One in six people in Washington state rely on Social Security benefits
Elon Musk’s “DOGE” has proposed terminating the leases of 47 Social Security offices
ICYMI: Senator Murray, SSA Employees and WA State Residents Who Rely on Social Security Sound Alarm on DOGE Decimating Social Security Administration
***NEW Social Security report with testimonials from across WA state HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after voting against President Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration (SSA), Frank Bisignano, who has described himself as “fundamentally a DOGE person.”
“From slashing Social Security employees when the agency is already painfully understaffed, to shuttering local Social Security offices, to announcing chaotic and burdensome policy reversals that make it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to get the Social Security benefits they are owed, Trump and Elon Musk are doing everything they can to break the Social Security Administration and cut people off from their hard-earned Social Security benefits.
“Trump’s pick to lead the Social Security Agency is a billionaire CEO known for slashing his companies—Frank Bisignano is all-in on Trump and Elon’s mission to break Social Security so they can privatize it, and is a disastrous choice to lead an agency responsible for getting Social Security benefits out to 73 million Americans every month. We need someone who will stand up against Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to gut Social Security and cut benefits—not another out-of-touch billionaire who has no clue what it means to rely on Social Security and will only enable their attacks. A vote for Frank Bisignano is a vote to be complicit in this administration’s unprecedented destruction of Social Security—I voted NO.”
Senator Murray also released a new report today featuring testimonials from Washington state residents—including employees at the Social Security Administration who were recently fired through no fault of their own—and detailing how the Trump administration’s wide-ranging attacks on SSA risk depriving Washingtonians of the Social Security benefits they have earned and deserve. More than 73 million Americans, including 1.4 million—or one in six—people in Washington state rely on Social Security benefits. Half of seniors nationwide rely on Social Security for most of their income, and a quarter of seniors rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their income.
Right now, the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s “DOGE” are gutting the Social Security Administration and making it harder and harder for Americans to get their hard-earned Social Security benefits. Trump and Musk are forcibly pushing out SSA employees—at a time when SSA is already at a 50-year staffing lows and serving a larger population than ever before—intimidating them into taking so-called “buyouts,” threatening staff with involuntary reassignment and dramatically reduced pay, and setting an initial target of eliminating 7,000 jobs this year. Elon Musk has bragged about shuttering local Social Security offices across the country and the administration is reportedly considering closing field offices—even though the nearest Social Security for many Americans is already hours away. In March, Trump’s SSA began requiring Americans who file for benefits by phone to verify their identity using an online system or provide documentation in person at a field office—creating serious hardships for millions of elderly and disabled Americans who lack computers and have limited mobility to access in-person help. The abrupt announcements and reversals on major policies at SSA are creating chaos and alarm for seniors in Washington state and across the country.
Senator Murray has an extensive record of protecting Social Security benefits and fighting to secure essential funding for the Social Security Administration—and she has been tirelessly raising the alarm about the threat Elon Musk’s DOGE poses to Americans’ hard-earned benefits. In March, Senator Murray held a press conference to lift up the stories of SSA employees who are being pushed out by Elon Musk through no fault of their own and hear from Washington state residents who rely on Social Security. In February, Murray released a fact sheet warning of the Trump administration’s plans to make it harder for Americans who’ve paid into Social Security to get the benefits they have earned.
Under Senator Murray’s leadership as Chair last Congress, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a draft Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill that would have provided a $509 million increase for SSA this year. Millions of Americans rely on Social Security and have earned benefits over lifetimes of work. Senator Murray also helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act at the end of 2024, which restored full Social Security benefits for public servants, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers, and other state and local government workers—in January, Murray held a roundtable discussion in Everett with local union members on the implementation of the law.
The full report is available HERE and below:
Report: Trump and Elon are Breaking the Social Security Administration and Hurting Seniors, Disabled Americans, and Families Across Washington State
This report is part of a series detailing the harm President Trump and Elon Musk’s reckless and devastating attacks on the federal workforce are causing on the ground in Washington state. More than one in six Washington residents—over 1.4 million people—received Social Security benefits in 2023, the latest year for which data was available.
This report focuses on how the Trump administration’s plans for massive cuts, office closures, and harmful policy changes will deprive Washingtonians of the Social Security benefits they have earned, need, and deserve.
The Social Security Administration Provides Critical Benefits to 73 Million Americans
Social Security Administration (SSA) staff ensure that 73 million Americans get their Social Security benefits each month. SSA’s staffing level of 57,000 employees at the beginning of the Trump administration was already its lowest level in 50 years, and SSA’s administrative expenses represent less than 1 percent of total benefits paid.
Right now, President Trump and Elon Musk are haphazardly making rapid changes at SSA without regard for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security benefits and interact with SSA each year. Trump and Musk are firing SSA staff, closing offices, and changing customer service policies, all of which will make it harder for Americans to receive the benefits they have earned. Trump and Musk are forcibly pushing out SSA employees—intimidating them into taking so-called “buyouts,” threatening staff with involuntary reassignment and dramatically reduced pay, and setting an initial target of eliminating 7,000 jobs this year. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has bragged about closing Social Security offices and is even considering closing field offices—even though the nearest Social Security for many Americans is already hours away.
Already, seniors are suffering from the consequences of Trump and Musk’s hijacking of the Social Security Administration. In March, SSA’s website crashed four times in ten days, call wait times soared to upwards of five hours, managers had to help answer phones in short-staffed offices, and employees were not able to make callbacks because the wait times extended past the end of the business day. This means that people who need help with SSA benefits either aren’t getting them, or are facing massive delays in getting them, resulting in a benefits cut.
Firing SSA Staff Harms Customer Service for People in Washington State Who Need it Most
In Washington, Trump and Musk’s firings at SSA included employees like William Shie, who worked at SSA for over 25 years.
“None of us went into public service to get rich. We did so because public service actually means something to us. Especially Social Security. In a past life in the agency, I helped recruit for SSA. I always said—we are not a sexy agency—nobody grows up saying they can’t wait to work for SSA, but we end up staying! The vast majority of us came to SSA as a first or temporary job before planning on moving on to something else—my law school dream was to become a prosecutor. And yet so many of us stayed because we lived the mission firsthand, saw the good we did, and came to believe in it strongly—to help the most vulnerable of our society,” said Shie.
John Pfannenstein, President for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3937, representing SSA employees in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, paints an alarming picture of how recent and planned actions to reduce staff will impact service delivery to these residents.
“This is going to devastate our workforce, and especially those of us who are in front facing positions like me working in field offices, working at our 800 number, the people who hold the disability hearings. All of these components are designed to function as one entity and that is to serve the public and administer our benefit programs to them. We are already under incredible pressure to do that with our staffing levels as they are seeing more and more beneficiaries and applicants than ever before in history. So, we’re basically being crushed under our own weight and these efforts by our new Acting Commissioner appointed by this administration to trim the staff even further is going to hurt service delivery in ways that we’ve never seen before. Frankly, if you thought it was bad before, if these efforts succeed, it’s going to reach catastrophic levels to where some people are simply not going to get served,” said Pfannenstein, who in addition to his union role, is a claims specialist in Lynnwood, where he has worked for the past 17 years.
For Colleen Gingrich in Vancouver, Washington, the reductions in SSA staff has her worried about whether her mom, who relies on Social Security and suffers from seizures after multiple serious car accidents, will be able to receive answers to questions about recently announced policy changes. She’s particularly concerned about one recent change, commonly referred to as the claw-back rate. If beneficiaries are overpaid—often due to a miscalculation by the agency and no fault by the recipient—SSA will, as soon as they realize the mistake, begin “clawing back” the overpayment by taking 100 percent of the beneficiaries’ monthly check, until the overpayment amount is fully recouped. The 100 percent claw back rate has been known to push unsuspecting seniors into severe financial hardship and even homelessness, and as a result, the Biden administration limited the claw back to 10 percent of monthly benefits. However, the Trump administration immediately reversed that policy in March, reinstituting the 100 percent claw back rate and putting seniors’ finances in jeopardy. In response to public outcry, SSA released an emergency message on April 25 that the claw back rate will be 50 percent, a rate which would still devastate many seniors.
“[S]o I have suggested for her to get in contact with her local Social Security office. But from what I understand, there’s people who are being let go from those offices, and there’s not enough people to take phone calls and to help people sift through this information,” said Gingrich.
Closing Social Security Offices Will Force Older and Disabled Washington Residents to Wait Longer and Drive Further for an Appointment
Washington has 23 SSA field offices across the state. The Trump administration has recently identified a number of federal buildings, including in Washington state, as “not core to government operations,” indicating it plans to offload these buildings—before it abruptly deleted the list from its public website. One building listed on the “Non-Core Property List” was the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, which houses the SSA’s Seattle Field Office. SSA employees at this office help residents navigate Social Security, including retirement, disability, survivors, and family benefits. Additionally, the Department of Government Efficiency has proposed terminating the leases of at least 47 Social Security offices across the country.
“You don’t have a lease, you don’t have a facility. They are trying to shrink the footprint of SSA in ways that will make it more and more difficult, and in some cases, maybe even impossible for members of the public to access their earned benefits,” said John Pfannenstein, President for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3937.
Timothy and Nancy Vogel, senior citizens in La Conner, Washington recall smooth service at their nearest Social Security office, located in Mount Vernon about 17 miles from their home.
“My wife was diagnosed with MS, so we went through the process of applying for disability. That process went very smoothly, but that was back in 2006. We would not be able to enjoy our senior years and the comfort of how we are living without our Social Security income. It represents two thirds of our monthly income. We are living in a retirement home which is not cheap so it is critical that we are able to rely on our Social Security checks,” said Timothy Vogel, a senior in Washington state.
Limiting Teleservice Will Burden Washington’s Beneficiaries and Reduce Access to Basic Services
Last month, the Trump administration announced another new, burdensome policy at SSA that would have suddenly required millions of Americans who file for benefits by phone to undertake additional identify verification steps, either through an online system or by providing additional documentation in person at an SSA field office, which are often difficult for seniors, especially in rural areas, to reach. The new requirements would have affected all filers—but after widespread public outcry, SSA announced they would continue allowing identity verification by phone for those filing for disability, Medicare, and supplemental income. On April 9, SSA announced further changes that will allow most people to file claims over the phone, but some will still have to come to a field office to verify their identity. Much uncertainty remains about how this policy will be implemented, but the abrupt announcements and reversals on major policies at SSA are creating chaos and alarm for seniors in Washington state and across the country.
“This again is going to create a situation where you have vulnerable populations of individuals who can’t do business online are going to have to travel to the field office in order to either change their direct deposit or file their initial claim, and we are lacking in staff to be able to accommodate all those appointments,” said John Pfannenstein, local president for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3937.
“My concern is that if there’s a glitch in Social Security checks being sent out or being deposited and we have to call or go online to figure out what the problems are and there’s a delay or no response or weeks before a response, that would be devastating. We are very dependent on Social Security, and both my wife and I paid into Social Security from a very young age,” said Timothy Vogel.
Missing a Payment Would be Devastating for Many People in Washington State
Senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly shown they have no understanding or regard for people who rely on Social Security benefits. Elon Musk has called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested only “fraudsters” would complain about missing a Social Security check, and that most people wouldn’t mind if the government simply skipped a payment. This is insulting and false—as the millions of people who rely on Social Security as their primary source of income can attest.
More than 150,000 residents of Washington state receive Social Security disability income. For JoMarie Francis in Spokane, low staffing has already made it challenging to resolve an error made with her daughter’s Social Security disability benefits.
“The errors made in her case have turned our life upside down. I’ve spent Erin’s entire life fighting and advocating for her and it’s been very difficult at times. Problems with the Social Security Administration affect our entire family. I am losing hope that I will be able to resolve the issue with the changes that have been proposed. I know the errors were made because they have been so overworked and understaffed for at least the last year and knowing what is coming in the future I just feel panicked for Erin. I talked to two people in the local office who were very helpful and gave me hope, but the fact that there’s no one I can talk to now, I am frustrated and feel powerless. Erin is very fortunate to have two parents who advocate for her who can make these calls and talk to people. People like Erin can’t do that and they are just falling through the cracks,” said JoMarie Francis.
JoMarie Francis worries about impacts not only for her daughter, but also the broader Spokane community.
“I believe there’s a direct line between people not getting what they need from Social Security and homelessness. And in Spokane, like everywhere else, homelessness is going to grow and grow,” said Francis.
For Colleen Gingrich, Social Security has played a vital role at two difficult times in her and her family’s life.
“I received Social Security years ago when my father died suddenly, so that was my first experience being in the Social Security system. And we had to have the Social Security survivor benefits for dependents, or else we would not have been able to survive. My mom had a good job, but she needed that additional income, so I received Social Security benefits due to my dad’s unexpected death from age 14 to 18, and my brother in the same household received the same benefit from 12 to 18. So, my mom really, really relied on that being an only parent,” said Gingrich.
Years later, after two serious car accidents, Social Security again became a lifeline for her family.
“[Mom] was in a very, very serious car accident in 2014 and that led her to start having temporal lobe seizures. We didn’t know she was having them until she got into another car accident while driving in 2016. Since 2016, she’s been diagnosed with those seizures. The seizures have progressed through the years, and recently, over the last year or so, the expression of her seizures is getting worse, and it’s causing more damage to her brain, and so she can no longer drive, but she is on Social Security. She receives a little over $2,000 a month, but she needs every single dollar of that $2,000 a month. Her rent has recently been increased by almost $300 for space rent, which is evidently really, really common in our state. There’s no way she would ever be able to pay out of pocket for any of those tests or the medication that they’re putting her on. Her symptoms are worsening, her need is increasing, and then just the cost of food and our other bills and just her basic stuff to get by, she there’s absolutely no way she could ever miss one payment if that were to be taken from her, she would never, ever, ever recover from that,” said Gingrich.
With degraded customer service at SSA as a direct result of Trump and Elon’s cuts, people in Washington and across the country will be cheated out of receiving the benefits they have earned and rely on.
The Trump administration’s reckless cuts and abrupt, wide-reaching, and harmful policy changes at the Social Security Administration will affect everything from applying for benefits, to asking basic questions about benefits, to requesting a replacement Social Security card or correcting wage and earnings information. When there aren’t enough staff to answer the phones, people won’t get the help they need. When field offices close, seniors in rural communities will have to drive even further to get the benefits they are owed. From longer wait times, to missed checks, every service SSA provides could and will be affected.
The Trump administration must reverse course, protect the benefits Americans have earned, and fully fund the services required to deliver them.
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