From ABC News:
The Department of Government Efficiency is sifting through $1.6 trillion worth of Social Security payments -- records that include a person's name, birth date and how much they earn -- in an anti-fraud effort that has advocates worried the Trump administration could start denying payments to vulnerable older Americans.
Details on the effort were confirmed in a recent letter to Congress by acting Social Security Administrator Lee Dudek and by several sources familiar with the project.
In addition to combing through sensitive data, DOGE staffers also have been inquiring about the Social Security Administration'stelephone service, sources told ABC News, which a significant portion of beneficiaries use to file initial claims. DOGE's inquiries about the telephone service have raised concerns that it may be planning either to replace the telephone service with private call centers or eliminate it as an option for filing claims, sources said. …
23 comments:
Because of a DOGE-driven spending freeze on federal credit cards, some offices can’t pay phone bills, the employee said, while one office was forced last week to cancel three disability hearings because the staff could not use charge cards to pay for interpreters who speak foreign languages or American Sign Language. One claimant has a terminal illness, and another is in danger of losing their house, the employee said. No new hearings have been scheduled.
Meanwhile, a DOGE-led campaign to cancel contracts deemed “wasteful” across the government is also hurting Social Security. The agency lost a contract that paid for medical experts to testify at disability hearings,
https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-driving-social-security-cuts-135149487.html
Is it far fetched to worry that if there are people that the administration doesn't like and would like to silence, then having access to Treasury and IRS, OPM, SSA, RRB, VA payments and data would make it so easy to "trump up" a fake fraud case related to their benefits, or those of a loved one, parent, child and threaten to stop payments "until resolved"? Maybe look at Americans outside the US and decide that these funds should stay in the US? That's too far fetched, right? No one would do that.
No online access to "My Social Security" at this time - I really look forward to seeing the take down of Musk
Sure, turn all the phones over to some poorly trained teenagers and college students trying to earn side money. I’m sure they’ll provide fully accurate information about SSA’s extremely complex programs 100% of the time. And they definitely won’t create mammoth knotted messes for agency staff to waste billions of hours cleaning up every year. Think of the savings and efficiency!
I keep on hearing the weirdest stuff about TSCs; wonder what they are thinking about there
If you're looking for waste, fraud, and abuse, here it is!
"Most workers can expect to see Social Security payroll taxes taken from their paychecks throughout the year.
But high earners with $1 million in gross annual wage income have already stopped paying into the program as of March 6..."
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/07/million-dollar-wage-earners-have-stopped-paying-into-social-security-for-2025.html
Nothing to see here, just a fraud effort masquerading as an *anti-fraud* effort 🙈
For everybody that thinks it’s chaotic from the outside, imagine how insane it feels for people who work there!
This is why I retired last year. I knew Trump and Sleazy E were gonna take a meat ax to every government agency and contract out as much as possible to privatization!
Watch what happens when you call the 800# and find out someone from India, the Philippines or another country answers and they have all your personal information...and then a couple months later you find that you are another victim of ID theft...
We know how this "audit" will turn out. Dudek will hold a press conference to lie about uncovering billions of dollars of fraudulent payouts.
It’s a pretty depressed environment right now. There’s a quiet dark atmosphere.
Honestly it feels like that opening part in saving private ryan where the medic is operating on the guy in the beach, says we’ve stopped the bleeding, and an enemy shot takes out his patient. Just give us a damn break
I guess this is how it ends. I work at the TSC and I’m really good at my job. I’d like to think I made a difference.
The Musk team is doing a fantastic job. SSA Payment Centers have been disastrous as of late. I'm sure DOGE can find ways to make it much more efficient with ACOSS Dudek's help, and just imagine the big waves the fabulous Frank Bisignano will have! Think running one of the world's largest payment corps will be relevant experience? Bright future ahead.
FO here. 3:24, the PCs seem no different than the FO when it comes to efficiency: when you are buried all you do it is pivot from crisis to crisis. No ability to plan or strategize when you have no capacity. There is no metered onramp to this highway. More and more piles in. Then every lawsuit settlement, executive priority, or Congressional action becomes the emergency vehicle trying to get through. Everything smashes together to get it through. In the end no one gets anywhere.
324 pm SSA has had many change agents in the past and they failed miserably. Ssa is not a private company. SSA does not generate profit or ROI. SSA is a public service
Lick that boot!
@ 3:24 We don't need trolls on this page. Our mission is non-partisan. We are real SSA employees, that serve the American public. We put our right hands on the Holy Bible and valued to protect the trust funds. Despite, the trauma and tremendous cruelty that we have endured. Most of us, will bravely fight for our agency to the bitter end. While writing these comments, I can't hold back my tears!
This happened to a family member during Trump 1 their mother’s VA survivor benefit was cancelled and held in a suspense file. By the time it was resolved she was so afraid to cash the check for the accumulated benefits that she returned the checks to the Treasury.
Wow.
“Fabulous Frank”? Jeez not even someone in his family would say that. Seems like AI slop.
The same guys who spam call citizens now to claim people’s SSNs have been “suspended” or “cancelled” will be the ones taking their calls to sort out their SS problems. What could go wrong? Sigh…
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