Larson and Democratic Colleagues Announce Legislative Response to Trump-Musk Attacks on Social Security
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) introduced three bills with his Democratic colleagues to protect Americans from the Trump-Musk plan to gut Social Security.
Last week, reports came out that the Trump Administration had imminent plans to close Social Security field and hearing offices and significantly reduce staff at the Social Security Administration (SSA). On Friday, 24 SSA senior staff resigned as Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek announced plans to consolidate ten regional offices down to four and cut 7,000 workers.
Reps. Larson, Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (MA-01) and their colleagues introduced:
Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act to put a moratorium on the closure of Social Security Field Offices for the rest of the Trump Administration
Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act to block Elon Musk and his cronies’ access to sensitive beneficiary data and strengthen oversight and civil penalties for any privacy and disclosure violations of Social Security beneficiaries’ personal information
a Resolution of Inquiry to compel President Trump to disclose to Congress information about ‘DOGE’ activity at SSA and any plans to close field offices or cut staff
“Donald Trump has called Social Security a ‘scam’ and Elon Musk has called it a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ The real scam here is their plan to cut Americans’ hard-earned benefits so they can pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy,” said Larson. “Laying off workers at the Social Security Administration and shuttering field offices will mean the delay, disruption, and denial of benefits, a backdoor cut. Our plan will keep field offices open, block Musk and his ‘DOGE’ from accessing sensitive beneficiary data and force the Administration to come clean to Congress about their cuts. Some of the American people may have been born at night, but not last night... and they know a con when they hear it. Democrats stand united with the 70 million Americans who rely on Social Security to make ends meet. It will only take three House Republicans to join us and stop the Trump-Musk plan to gut Social Security in its tracks. Will they stand up for their constituents?”
“Social Security is a bedrock economic promise that our workers earn over a lifetime, and after last night, it’s clear that Republicans are gunning to end the program as we know it,” said House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (MA-01). “That’s why today, led by Social Security’s greatest champion Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson, Ways and Means Democrats are fighting back with this slate of legislative measures. It only takes three Republicans to put their loyalty to their constituents ahead of their loyalty to the President, and stand with us to ensure not a dime is taken from Social Security.”
“I proudly join with Rep. John Larson to lead this bill to halt the dangerous Republican attacks on Social Security benefits,” said Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-07). “At the time when the greatest number of baby boomers are retiring and need the most help and when the Social Security Administration already is at its lowest staffing level in decades, it is unconscionable that the Republicans seek to throw seniors, orphans, and those with disabilities into poverty by cutting Social Security. Field offices serve as a lifeline for seniors and people with disabilities. Our bill is essential to stop President Trump and the Republicans from closing any field office.”
“While Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans push for severe cuts to the Social Security Administration, they are advocating for massive tax breaks for billionaires,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04). “I am proud to stand for the over 140,000 Social Security recipients in my district with the introduction of the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act – a crucial step to prevent the closure and consolidation of Social Security field and hearing offices, like the one illegally proposed by DOGE to close in Las Vegas.”
“I had the honor to lead the hard-working men and women of Social Security in a remarkable year of turnaround after ten years of House Republicans reducing the staffing of the agency to a fifty-year low,” said former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley. “It has been with great sadness to watch this agency be dismantled and torn apart. The truth is, Social Security, for 90 years, has never missed a monthly payment. But given the wrecking ball, and the people they are driving out of this agency, we are going to see several things happen in the near future: wait times will skyrocket, there will be intermittent failures of claims processing systems, and ultimately, you will see a system collapse that will lead to an interruption of benefits. It is interesting to me how the people that are going after ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ would do away first with the division whose job it was to go after improper payments – waste, fraud, and abuse. It is all about wrecking an agency, that for 90 years, has never let the American people down.”
“More than 73 million Americans rely on the benefits they receive from the Social Security Administration and the services provided by the 42,000 SSA employees we represent across 1,500 offices nationwide. These benefits and services are now in jeopardy as the Trump administration looks to massively gut SSA offices and workers. The legislation being introduced today will help safeguard the benefits and services Americans expect and deserve. Thank you to Reps. Larson, Neal, and Davis for introducing these critical bills,” said Everett Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
“This Administration is trying to dismantle Social Security piece by piece. Trump has broken his promise not to ‘touch’ Social Security,” saidRobert Roach, Jr.,President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “The Alliance stands with Congressman Larson, and others, to pass legislation to stop this assault on the most vulnerable Americans who have earned their Social Security.”
“President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE are trying to dismantle the Social Security program from the inside, by taking a wrecking ball to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Their actions at SSA may well break the system that delivers benefits to 70 million Americans. It is outrageous that an unelected billionaire who himself receives hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts from the federal government is interfering with the benefits working Americans have earned and rely upon. We strongly endorse Rep. Larson’s legislation to suspend field Social Security field office closures and protect beneficiaries’ deeply persona data. We also back his bill to bring transparency to the actions of Musk and DOGE at SSA, including any further plans to close field offices or cut staff. Congressman Larson and his cosponsors understand that Congress must build a firewall to contain Trump and Musk --- and their all too apparent campaign to cut and privatize Social Security by wreaking havoc on the agency that administers Americans’ earned benefits,” said Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“Over the last 90 years, Social Security has survived wars, pandemic, and Republican schemes to privatize it. The biggest threats it has ever faced are Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Social Security Works enthusiastically endorses these essential bills, which Congress must pass immediately to stop Musk and Trump from dismantling our Social Security system,” said Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works.
Original cosponsors of the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act and the Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act include: Reps. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), André Carson (IN-07), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Betty McCollum (MN-04), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Mark Takano (CA-39), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).
A one-pager on the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act is available HERE.
A one-pager on the Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act is available HERE.
A one-pager on the Resolution of Inquiry is available HERE.