Statement from Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner, about Commitment to Agency Transparency and Protecting Benefits and Information
“I am honored and humbled to be appointed Social Security's Acting Commissioner pending Senate confirmation of Frank Bisignano to be SSA's next Commissioner. I accepted the position because I strongly believe in the agency's mission and the hardworking and dedicated employees who serve America.
Openness, transparency, and accountability are tenants of good government and demonstrating them begins with me. To that end, I want to share several points to reassure the public and our employees that I will continue SSA's history of transparency and protecting benefits and information.
I have experienced firsthand the impact that Social Security benefits have on family's lives. Since joining SSA in 2009, I have had the opportunity to work across multiple parts of SSA, and especially appreciated my experiences working alongside frontline employees in the Cambridge, MA field office.
Transparency begins with me: My first call as Acting Commissioner was to our Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to provide them an opportunity to oversee and review any and all agency activities, including my actions past, present, and future. I trust in the People to be informed, and I am making available my agency personnel and performance files to the OIG.
The law matters and we will follow it: I have invited the Government Accountability Office, the non-partisan and independent agency that works for Congress, to observe how we conduct agency business.
Good government means finding ways to do better: The Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, is a critical part of President Trump's commitment to identifying fraud, waste, and abuse, and better ways for the government to function to support its people. I want to be very clear about the DOGE personnel who are now working at Social Security.
- Our continuing priority is paying beneficiaries the right amount at the right time, and providing other critical services people rely on from us.
- DOGE personnel CANNOT make changes to agency systems, benefit payments, or other information. They only have READ access.
- DOGE personnel do not have access to data related to a court ordered temporary restraining order, current or future.
- DOGE personnel must follow the law and if they violate the law they will be referred to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution.
I also want to acknowledge recent reporting about the number of people older than age 100 who may be receiving benefits from Social Security. The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.
I am confident that with DOGE's help and the commitment of our executive team and workforce, that Social Security will continue to deliver for the American people.”
Tenants? Tut, tut, tut.
