The local Congresswoman, Jane Harman, is very unhappy. A Los Angeles Daily News blog quotes her as saying:
After months of effort by residents and elected officials, including me, to keep the San Pedro office open, the offer of a part-time contact office is insulting. Apparently, SSA has not been watching the meltdown of our passport system. Putting too few resources on a big issue creates a bigger problem.
1 comment:
If Congressional reps are so unhappy with this development, they should remember it when it comes time to approve SSA's budget.
Most people would prefer in-office service, but telephone appointments exist for a reason. There are SSA offices that field 300+ visitors a day (like my own) and there are offices that get 20 or fewer visitors a day. SSA offers telephone appointments for both claims and post-entitlement issues, and paperwork can be submitted via mail. There are some issues that would mandate an in-office visit, but they aren't a majority. Given the current budget, I see no problem closing SSA offices with weak traffic if the employees are diverted to places where they'd be used.
If it were up to me though, I'd fund the agency enough so that the offices would stay open.
Although, Mapquest points the distance between the San Pedro office and the Torrance/Long Beach offices at approximately 10 miles each. There are people in NJ/MD who must drive about 30 miles to their servicing offices.
Post a Comment