, which is considerably lower than in the debt limit agreement.
MAGA Republicans in the House do not seem to care what impact a shutdown would have on everyday Americans. In fact, many MAGA House members seem to relish the prospect of throwing sand in the gears of the federal government. The Freedom Caucus refuses to vote to keep the government open unless their egregious demands are met, demands which are publicly unpopular. These include new laws to address the supposed “weaponization” of government and the revocation of so-called “woke” policies at the Pentagon.
These issues are not only bogus; they have little to do with serious spending policy. One former GOP Senate aide told The Hill that the Freedom Caucus demands are “fundamentally ridiculous.” And yet their agenda to shut down the government can have real consequences for real people, including society’s most vulnerable.
What’s more, many of these same MAGA Republicans have proposed to cut and privatize Social Security—if not for today’s seniors than for their kids and grandchildren. The 2023 House Republican Study Committee budget blueprint called for raising the retirement age to 69 (despite the fact that many older Americans simply cannot work that long); adopting a miserly COLA formula; and means testing benefits, which would cut deep into the heart of the middle class.
So-called “fiscal hawks,” who have no problem making the Trump/GOP tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations permanent, continue to conflate Social Security with the debt. The program is self-funded by workers’ payroll contributions and does not contribute to the debt. Even Ronald Reagan said, “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.”
As seniors’ advocates, we do not believe that older Americans should be shortchanged in the federal budget process. At the end of the day, government spending is a moral issue—revealing society’s priorities. After a lifetime of contributing to this county in innumerable ways—and with the cost of growing old escalating every year—our seniors deserve to be a priority. And they shouldn’t have to worry about their earned benefits because MAGA House members once again are willing the hold the government hostage to their extremist aims.
On Thursday, The White House urged Congress to adopt a short-term measure to fund the federal government, allowing more time to craft a spending deal and avert a shutdown. Congress should heed the president’s request.
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Advocates Applaud Nomination of Martin O'Malley to Lead Social Security Administration
"At a time when Social Security is under attack from Republicans in Congress, O'Malley is the fighter that the American people need at SSA's helm."
Jul 26, 2023
President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to head the Social Security Administration, a move that advocates applauded given his
record of supporting Social Security expansion and opposing calls to raise the retirement age.
"At a time when Social Security is under attack from Republicans in Congress, O'Malley is the fighter that the American people need at SSA's helm," said Nancy Altman, the president of Social Security Works. "SSA has not had a Senate-confirmed commissioner nominated by a Democratic president since 2001. During that time, congressional Republicans have starved SSA of resources, resulting in backlogs and long waits. With staffing the lowest it has been in a quarter of a century, SSA's hardworking and dedicated public servants are overworked and underpaid."
If confirmed by the narrowly Democratic Senate, O'Malley would replace Acting SSA Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, who took over the agency after Biden fired former President Donald Trump's commissioner, Andrew Saul, in 2021.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, O'Malley released a proposal that called for expanding Social Security benefits by requiring Americans who earn over $250,000 a year to contribute more to the program. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax only applies to the first $160,200 of earnings.
"We are confident that O'Malley, working closely with President Biden, will fight not only for expanded benefits and against cuts, but also for opening new field offices and against closing existing ones," Altman said. "Social Security Works looks forward to fighting for O’Malley's rapid confirmation and then working with him to protect and expand our Social Security system."
Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, also celebrated O'Malley's nomination, saying in a statement that "SSA needs a strong commissioner now more than ever."
"With 10,000 Americans turning 65 each day, the workload increases every day and the budget has been woefully inadequate to meet the needs of seniors, people with disabilities, and all American families," said Fiesta. "There is no time to waste. We urge the Senate to confirm Gov. O'Malley without delay."
O'Malley's nomination comes as SSA is facing a staffing crisis that has left employees feeling demoralized and exhausted, resulting in high turnover and longer wait times for people applying to receive benefits—problems that would likely get worse if the House GOP's proposed cuts to SSA's budget become law.
Julie Tippens, legislative director of the American Federation of Government Employees, warned last week that House Republicans' proposed $183 million in cuts to SSA's budget for the coming fiscal year would "devastate" the agency.
"More than 10,000 Americans die, and another 5,000 Americans are forced to declare bankruptcy, every year while waiting for their disability hearing," Tippens said. "More cuts to SSA will result in a rapid increase of wait times, force SSA offices to close in many communities, and reduce service hours to the public."
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Union Warns GOP Proposal Would 'Devastate' the Social Security Administration
"More cuts to SSA will result in a rapid increase of wait times, force SSA offices to close in many communities, and reduce service hours to the public."
Jul 20, 2023
A union representing more than 750,000 federal employees warned Wednesday that the House GOP's proposed cuts to the Social Security Administration for the coming fiscal year would deeply harm the already strained and understaffed agency, potentially forcing it to close offices and slash service hours.
Such impacts would "devastate the agency's ability to serve the American public," Julie Tippens, legislative director of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), wrote in a letter to the top members of the House Appropriations Committee.
Last week, a Republican-controlled appropriations subcommittee approved legislation that would cut the Social Security Administration's (SSA) budget for fiscal year 2024 by $183 million below the currently enacted level. President Joe Biden's 2024 budget proposal, by contrast, called for a $1.4 billion increase for the agency.
The full House Appropriations Committee still must approve the measure, one of a dozen government funding bills that Congress is looking to pass by September 30 to avert a government shutdown.
Tippens noted that "seniors and disabled individuals already face long lines to get help at field offices"—conditions that would only worsen under the GOP proposal.
"Someone calling SSA's helpline faces an antiquated phone system that frequently drops their calls and where the average wait time is 35 minutes," Tippens wrote. "A worker with disabilities trying to claim their earned disability benefit faces a wait time of over seven months to get an initial decision and up to two years or longer to schedule a disability hearing. More than 10,000 Americans die, and another 5,000 Americans are forced to declare bankruptcy, every year while waiting for their disability hearing."
"More cuts to SSA will result in a rapid increase of wait times, force SSA offices to close in many communities, and reduce service hours to the public," she added, urging lawmakers to reject the funding reduction.
"Social Security is one thing the American people should be able to count on, yet the House Republican bill would disrupt access to those earned benefits."
The GOP's proposed cuts to the Social Security Administration come after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced plans to establish a bipartisan "commission" to examine ways to cut Social Security.
Two weeks after McCarthy's remarks, the 175-member Republican Study Committee released a proposal that would raise Social Security's full retirement age to 69, a change that would cut benefits across the board.
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), a leading proponent of Social Security expansion in the House, warned last week that Republicans' attack on the Social Security Administration is their "first step" toward cutting benefits.
"Social Security is one thing the American people should be able to count on, yet the House Republican bill would disrupt access to those earned benefits," said Larson. "Already, years of underfunding, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, have significantly worsened Social Security Administration's service, and led to lengthy delays during a time of rising need."
"The House Republican bill will only pile onto this problem, making it harder and harder for Americans to access their earned benefits," Larson continued. "I will continue to fight for the Social Security Administration to have the funding and staffing it needs to improve customer service to the American people."
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