Perhaps the point that stuck with me the most what hearing him say currently the agency has a“Leadership problem not a Doge problem” and “you have to have experience.” Haha. That’s the nicest way of saying “Leland is in way over his head and it shows.” He says he hasn’t talked to Lee and is clearly distancing himself from the current decisions being made. One trump appointee tossing another under the bus. Leland, maybe you should step down or pause some of these decisions until after Franks confirmation. It’s clear he’s planning on rolling back the phone changes you just made, and who knows what else. Frank wants a focus group to determine how beneficiaries want to be served? I guess he has never heard of the office of transformation? Lee you cut that too. Save the taxpayer some money and put a pause on things that are gonna be reversed and cost us more in the end.
Impressively willing and able to lie his ass off. Otherwise just another typical finance goon who loves conspiracy theories and occasionally reads the WSJ’s editorial pages.
Mr. Bisignano - You are the Chairman, President, and CEO of Fiserv Inc which has a market cap of about $ 127 Billion. Your net worth is estimated to be $996 Million dollars. WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE ROLE OF COMMISSIONER OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION?
Bignisano said that leadership at SSA has been rated poorly for years. I didn't get the sense that his concern was focused on Dudek, as the above commenter indicates. The swamp in government, and SSA in particular, IMHO, has always been the SES and SES equivalents. Front line workers and first line supervisors have been overwhelmed, over surveilled, and under supported. We'll see what changes Bignisano makes. Less hierarchy and better computer systems with AI can make a big difference.
He's setting the stage to rolling them back if they go poorly. The current Gauleiter is doing what the administration wants him to do or he'd be out. If what he has done goes satisfactorily, they will be left alone. Bisignano has no experience in what he is going to be doing running a government agency either, so let's not pretend like the experience problem goes away when Frank takes over.
Sure, 4:16. Your vast knowledge of the SES ranks is impressive. I mean, year after year, when Congress has given SSA far more resources than have been requested, those resources have just been squand.... Hold on - how often has SSA received its full budget request? When it did, did that request cover enough to revamp its computer systems in a way that would be meaningful without disrupting current benefits? When did the Agency dare ask for more than a minimal amount of money for radical improvements? You must have some intel.... You think somehow SSA is going to get a budget that will support real change? Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
It's entertaining that critical RO and CO technical staff are going to lose their positions, while you think that progress (better data exchanges, miraculous new computer processes, better support of front line employees, labor support, etc) will magically occur. In case you aren't paying attention, it seems like everything is going to be even more data driven. The ACOSS wants disability decisions to take a day. He wants goals that are ever- increasing so that folks don't rest on their laurels. (Watch the video that was recently posted.) Goal was 95%? Make it 96% now. Good luck with that, first line supervisors and front line workers. Be careful what you wish for.
Not sure why he refused to give a straightforward "no" to the question about the SSA trust fund being a ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes also involve a "promise to pay"--its just a lie.
Frank is ready to drain the SSA swamp! Soon numberholders will be delighted to be on the phone for no more than two minutes. Frank will take our embarrassing error rate from 10% to .001%. Bravo, Mr. Bisignano!
Give the guy a chance. Absolutely nothing alarming about what he said and most of it made good sense. Personally, I’m tired of judging commissioners by whether they support telework.Considering some of the other cabinet level appointments and the current ACOSS, I feel like SSA is fortunate.
He deserves his chance. And, it will be immediately apparent within the next 3-6 months exactly how good, bad, or indifferent he will be. I have my suspicions as to how it will probably go given his level of wealth and entitlement, but we'll see.
He will need e beneficiaries' help to do that. The OIG 2025 audit report on improper payment attributed the late reporting of material changes for the vast majority of overpayments.
The improper payment rate is less that 1% -- not 10%. OIG published a report in 2025 attributing improper payment ts mainly to untimely reporting of changes to payment calculations. For example, reporting a return to work 6-months after the event. Good luck fixing that Frank.
Most of it was bog-standard confirmation fare. A nominee coached to be as slippery and non-specific as possible. Friendly Senators lined to give him sloppy, uh....kisses. Unfriendly Senators trying to out-HOW DARE YOU SIR for the cameras.
Wyden caught him in a lie right off the jump, and true to their brand the Dems failed to pursue it or try to dismantle his carefully parsed answers. Warren made an excellent point about backdoor benefit cuts being accomplished through service reduction, and he played dumb long enough to run out the clock on her time.
The result was predetermined, he just had to get through it without stuffing his foot in his mouth. I will say that for someone publicly recognizing how historically unhappy SSA's workforce is, he demonstrated an almost superhuman lack of charisma or natural leadership.
I don't believe him for a single minute about being uninvolved in DOGE crowbarring their way into HQ, but he'll likely get away with it. One promising sign was that Dudek The Incompetent's reign is likely to end with him being five decimals to the right of being employed.
He let slip that he had 13,000 software engineers out of Fiserv’s less than 50,000 employees. Pretty sure SS doesn’t have that many IT employees. I am also pretty sure his success at his organizations had infusions of IT capital to help turn them around. SS doesn’t not have this luxury.
Several senators also pressed Mr. Bisignano about the false claims that President Trump and Mr. Musk continue to repeat, including those that millions of dead people are collecting benefits.
Mr. Bisignano declined to contradict Elon Musk’s repeated assertions that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” When Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, asked him to respond “yes or no” to that statement, he said only: “It’s a promise to pay.”
Some Democrats questioned whether Mr. Bisignano’s past solutions in the corporate world, such as reliance on artificial intelligence for customer service, would be appropriate for Social Security beneficiaries, and Sen. Wyden started the hearing blasting Mr. Bisignano for overseeing the loss of thousands of workers at his private companies.
Do you believe in miracles? I’m sure Wall Street is salivating.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the troubled Social Security Administration told senators Tuesday that he would swiftly improve the agency’s customer service and slash its payment error rate, all while protecting Americans’ personal information.
The bold promises, including a pledge to dramatically cut telephone answer wait times, come as Social Security faces steep personnel cuts as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s review while the agency confronts ongoing customer service lapses.
@10:24 PM. I don't think he let the 13,000 software engineers slip. He was making a point that modern companies are tech companies. SSA is still stuck in an operating model last updated (barely) in the early 2000s with half-hearted e-services. FOs are needed, but in-person customer service at that scale doesn't exist anywhere except USPS and SSA. Are 1,200+ locations still required? It is a tired, outdated, pre-internet service delivery model. Yes, the budgets have sucked for modernization, but SSA's challenges are not rooted in a budget problem. They are a leadership problem. Commissioner Astrue was the last bold, directional leader and the most recent COSS to serve a full term. His term ended in 2013. I was heartened to hear that he committed to serve 6 years and appears to know how to build a modern, digital operation obsessed with outstanding customer service and quality. I hope he does well for SSA and the sake of the program.
Pretty sure the DOGE kids’ dream is to turn SSA and the rest of government into a jobs program for lazy overpaid software “engineers” like themselves. They know AI can write code better than it can do most anything else, and that the gravy train of venture capitalists paying 20 year old computer science graduates to fart around and eat popcorn while maybe working on another pathetic clone of an existing pathetic phone app is coming to an end.
Two idle comments. A Republican Senator talked about his office trying to get through on the 800 number and being frustrated by the dropped call, delay, and elevator music. He should have also tried a smattering of DO's and would find out he almost never got an answer Senator Warren talked about a constituent losing three months of retirement benefits because he had to wait three months for an appointment. Apparently, she never heard, and no one told her, that there can be a protective filing based on when the appointment was requested. The Senators and the future Commissioner demonstrated a complete lack of understanding as to how the system has not been working. I have only a slight hope that the new COSS can learn what needs to be done rather than claim AI or whatever will fix all problems.
Does it matter? Havent seen support for any commish on this blog in 25 years, just another target for hate. Maybe if you supported those past commish a tiny bit it wouldnt be so easy for them to bash the agency. Take the time to pat yourself on the back for helping to create the current mess. This blog has bashed management, workers, ALJs, absolutely every single piece of SSA and now that it is getting destroyed, you are whining like brats. YOU are responsible for breaking your toy.
Easy to use AI for your customer service when your product/service is one most of your customers don’t even know exists and aren’t even aware is involved in their lives. What a maroon, as Bugs Bunny would say.
40 comments:
He was impressive.
Perhaps the point that stuck with me the most what hearing him say currently the agency has a“Leadership problem not a Doge problem” and “you have to have experience.” Haha. That’s the nicest way of saying “Leland is in way over his head and it shows.” He says he hasn’t talked to Lee and is clearly distancing himself from the current decisions being made. One trump appointee tossing another under the bus. Leland, maybe you should step down or pause some of these decisions until after Franks confirmation. It’s clear he’s planning on rolling back the phone changes you just made, and who knows what else. Frank wants a focus group to determine how beneficiaries want to be served? I guess he has never heard of the office of transformation? Lee you cut that too. Save the taxpayer some money and put a pause on things that are gonna be reversed and cost us more in the end.
Impressively willing and able to lie his ass off. Otherwise just another typical finance goon who loves conspiracy theories and occasionally reads the WSJ’s editorial pages.
Mr. Bisignano - You are the Chairman, President, and CEO of Fiserv Inc which has a market cap of about $ 127 Billion. Your net worth is estimated to be $996 Million dollars. WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE ROLE OF COMMISSIONER OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION?
Bignisano said that leadership at SSA has been rated poorly for years. I didn't get the sense that his concern was focused on Dudek, as the above commenter indicates. The swamp in government, and SSA in particular, IMHO, has always been the SES and SES equivalents. Front line workers and first line supervisors have been overwhelmed, over surveilled, and under supported. We'll see what changes Bignisano makes. Less hierarchy and better computer systems with AI can make a big difference.
He's setting the stage to rolling them back if they go poorly. The current Gauleiter is doing what the administration wants him to do or he'd be out. If what he has done goes satisfactorily, they will be left alone. Bisignano has no experience in what he is going to be doing running a government agency either, so let's not pretend like the experience problem goes away when Frank takes over.
Sure, 4:16. Your vast knowledge of the SES ranks is impressive. I mean, year after year, when Congress has given SSA far more resources than have been requested, those resources have just been squand.... Hold on - how often has SSA received its full budget request? When it did, did that request cover enough to revamp its computer systems in a way that would be meaningful without disrupting current benefits? When did the Agency dare ask for more than a minimal amount of money for radical improvements? You must have some intel.... You think somehow SSA is going to get a budget that will support real change? Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
It's entertaining that critical RO and CO technical staff are going to lose their positions, while you think that progress (better data exchanges, miraculous new computer processes, better support of front line employees, labor support, etc) will magically occur. In case you aren't paying attention, it seems like everything is going to be even more data driven. The ACOSS wants disability decisions to take a day. He wants goals that are ever- increasing so that folks don't rest on their laurels. (Watch the video that was recently posted.) Goal was 95%? Make it 96% now. Good luck with that, first line supervisors and front line workers. Be careful what you wish for.
Not sure why he refused to give a straightforward "no" to the question about the SSA trust fund being a ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes also involve a "promise to pay"--its just a lie.
Frank is ready to drain the SSA swamp! Soon numberholders will be delighted to be on the phone for no more than two minutes. Frank will take our embarrassing error rate from 10% to .001%. Bravo, Mr. Bisignano!
Overall, I'd say Frank's testimony was about five decimal points to the right of truthful.
Shouldn’t we aim for moving the decimal point to the left?
He's not going to do anything different, Elon will be the real COSS regardless. Frank is just the next patsy.
Give the guy a chance. Absolutely nothing alarming about what he said and most of it made good sense. Personally, I’m tired of judging commissioners by whether they support telework.Considering some of the other cabinet level appointments and the current ACOSS, I feel like SSA is fortunate.
You must be very easily impressed
They plan to loot the Treasury & G Fund. They’ll covert it to useless crypto.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/18/wealthy-want-to-join-the-trump-administration-theres-a-tax-break-for-you-00189095
Reluctantly, I have to agree.
He deserves his chance. And, it will be immediately apparent within the next 3-6 months exactly how good, bad, or indifferent he will be. I have my suspicions as to how it will probably go given his level of wealth and entitlement, but we'll see.
He will need e beneficiaries' help to do that. The OIG 2025 audit report on improper payment attributed the late reporting of material changes for the vast majority of overpayments.
He did keep saying he wanted to move the decimal 5 places to the right regarding the error rate. He clearly meant to the left lol.
The improper payment rate is less that 1% -- not 10%. OIG published a report in 2025 attributing improper payment ts mainly to untimely reporting of changes to payment calculations. For example, reporting a return to work 6-months after the event. Good luck fixing that Frank.
We’re moving the decimal point 5 digits.
Most of it was bog-standard confirmation fare. A nominee coached to be as slippery and non-specific as possible. Friendly Senators lined to give him sloppy, uh....kisses. Unfriendly Senators trying to out-HOW DARE YOU SIR for the cameras.
Wyden caught him in a lie right off the jump, and true to their brand the Dems failed to pursue it or try to dismantle his carefully parsed answers. Warren made an excellent point about backdoor benefit cuts being accomplished through service reduction, and he played dumb long enough to run out the clock on her time.
The result was predetermined, he just had to get through it without stuffing his foot in his mouth. I will say that for someone publicly recognizing how historically unhappy SSA's workforce is, he demonstrated an almost superhuman lack of charisma or natural leadership.
I don't believe him for a single minute about being uninvolved in DOGE crowbarring their way into HQ, but he'll likely get away with it. One promising sign was that Dudek The Incompetent's reign is likely to end with him being five decimals to the right of being employed.
He let slip that he had 13,000 software engineers out of Fiserv’s less than 50,000 employees. Pretty sure SS doesn’t have that many IT employees. I am also pretty sure his success at his organizations had infusions of IT capital to help turn them around. SS doesn’t not have this luxury.
Keep your chins up, 4:51. Someone with your ability to drone on, won't bore anyone.
Does anyone know when the confirmation vote will take place?
Several senators also pressed Mr. Bisignano about the false claims that President Trump and Mr. Musk continue to repeat, including those that millions of dead people are collecting benefits.
Mr. Bisignano declined to contradict Elon Musk’s repeated assertions that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” When Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, asked him to respond “yes or no” to that statement, he said only: “It’s a promise to pay.”
Some Democrats questioned whether Mr. Bisignano’s past solutions in the corporate world, such as reliance on artificial intelligence for customer service, would be appropriate for Social Security beneficiaries, and Sen. Wyden started the hearing blasting Mr. Bisignano for overseeing the loss of thousands of workers at his private companies.
Do you believe in miracles? I’m sure Wall Street is salivating.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the troubled Social Security Administration told senators Tuesday that he would swiftly improve the agency’s customer service and slash its payment error rate, all while protecting Americans’ personal information.
The bold promises, including a pledge to dramatically cut telephone answer wait times, come as Social Security faces steep personnel cuts as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s review while the agency confronts ongoing customer service lapses.
@10:24 PM. I don't think he let the 13,000 software engineers slip. He was making a point that modern companies are tech companies. SSA is still stuck in an operating model last updated (barely) in the early 2000s with half-hearted e-services. FOs are needed, but in-person customer service at that scale doesn't exist anywhere except USPS and SSA. Are 1,200+ locations still required? It is a tired, outdated, pre-internet service delivery model. Yes, the budgets have sucked for modernization, but SSA's challenges are not rooted in a budget problem. They are a leadership problem. Commissioner Astrue was the last bold, directional leader and the most recent COSS to serve a full term. His term ended in 2013. I was heartened to hear that he committed to serve 6 years and appears to know how to build a modern, digital operation obsessed with outstanding customer service and quality. I hope he does well for SSA and the sake of the program.
Pretty sure the DOGE kids’ dream is to turn SSA and the rest of government into a jobs program for lazy overpaid software “engineers” like themselves. They know AI can write code better than it can do most anything else, and that the gravy train of venture capitalists paying 20 year old computer science graduates to fart around and eat popcorn while maybe working on another pathetic clone of an existing pathetic phone app is coming to an end.
Two idle comments.
A Republican Senator talked about his office trying to get through on the 800 number and being frustrated by the dropped call, delay, and elevator music. He should have also tried a smattering of DO's and would find out he almost never got an answer
Senator Warren talked about a constituent losing three months of retirement benefits because he had to wait three months for an appointment. Apparently, she never heard, and no one told her, that there can be a protective filing based on when the appointment was requested.
The Senators and the future Commissioner demonstrated a complete lack of understanding as to how the system has not been working. I have only a slight hope that the new COSS can learn what needs to be done rather than claim AI or whatever will fix all problems.
Does it matter? Havent seen support for any commish on this blog in 25 years, just another target for hate. Maybe if you supported those past commish a tiny bit it wouldnt be so easy for them to bash the agency. Take the time to pat yourself on the back for helping to create the current mess. This blog has bashed management, workers, ALJs, absolutely every single piece of SSA and now that it is getting destroyed, you are whining like brats. YOU are responsible for breaking your toy.
Bless your heart, 10:30. And save a few commas for the rest of us.
This sounds like he is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
Exactly, and that is why the released WEP/GPO. None of them truly understand the agency.
Democrats openly stated he was highly qualified for the position. You are the problem.
Money when he privatizes the Trust Fund. That is why he is there. He will not last the full six years his goal is to rob us blind and then leave.
FISERV has no waste, fraud and abuse. Ha
Easy to use AI for your customer service when your product/service is one most of your customers don’t even know exists and aren’t even aware is involved in their lives. What a maroon, as Bugs Bunny would say.
@9:34 Spot On!
I have $1000 dollars says he wont last 6 years
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