“I’m Comin’ Gunning For You All”

      From KFVS:

A southeast Missouri man who threatened employees of the Social Security Administration twice in 2025 was sentenced on Tuesday, July 28 to a year and a day in prison.

According to a news release from the prosecuting attorney, 57-year-old Timothy Wells Stevens will be on supervised release for two years after his release from prison.

Stevens is accused of threatening SSA employees in October 2025.

According to the news release, Stevens told one SSA employee in Pennsylvania that if he didn’t receive payments, “I’m comin’ gunning for you all.” …

70 Years

      Today is the 70th anniversary of the creation of Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits. 

     I don’t have a link handy but there’s no photo available of then President Eisenhower signing the bill. He had opposed it and signed it only reluctantly. He didn’t want a photo taken. Occasionally you see a photo of Eisenhower signing a bill on a news release or article about this anniversary but the photo is of Ike signing some different bill. Other than the creational of the interstate highway system the creation of Social Security disability benefits was probably the most consequential domestic legislation that became law during Ike’s presidency.

Hearing On Solvency

      A press release:

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced the Committee will convene for a hearing entitled, “Exploring Process Approaches for Addressing Social Security Solvency” on Wednesday, August 5, at 10:00 AM.   

Title: Exploring Process Approaches for Addressing Social Security Solvency

Witnesses:

• Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Washington, D.C.
• The Honorable Charles Blahous, Ph.D., J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Chair and Senior Research Strategist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
• Nancy A. LeaMond, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, AARP, Washington, D.C.
• Rebecca Vallas, Chief Executive Officer, National Academy of Social Insurance, Washington, D.C.

Proposed Regs

      Social Security has asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve posting the proposed regulations described below in the Federal Register. The public can then comment on the proposal and the agency must formally consider those comments. Social Security would then have to ask OMB to approve posting final regulations. Unless this is rushed it probably won’t be finalized until the end of the Trump Administration, if not beyond.

Title: Rescinding the Burdensome Use Restrictions of Dedicated Accounts

Abstract: Dedicated accounts are financial accounts (separate from those in which one’s regular monthly payments are received) required for representative payees of certain disabled children under age 18, usually eligible for certain past-due payments covering more than six months at the current benefit rate. Use of funds deposited in dedicated accounts is significantly restricted.  The complicated nature of these restrictions discourages recipients and their representative payees from ever using the funds and places unnecessary burdens on accounting. Accordingly, we propose to revise our regulations to allow representative payees (and recipients if placed in direct pay) to use dedicated account funds for the recipient’s current maintenance. The benefit of deregulation would be reducing burden on payees.

Whistleblowers Recognized

       From Whistleblower Network News:

On July 30th, whistleblowers, whistleblower advocates, and government officials will gather on Capitol Hill for the U.S.’s annual National Whistleblower Day celebration. This year’s National Whistleblower Day marks the 248th anniversary of America’s first whistleblower law. …

This year’s featured speakers include:

• Sarah Carver & Jennifer Griffith: Former Social Security Administration paralegals who exposed a massive $550 million fraud scheme. Enduring severe retaliation, their bravery earned them the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ Sentinel Award in 2024. …

      These two are being recognized well after the fact for their work exposing the misdeeds of Eric Conn.

New Phone Priorities

      A notice addressed to Social Security advocates:

Expanded Support for Customers Seeking Survivor Benefits

Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Dear Colleague,

We are pleased to share recent improvements we have made to better serve customers seeking Social Security survivor benefits.

To better support customers applying for survivor benefits during a difficult time, we have enhanced our National 800 Number call routing process. Callers reporting a death or seeking to apply for survivor benefits are now connected more quickly to employees trained to assist with these requests.

As part of this effort, we established a dedicated queue of trained agents to take and adjudicate survivor claims. We have enhanced support for this queue to improve our capacity and reduce delays. These changes help ensure that customers receive timely, specialized assistance while reducing wait times and minimizing the need for in-person office visits.

Since launching this dedicated queue last July, we have helped over 60,000 survivors without them needing to visit an office.

Looking ahead, we will continue refining our call routing and staffing strategies to further improve customer service.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Sincerely,

Nick Perrine

Chief Communications Officer

       Great but it also means others wait longer. “Dedicated queue”? What’s that?

Laid Off By DOGE But Now Running For Congress

      From News From The States:

Democratic candidate Lauren Reinhold decided to run for Congress in Kansas after the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency — better known as DOGE — eliminated her federal position. …

Reinhold and Colin McRoberts, both Lawrence attorneys, are challenging each other for the Democratic nomination in the state’s 1st Congressional District in the Aug. 4 primary. The Democratic nominee is likely to face an uphill battle against  Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann of Salina, who is seeking a fourth term in a district he has handily won since 2020.  …

Not All Those Offices Were Closed For Repairs Or Renovation

      From Government Executive:

 A group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday demanded information on how staffing shortages and reassignments are impacting the Social Security Administration’s ability to keep its 1,200 field offices open to the public.  

Last year, after years of chronic underfunding of SSA’s administrative functions already brought its workforce to a 50-year low, the Trump administration shaved the agency’s headcount by another 7,500 employees. According to OPM data, SSA had around 49,500 employees as of May. Bisignano has also reassigned more than 1,500 employees from the field offices and other subcomponents to man Social Security's 1-800 customer service line.

Earlier this year, Bisignano wrote in a private letter to Warren that he would “keep every field office open” and ensure they are “providing better and high-quality service.” But over the last several months, dozens of field offices have been listed at various points either closed entirely or only offered services via telephone. As of Monday afternoon, 16 field offices across the country provided no or limited services. 

In a letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and three other Democrats requested information on these temporary closures and the underlying reasons for each shuttering.

“Many of these offices were reportedly closed to the public due to maintenance needs or other operational issues—which may be a valid reason,” the lawmakers wrote. “But several offices appear to have been effectively closed due to staffing shortages, and some of these offices have allegedly remained ‘temporarily closed’ for an extended period of time.” …