Larson Statement on House Republican Bill to Slash Funding for the Social Security Administration

Washington, D.C. – Today House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement after House Republicans released Fiscal Year 2025 government funding legislation that cuts the Social Security Administration’s budget by $453 million, $1.6 billion below President Biden’s request. 

“Slashing funding for the SSA is a backdoor cut to hard-working Americans’ earned benefits,” said Larson. “The House Republican plan would close Social Security field offices, extend wait times for retirement claims and customer service, and delay disability claims decisions, making it more difficult for the 70 million Americans who rely on Social Security to access their benefits. Their bill would hamstring Commissioner O’Malley’s efforts to improve customer service at the Social Security Administration, piling on to years of underfunding that have led to lengthy delays and errors during a time of great need even as they have operated under an incredibly low administrative overhead of 0.95% as a record-number of seniors retire. House Democrats, under the leadership of Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, are committed to ensuring the SSA has the funding and staffing it needs to properly serve beneficiaries. Make no mistake. If these disastrous cuts come to the House floor for a vote, I will fight to amend it. Rather than cutting benefits and undermining America’s number-one anti-poverty program for children and the elderly, we will continue to fight to enhance benefits and strengthen Social Security for years to come.” 

In May, Ranking Member Larson led nearly 100 Members of Congress with Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07) in a letter to House appropriators in support of increased funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA). Last year, Larson reintroduced the Social Security 2100 Act with nearly 200 of his Democratic colleagues to extend the program’s solvency and increase benefits across-the-board by heeding President Biden’s call to ‘scrap the cap’ on income above $400,000 a year.