Social Security Offices Must Reopen

Dear Friend,

For over a year and a half, senior citizens who showed up expecting help at their local Social Security office have been met with a “CLOSED” sign. When COVID-19 hit, the Social Security Administration, like the rest of the world, shut their doors to the public. The problem was that they never reopened.

More than 1,000 Social Security Administration Field Offices are dotted across the country, giving seniors a place to go when they have trouble getting the benefits they’ve earned through the program. It’s where they can sit down and have a face-to-face conversation about their Social Security benefits and any issues they may be facing with them.

When those offices closed their doors to America’s seniors in March 2020, everyone was pushed to relay their problems over the phone, through email or mail. That just doesn’t work for everyone. It’s not the same.

For one, not every senior has a phone, an email address, and some don’t even have a physical address to pick up their mail. Our seniors also don’t deserve endless wait times on the phone. Not to mention, many seniors would rather just sit down and have a face-to-face conversation about their issue with the program. On top of that, no one should have to mail in sensitive documents if they don’t want to.

Now, the Social Security Administration says they will meet in-person in “limited, critical situations.” However, there’s very little that qualifies under that definition. That doesn’t cut it either.

Earlier this week, I joined with several of my colleagues to call on the Social Security Administration and the federal government employees’ union to come up with a plan to safely get these offices fully open again. We’ve had the tools to do so for months. There is no reason to wait any longer to reopen these offices.

While the Social Security Administration offices may be closed to the public, please know that my offices are open. If you’re having trouble with Social Security or any other federal program, let us know. We’re here to help and we’re open for business.

Now we just need to get the bureaucrats at the Social Security Administration to do the same thing. “Because COVID” cannot continue to be the go-to excuse just because some folks don’t want to deal with the public face-to-face. It’s time for the Social Security Administration to get back to work.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves