Luján, Finance Committee Democrats Call on Chairman Crapo to Hold Hearing on Personal Data Risk, Customer Service Chaos at Social Security

Luján and Committee Democrats to Crapo: “We have a responsibility to ensure SSA protects Americans’ data and provides quality customer service to the over 72 million Americans who rely on these benefits.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and all Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee called for an immediate hearing to investigate the customer service issues at Social Security – including exposing millions of Americans’ personal information that could have resulted in the largest data breach in modern history.

“As one of the nation’s most popular and effective programs, Social Security provides a foundation of income on which workers can build for their retirement, as well as valuable insurance protection against unexpected hardship. Failing to investigate SSA and hold Commissioner Bisignano accountable for keeping his promise to protect America’s data and improve SSA is an abdication of our oversight responsibility and a disservice to our constituents who sent us to Congress to protect this bedrock program,” the senators wrote to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

In March, the senators demanded a committee hearing in light of reports that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had unfettered access to sensitive information, slashed its workforce, among other drastic changes that impede Americans’ ability to access their hard-earned benefits. Since Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano took office, the senators have raised the alarm as the agency has made the following changes:

1. Giving DOGE the greenlight to transfer Americans’ Social Security information into an unsecure cloud server that could be compromised anytime by foreign agents or hackers. According to a SSA whistleblower, the agency repeatedly ignored or even violated federal privacy laws at the whims of pleasing DOGE.
2. Weaponizing SSA data to serve Donald Trump’s dangerous political agenda, including falsely declaring more than 6,3000 immigrants as dead to make them self deport. The agency has unconstitutionally manipulated and undermined its data to attack a small population’s earned Social Security benefits.
3. Injecting chaos into SSA phone systems by slashing its workforce and diverting 2,000 field office staff from their responsibility of answering calls to provide quality customer service. Many applicants are already waiting over a month just to get an appointment in their local field office, and now they have to wait even longer for their benefit claims to be processed.
4. Misleading the American people on SSA’s performance to falsely promote Trump and Bisignano’s narrative that customer service has never been better. SSA is cherry-picking misleading performance metrics every month to prop up the Trump administration’s dangerous agenda.

The text of the letter can be found here or below:

Dear Chairman Crapo:

We urge you to immediately convene a Finance Committee hearing to investigate the ongoing customer service issues at the Social Security Administration (SSA) and its recent actions that may result in the largest data breach in modern history.  As the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs, we have a responsibility to ensure SSA protects Americans’ data and provides quality customer service to the over 72 million Americans who rely on these benefits.

In March, we sent you a letter to request a hearing following reports that SSA authorized the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) unfettered access to Americans’ most sensitive information, dramatically slashed its workforce, closed key offices, and other changes without any analysis or consideration of its impact on Americans’ ability to access their earned benefits.  Since then, including after Frank Bisignano was confirmed as Commissioner, SSA has continued to implement dramatic changes to the agency that have put Americans’ privacy and financial security at risk. 

Since Commissioner Bisignano took office, SSA has implemented the following changes:

Allowed DOGE to Expose Sensitive Personal Data

According to an SSA whistleblower, SSA repeatedly ignored or violated federal privacy and cybersecurity laws and policies to satisfy DOGE’s whims.  Most disturbingly, SSA authorized DOGE to transfer a live copy of the Numident–the SSA database containing the information on every American with a Social Security Number–to an unsecure cloud server.  This decision was made over the objections of the agency’s Chief Data Officer who warned the action carries “high risk” and, if the server was compromised, it would be considered “catastrophic” to “SSA beneficiaries and SSA programs.”  Further, if the cloud server were to be breached by foreign agents or hackers, the whistleblower warned Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft and may lose vital health care and food benefits.

Weaponized Agency Data

SSA continues to undermine the reliability and accuracy of its data by manipulating its information to serve Trump’s political goals.  In April, SSA falsely declared over 6,300 living noncitizens with lawfully obtained Social Security Numbers (SSNs) as ‘deceased’ in its records in an effort to get them to “self-deport.”  Now, SSA’s latest iteration to target noncitizens is to falsely apply fraud special indicator codes to hundreds of thousands more noncitizens with lawfully obtained SSNs.  As a result of these unlawful actions, SSA imposes irreparable harm on these individuals and undermines the trust and accuracy of the Social Security programs–and takes away the earned benefits of a small population without due process.  These actions not only undermine bedrock constitutional protections but sets a dangerous precedent in allowing the government to take away Americans’ access to their earned Social Security benefits. 

Injected Chaos into SSA’s Phone System

After SSA reduced its staff by over 4,000 since January, SSA diverted 2,000 field office staff away from serving customers in the front office to answer National 800 Number calls indefinitely.  Field offices, which bore the brunt of those staffing cuts, are now forced to backfill the staffing shortages with other employees at the expense of processing benefit claims and other critical workloads.  Many applicants are already waiting over a month to get an appointment in their local field office and then have to wait even longer for the field office to process their benefit claim.

Misled the Public on Agency Performance

To effectively conduct oversight over the Social Security Administration and its programs and to hold the agency accountable when it falls short of its mission, it is imperative that SSA provide clear, consistent performance metrics.  However, in mid-June, SSA removed most of its performance metrics from its website that were put up during Commissioner O’Malley’s tenure. Rather than posting a 360-degree view of SSA’s performance, SSA is now only cherry-picking misleading metrics each month to promote Trump and Commissioner Frank Bisignano’s narrative that customer service at Social Security has never been better.

Each of these issues warrant vigorous congressional oversight.  As one of the nation’s most popular and effective programs, Social Security provides a foundation of income on which workers can build for their retirement, as well as valuable insurance protection against unexpected hardship. Failing to investigate SSA and hold Commissioner Bisignano accountable for keeping his promise to protect America’s data and improve SSA is an abdication of our oversight responsibility and a disservice to our constituents who sent us to Congress to protect this bedrock program. We stand ready to work with you to help SSA so Americans’ data is protected, and they can access the earned benefits they paid into with every paycheck.

Sincerely,

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