1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my outrage over the continued damage being done to the Social Security Administration and to demand that Congress use its authority to stop it. Recent reporting raises yet another serious warning about what is happening at SSA. The agency was already struggling with chronic underfunding and a workforce at a 50 year low when the Trump administration cut its workforce by another 7,500 employees. SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano has also reassigned more than 1,500 employees from field offices and other components to the 1 800 line. Now field offices across the country have experienced full or partial closures, including locations reportedly affected by staffing shortages. This is unacceptable. Frank Bisignano previously committed to keeping every Social Security field office open. Congress should demand an explanation for how that commitment is consistent with an agency that is losing thousands of employees, pulling employees away from field offices, and leaving some communities without reliable access to in person service. And Congress needs to look beyond Bisignano. Russell Vought and this administration have pursued an aggressive campaign of cuts, workforce reductions, reorganizations, and attacks on the federal workforce that threaten the government’s ability to provide services Americans depend on. Social Security is not a business to be downsized for the sake of an ideological agenda. It is a public institution that millions of Americans have paid into throughout their working lives. Social Security belongs to the American people. Seniors, people with disabilities, survivors, children, and working families should not have to suffer longer waits, travel farther for assistance, or lose access to local offices because political appointees decided that dismantling government was more important than serving the public. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch. That responsibility cannot disappear because the president and congressional leadership belong to the same political party. I am asking you to stand up to Russell Vought, Frank Bisignano, and this administration and demand an end to policies that are weakening Social Security. Protect SSA’s workforce. Protect its field offices. Provide the agency with the staffing and resources necessary to serve the public. And investigate whether officials have misled Congress or violated federal law in carrying out these policies. That demand for accountability extends beyond SSA. I am deeply concerned about the conduct of this administration across the federal government, including actions involving the Department of Justice. Congress must investigate credible allegations of misconduct, abuse of authority, violations of federal law, and obstruction of congressional oversight wherever they occur. If investigations establish criminal wrongdoing by any official, those responsible must be held accountable through the appropriate legal process. No president, cabinet official, agency head, or political appointee is above the law. I am tired of watching institutions that Americans rely upon being weakened while Congress fails to exercise meaningful oversight. You were elected to represent your constituents and defend the institutions that serve them, not simply rubber stamp the actions of an administration because it shares your party affiliation. Social Security has served generations of Americans. Congress needs to stop its dismantling before even more damage is done.