Reality Intrudes On The DOGE Carnival But Employees Told To Refuse To Talk With Attorneys?

      From the Washington Post:

Elon Musk’s cost-cutting operation, the U.S. DOGE Service, set off a panic in March among elderly and disabled people after proposing that the Social Security Administration scrap many of its claims services over the phone in an effort to end alleged identity fraud.
 …

According to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post, plans to force people awarded retirement, disability and Medicare benefits to set up direct-deposit payments online or in person have been canceled after the agency concluded it could vet these transactions for fraud by phone. Those applying for benefits can also continue the process by phone without the need to go online or visit an office in person, according to the Monday memo from acting deputy commissioner Doris Diaz to acting commissioner Leland Dudek.

At the same time, the agency will implement a new fraud-detecting tool to “flag suspect teleclaims based on known, common characteristics of fraudulent claims,” the memo said. Only if an applicant’s phone call is flagged will they be required to show up in person, according to the memo. …

The memo offered few details on the new anti-fraud tool or how the agency will manage to stand it up in less than a week. It stated only that the tool will be launched “with current resources.”  …

An email went out to Social Security technicians on Monday instructing them to “cease all written responses to Congressional inquiries and inquiries from Advocates,” according to a copy obtained by The Post. A similar email went out to employees in other divisions affecting a wide range of staff members, including benefits authorizers, claims specialists and customer service representatives. …

Problems For International Claimants

     Millions of U.S. nationals live overseas. Some of them draw Social Security benefits, including disability benefits, which means that some of them need hearings on their disability claims. I'm hearing of new difficulties created for those needing hearings. They had been allowed to participate in their disability hearings by telephone from their homes overseas. I'm hearing that now they can only participate in their hearing by telephone if they're within the borders of the U.S.

DOGE Being Audited

      From Wired:

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is auditing Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The probe, which has been ongoing since March, covers DOGE’s handling of data at several cabinet-level agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Education, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the Treasury, and the Social Security Administration, as well as the US DOGE Service (USDS) itself, according to sources and records reviewed by WIRED. …

The audit, according to records reviewed by WIRED, is broadly centered on DOGE’s adherence to privacy and data protection laws and regulations. …

     The GAO is part of the Legislative Branch so Trump can’t fire the Director of GAO for having the audacity to audit DOGE. 

For A Different Viewpoint

     If you’ve been wanting a news article to sort of reassure you about the current status of Social Security the Deseret News from deeply Republican Utah has you covered.

What Are You Supposed To Do?

      A piece in the Los Angeles Times lays out the situation. Social Security can’t answer its phones. They won’t see you if you show up at the office. Their online systems are a shambles. What are you supposed to do?

“I’ve Called For Days”; “We Came From A Long Ways Away” ; “I Didn’t Know He Was Going To Pull This”

      From the New York Times:

The line started forming outside the Social Security office in suburban Glendale, Ariz., not long after sunrise, dozens of retirees and people with disabilities, shuffling papers, some leaning on walkers, all anxious to know whether President Trump’s government overhaul had put their safety nets at risk.

When 9 a.m. came, an employee emerged from the building with fliers asking the crowd to come back — once they had scheduled an appointment.

“I’ve called for days!” one woman yelled.

“We came from a long ways away,” said another. Still another let everyone know they had been handed a load of bunk, though she used a more colorful term. …

Those difficulties come as a deadline looms, imposed under the influence of Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency as the billionaire presidential adviser crusades against what he imagines to be legions of beneficiaries who do not qualify for Social Security benefits. On April 14, the agency plans to largely phase out phone services for people filing for retirement and survivor benefits or changing their direct deposit information, forcing them to file online or come into the office, part of the administration’s broader effort to combat fraud that it has done little to prove exists.

The Social Security Administration could end up exempting some from the edict, but as April 14 approaches, calls to the agency have risen by 30 percent compared with last year, and more callers are getting busy signals or being disconnected, according to data published by Social Security. … 

“I didn’t know he was going to pull this,” said Teresa Boswell, whose vote for Mr. Trump in November helped flip Arizona, but who found herself fuming outside the Social Security office in Glendale last week, unable to sign up for $1,200 in monthly benefits after she retired from her job processing legal papers. “This is a joke.” … 

The White House has grown worried enough about the political fallout from the long lines and wait times that White House officials are pressuring Social Security administrators to reduce the information they put online that could draw attention to problems, according to a person briefed on the discussions. …

Backing Away A Bit From Chaos

      Twitter, sorry, X posts from Social Security:

• Beginning on April 14, #SocialSecurity will perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators.
• Individuals who are not flagged will be able to complete their claim without any in-person requirements.
• We will continue to conduct 100 percent ID proofing for all in-person claims. 4.5 million telephone claims a year and 70K may be flagged. Telephone remains a viable option to the public.

Two Votes Short

      From Newsweek

Two Republican Senators voted against the GOP and President Donald Trump last week in favor of an amendment that would have reversed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The vote took place late Friday night as the Senate voted on Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework. …  

 On Friday, Republican Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both from Alaska, voted in favor of an amendment that sought to reverse "cuts to the Social Security Administration, which may include cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency or any other cuts to seniors' services." It failed to pass in a 50-49 vote. …