It's About A Different Agency But You May Still Find It Interesting

     From Fast Company:

Sahil Lavingia has had just three jobs over a 15-year career in tech.

The first was as the second employee of Pinterest. The second was by founding the startup Gumroad, a successful, famously lean company that makes it easy for content creators to sell digital goods. The third? As an unpaid contractor supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs in a role facilitated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ...

“The reason I [Lavingia] did it is, I think, the impact I can have,” he explains. Lavingia says that in the private sector, technical employees can have between six and seven figures of financial impact over their lifetime. If they’re a successful startup founder like he is, maybe that number is larger. “But in the government, I really believe that I can have billions of dollars of positive impact just by being technically minded.” ...

Now that he’s there, he says he finds himself surrounded by people who “love their jobs,” who came to the government with a sense of mission driving their work.

“In a sense, that makes the DOGE agenda a little bit more complicated, because if half the government took [a buyout offer], then we wouldn’t have to do much more,” he says, implying software can replace departing employees. “We’d just basically use software to plug holes. But that’s not what’s happening.”

Lavingia’s skills with automation, which have helped keep Gumroad lean, are what he hopes to bring to the VA. But when it comes down to it, what he’s found is a machine that largely functions, though it doesn’t make decisions as fast as a startup might.

 “I would say the culture shock is mostly a lot of meetings, not a lot of decisions,” he says. “But honestly, it’s kind of fine—because the government works. It’s not as inefficient as I was expecting, to be honest. I was hoping for more easy wins.” ...

Ways And Means Republicans Want To Hear From Bisignano

     House Ways and Means Republicans are inviting the new Social Security Commissioner to testify before the Committee -- apparently the whole Committee. This is normal when a new Commissioner comes into office. 

    Note that I said it was the Republicans issuing the invitation. You would think that in normal times the invitation would come from the entire Committee, rather than just the majority party. Will such "normal" times ever return?

The Database Threat

      From the Washington Post:

The U.S. DOGE Service is racing to build a single centralized database with vast troves of personal information about millions of U.S. citizens and residents, a campaign that often violates or disregards core privacy and security protections meant to keep such information safe, government workers say. ...

 At several agencies, DOGE officials have sought to merge databases that had long been kept separate, federal workers said. For example, longtime Musk lieutenant Steve Davis told staffers at the Social Security Administration that they would soon start linking various sources of Social Security data for access and analysis, according to a person briefed on the conversations, with a goal of “joining all data across government.” ...

 But DOGE has also sometimes removed protections around sensitive information — on Social Security numbers, birth dates, employment history, disability records, medical documentation and more. ...

 “Separation and segmentation is one of the core principles in sound cybersecurity,” said Charles Henderson of security company Coalfire. “Putting all your eggs in one basket means I don’t need to go hunting for them — I can just steal the basket.” ...

 The current administration and DOGE are bypassing many normal data-sharing processes, according to staffers across 10 federal agencies, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. For instance, many agencies are no longer creating records of who accessed or changed information while granting some individuals broader authority over computer systems. DOGE staffers can add new accounts and disable automated tracking logs at several Cabinet departments, employees said. Officials who objected were fired, placed on leave or sidelined. .

..

A First Message To Staff From The New Commissioner

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast <Commissioner.Broadcast@ssa.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2025 12:55 AM
Subject: A Message from Commissioner Frank Bisignano

A Message to All SSA and DDS Employees

Subject: A Message from Commissioner Frank Bisignano 

Humble are those who serve. Social Security fundamentally serves every American household. I am humbled to have been nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the 18th Commissioner of Social Security. 

The President has been clear: we will protect Social Security. Through the advice and consent process, the U.S. Senate has been clear: we will provide the best possible service to beneficiaries. Together, we will strengthen Social Security and make the Social Security Administration a premier organization. We will lead with the highest level of service, financial control, increased teamwork, and greater efficiency. People will want to come to work, and we will do good work.

As Commissioner, I will travel to our offices in the field, visit phone centers, and ensure we have the right systems in place for every Social Security staff member to be successful.

My father was a 46-year Department of Treasury employee. He was the hardest working person I’ve ever known. I see the federal workforce from that vantage point.  

I’ve seen a horrific terrorist attack, a financial crisis, and a mortgage crisis first-hand. In each case, we made a plan, executed with excellence, and delivered the best possible outcome.  

For us at Social Security, our opportunity to touch every American household and deliver the best possible outcome is fully in our control. 

I can’t wait to get to work with all of you.

Frank Bisignano

Commissioner

Fifteen House Republicans Express Concern Over Further Cuts At Social Security

      From Politico:

A group of House Republicans is sounding the alarm over recent staffing cuts and plans for more cut-backs across the Social Security Administration — a target of the Department of Government Efficiency’s rampage across the federal bureaucracy.

In a new letter to President Donald Trump’s newly-confirmed social security chief, Rep. Nicole Malliotokis of New York and 14 other House Republicans are pressing Frank Bisignano to hold off on any further agency cuts that could “further deteriorate customer service that has been subpar in recent years.”  ...

Republicans who signed the letter to Bisignano include Reps. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Gabe Evans of Colorado, David Valadao of California, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Mike Ezell of Mississippi, Mike Turner of Ohio, Zack Nunn of Iowa and Mike Lawler of New York. Three Pennsylvanians were also among the Republicans who added their names to the missive: Reps. Ryan Mackenzie, Brian Fitzpatrick and Rob Bresnahan.

 

Bisignano Confirmed

      Frank Bisignano has been confirmed as Commissioner of Social Security,

Dudek Op Ed

      Social Security’s Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek has penned (or more likely someone penned for him) an Op Ed in the right wing NY Post. Warning: You may find it infuriating.

     I think we can now say that the Social Security Administration is thoroughly politicized.

Profile In Courage

      Ms. magazine has a nice piece out titled “Profiles in Courage: Michelle King Refused to Hand Over Your Data to DOGE. Then She Lost Her Job.” It’s worth a read.