Tough Questions

     Two Senators have some tough questions for Social Security Commissioner nominee Bisignano.

DOGE Plans To Cut Telephone Service

      From the Washington Post:

Under pressure from the U.S. DOGE Service team to root out alleged fraud, the Social Security Administration is considering dramatically curtailing the phone services that 73 million retired and disabled Americans rely on to apply for and access their earned government benefits, according to two people briefed on internal deliberations and records obtained by The Washington Post. 

Social Security leadership is now considering a proposal to end telephone service for claims processing and direct-deposit bank account transactions, instead directing elderly and disabled people to the internet and in-person field offices, according to one of the people and the records. The change would disrupt Social Security’s internal operations and threaten its ability to serve the public, current and former officials warned, just as DOGE is targeting the agency for across-the-board staff cuts of more than 12 percent. They also noted that the agency’s toll-free number is a mainstay for older customers who do not have online access or who have trouble navigating the internet. …

Dudek Realizes He’s The Villain

ProPublica obtained a recording of last week’s meeting between Acting Commissioner Dudek and claimant advocates. Here are a couple of excerpts from their write up: 

… Dudek’s remarks come at a time when many Social Security employees are feeling confused about Dudek, his role versus DOGE’s and what it all means for the future of the Social Security Administration, according to ProPublica’s conversations with more than two dozen agency staffers. Many said that because the recent cuts at the agency have been carried out in a piecemeal fashion, the public doesn’t seem to be grasping the totality of what is happening to the program, which is having its 90th anniversary this year. …

Meanwhile, DOGE, which Musk has portrayed as a squad of techno-efficiency geniuses, has actually undermined the efficiency of Social Security’s delivery of services in multiple ways, many employees said. Under DOGE, several Social Security IT contracts have been canceled or scaled back. Now, five employees told ProPublica, their tech systems seem to be crashing nearly every day, leading to more delays in serving beneficiaries. This was already a problem, they said, but it has gotten “much worse” and is “not the norm,” two employees said.

And under a policy that DOGE has applied at many agencies, front-line Social Security staff have been restricted from using their government purchase cards for any sum above $1. This has become a significant problem at some field offices, especially when workers need to obtain or make copies of vital records or original documents — birth certificates and the like — that are needed to process some Social Security claims, one management-level employee said. …

“I’m the villain,” he said in the recording. “I’m not going to have a job after this. I get it.”

A Poll

 

online polls

Webinar With Former Commissioners

      The National Academy of Social Insurance is sponsoring a webinar on “Recent Changes at the Social Security Administration: What's at Stake for Customer Service” on March 13 at noon Eastern. Former Commissioners O’Malley and Astrue as well as others will be speaking. It appears to be free and open to the public.

Inside The Work Of A Claims Rep

     E. Tammy Kim at The New Yorker has a great piece going inside the work life of  a current Social Security claims rep. The reporter was not supposed to have this kind of access.

    I'm sure you've seen some cartoons from The New Yorker but you may not be all that familiar with the magazine. I've been subscribing for more than 50 years. I can tell you that articles in The New Yorker have an national agenda setting impact well beyond what most people could imagine.

DOGE Arrived With Core Beliefs That Governing Is Simple And That Federal Employees Are Stupid. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

      From the Washington Post:

… Chief among [DOGE’s] plans: Using their tech expertise to build apps and websites to help federal workers and Americans trying to access government services, according to two people familiar with DOGE internal workings. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, a close friend of Musk’s who was responsible for the company’s inviting look, has been recruited to help lead the effort.
Even this has invited criticism, however. Musk has repeatedly criticized Social Security, one of the government’s most popular programs, and DOGE staffers have been working inside the agency. But an effort to give the Social Security website and services a user-friendly digital overhaul was already underway at the U.S. Digital Service — until Musk pushed out the team working on it, according to Mina Hsiang, who led the USDS before the department became the U.S. DOGE Service in January.

“When you fire people who have deep understandings of the mission you want to accomplish, you’re sort of starting from zero,” she said. …

Oh Good, Now Private Equity Bros Go Inside Social Security — What Could Go Wrong?

      From Bloomberg:

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has sent three individuals with experience in private equity and finance to the Social Security Administration, highlighting the focus that President Donald Trump is putting on rooting out waste and fraud in the nation’s social insurance programs.

Among those tapped for the task are Antonio Gracias of Valor Equity Partners, who also served on the board of Tesla Inc. and was an early investor in SpaceX — two of Musk’s companies — as well as Scott Coulter, formerly of Lone Pine Capital, and Michael Russo, formerly of Shift4, according to people familiar with the moves who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them. …