Congressional Democrats investigating Social Security commissioner over debit card contract

Congressional Democrats are investigating whether Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano knew — and should have disclosed — that his company stood to benefit from a huge contract overseeing a debit card program serving millions of recipients of Social Security and other programs, The Baltimore Sun has learned.

The Senate Finance Committee’s Democratic staff, led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, is exploring whether Bisignano knew during his confirmation procedures that the firm, Fiserv, had bid — or was planning to — on a pending 5-year Direct Express contract, which distributes government benefits to about 3.4 million Americans via prepaid cards, a committee spokesperson said.

Another Democrat, Connecticut Rep. John Larson, told The Sun that Bisignano’s “connection to Fiserv certainly raises questions about Treasury’s new contract. Especially as he moves to end paper checks for monthly benefits, which could push hundreds of thousands of Americans over to Direct Express, he has a responsibility to be transparent about any potential conflicts of interest.”

The Sun reached out to Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, the Finance Committee chairman, for comment and did not hear back by publication.

The Social Security Administration did not make Bisignano available for an interview as requested, but responded to The Sun’s questions. An agency spokesperson wrote that “throughout the process and following his confirmation by the Senate, Commissioner Bisignano fully complied with all obligations required under his federal government ethics agreement as a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee.”

The contract was awarded to Fifth Third, an Ohio-based bank, and began on Sept. 9, according to the company’s news release that day naming Money Network Financial, LLC as the program’s manager. Money Network Financial is a subsidiary of Fiserv, the company Bisignano headed as chairman and CEO until stepping down on May 6 to take over the federal agency.

Bisignano, whose former company is one of the world’s largest payment and financial technology firms, told the Senate panel in a March 25 question-and-answer document: “I have committed to divest all Fiserv holdings if confirmed.”

There was no mention of the contract in the 54-page document — which was part of the confirmation process — or during statements at his committee confirmation.

In the response to The Sun’s questions, SSA said “there was not an open contract for the Direct Express program” during his nomination and confirmation process. The agency noted that Bank of New York Mellon had originally been given the debit card contract in November 2024, which was before President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bisignano in December.

Trump, then the incoming president, posted on Truth Social on Dec. 4 that Bisignano, a top Republican donor “will be responsible to deliver on the Agency’s commitment to the American People for generations to come!”

After that, however, the bidding process timeline is difficult to reconstruct. That’s because the agreement with Bank of New York Mellon never moved forward, and the contract had to be rebid.

It is unclear when Fifth Third became a bidder for the contract or its value. The contract was awarded by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The bureau did not immediately return messages on Wednesday about the contract timetable.

The debit card program, widely used by people without bank accounts, has a history of customer service issues.

Martin O’Malley, a former Social Security Administration commissioner, told The Sun: “Congress should have questions for any commissioner in light of this conflict.  Among them is: ‘Did you know that your company was bidding on this work during your confirmation?’ ”

The SSA spokesperson said the agency “had no role in the selection of prime or sub-contractors”  by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for the Direct Express contract.  The spokesperson said multiple federal agencies — not just SSA — use Direct Express for benefit payments.

O’Malley, also a former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor, disagreed with that characterization, saying he was “in conversations with Treasury” about the Direct Express contract when he was commissioner, ending in November 2024

O’Malley said Bisignano’s situation raises a question about impartiality. “Who would object if the commissioner’s company weren’t abiding by the terms of the contract? I mean, who is it that says that they’re not fulfilling the customer service requirements? Is it the Treasury or is it the commissioner of Social Security?” he said.

The Social Security Administration, based in Baltimore County, paid more than $1.5 trillion in benefits last year to more than 72 million people.

Nominees to head agencies must make disclosures about sources of outside income, non-government positions and other personal information.

Short of that, ethical concerns might be raised “if a company where you’ve been on the inside is competing for government business, or competing for government licenses of some sort,” said David A. Super, an administrative law scholar at Georgetown University Law Center.

“People with that sort of history have been required to recuse themselves,” said Super, who spoke generally and did not address Bisignano’s situation. “Some administrations, not this one, have put in blanket policies preventing officials from talking with former employers.”

The Social Security Administration has been encouraging beneficiaries who receive paper checks to switch to debit cards. It announced earlier this year that, with few exceptions,  it would stop issuing paper checks to beneficiaries on Sept. 30. That followed a March executive order issued by  Trump requiring all federal disbursements to shift to electronic payments by the end of this month.

The Social Security Administration said the shift will curb lost or stolen payments, speed up processing times and save the government millions of dollars a year.