Larson, Scanlon Lead 74 House Democrats Demanding Answers on the Impact of Social Security Staffing Cuts

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 74 House Democrats demanding answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on the impact of the Trump Administration’s staffing cuts. 

Earlier this year, in an attempt to cover up high phone wait time, SSA reassigned employees from its Disability Adjudication, Financial and Management, Field Office Services, Risk and Quality, Digital Services, and Chief Information Officer units to assist in monitoring its public call-in phone line. These staffing changes have resulted in poorer services for beneficiaries, including reduced in-person services, office closures, and service delays. Reassigned employees are also receiving less-than-adequate training, often only receiving three hours of training before being assigned to phone duties the same day, and are unable to professionally handle cases for individuals in crisis or with time-sensitive needs.  

“We write to express our deep concern with the Social Security Administration’s decision to 
reassign thousands of Social Security Administration (SSA) employees away from their primary, essential duties in order to address excessive wait times on SSA’s toll-free number for customer service,” the members wrote. “While we understand the need to reduce wait times for calls, the blanket reassignment of personnel from other high-priority tasks appears to have exacerbated backlogs and extended overdue processing times in other critical areas of the SSA.” 

“These employee reassignments have the potential to cause massive service delays and add to SSA’s already overwhelming case backlog, which stands at 6 million pending cases at SSA processing centers and 12 million transactions in field offices,” the members continued. “While on paper, the reassignment may shorten wait times for calls regarding unprocessed claims and paperwork, if the people responsible for processing those claims are unable to do their jobs, it will only delay the receipt of benefits and lead to worse outcomes for the individuals SSA is meant to serve.” 

The members requested information regarding the impact of the staff changes, including: 

1. What does the training given to displaced staff include? 

2. What impact does SSA project the staff reassignments will have on field office appointment times? 

3. What has the impact of this reassignment been on caller satisfaction rates? 

4. What other assessments is the SSA conducting to track the efficacy and impact of reassignments? 

Read the full letter here.