Larson Statement on House Social Security Vote

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 5348, a bill that is supposed to protect children from Social Security identity theft but does nothing to address the Trump Administration’s ‘DOGE’ privacy violations that have put every American’s data at risk. In August, a whistleblower came forward to reveal that Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ appointees uploaded the private records of more than 300 million Americans to a vulnerable cloud, including names, birth dates, and addresses. 

Ranking Member Larson has introduced legislation to bar political appointees from accessing sensitive data at Social Security and launched an inquiry to compel answers from the Trump Administration on this potential data breach.  

“On its face, the bill we voted on tonight is a good, common-sense measure to protect children from identity theft,” said Larson. “But it has been more than three months since we learned that Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ moved more than 300 million Americans’ personal records, including names, birth dates, and addresses, to a vulnerable cloud, and nothing has been done. Democrats have been sounding the alarm: demanding hearings, introducing legislation, and launching inquiries to hold this administration accountable. Where are our Republican colleagues? When the Ways and Means Committee took up this bill earlier this year, I offered amendments to protect Americans’ personal records and reverse Trump’s devastating cuts that are putting Social Security at risk. Republicans voted them all down. As the Ranking Member of the Social Security Subcommittee, I could not in good conscience support this bill while everyone’s data is still at risk. If Republicans want to address data privacy, let’s take real action to hold President Trump and ‘DOGE’ accountable.” 

When H.R. 5348 and other Social Security bills were considered in the Ways and Means Committee, Ranking Member Larson brought forward amendments to reverse cuts at Social Security and safeguard Americans’ personal records from ‘DOGE’ meddling. They were blocked by every Ways and Means Republican. He has been sounding the alarm for months about ‘DOGE’ plans to rummage through private data and introduced legislation in March to block political appointees from accessing sensitive data, including Social Security numbers, income history, and medical records. His requests for a markup on his bill and a hearing with the ‘DOGE’ whistleblower have been continuously refused by the Republican majority.  

In response, Ranking Member Larson and every Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee launched an inquiry to compel information from the Trump Administration about ‘DOGE’ data meddling and what information has been accessed and moved to a vulnerable cloud.