This bill would add rules to Title VII of the Social Security Act about Social Security field offices. It requires the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to operate enough field offices and staff each office to provide accessible services, meet workloads, and keep posted public hours. It sets a minimum staffing requirement that field office personnel not be fewer than on January 1, 2025. The bill creates detailed procedures for permanently closing, ending a lease, consolidating, or otherwise reducing in-person access at a field office. Those procedures include a 180-day public notice, written and mailed notifications, at least two local public hearings, posting and acceptance of written comments on the SSA website, a written report responding to unique comments, and written notice to affected members of Congress and local governments. The Inspector General (IG) must review health and safety claims and confirm procedural compliance before an action can take effect. The bill also pauses (a moratorium on) field-office reductions until 30 days after the IG confirms the new rules are implemented, with a limited exception for health-and-safety actions. The bill amends SSA Advisory Board guidance to require consideration of impacts on people with disabilities, language barriers, and other vulnerable populations. It also requires the Commissioner to submit a report to House and Senate committees within 180 days listing field office closures in the prior five years, describing the GSA's role in those closures, and outlining a plan to ensure sufficient resources and 10-year projected demand for field office services.
If enacted, SSA would have to follow public notice and hearing steps before closing or reducing access to a local field office. SSA must keep at least the number of field office staff it had on January 1, 2025, and consider local workloads and accessibility when deciding staffing and hours. Local residents would receive mailed and posted notices, could attend hearings, and could submit written comments that SSA must respond to and publish. Members of Congress and local governments serving the area would receive advance written notice and could propose alternatives.
No publicly available information.
The bill text aims to ensure continued in-person access to Social Security services by requiring minimum staffing levels, formal public notice and comment procedures before reducing access, IG review of health and safety claims, and reporting to Congress about past closures and GSA involvement. The bill also requires consideration of impacts on people with disabilities, those with language barriers, and other vulnerable groups.
No publicly available information.