Senator Schumer to introduce new bill to ‘protect’ Social Security from DOGE cuts

“If no one can take your call, if the website keeps crashing, if they fire the staff that processes your claims, if they make it impossible for you to get the help you need, that’s a cut to your Social Security benefits,” said Sen. Schumer. “We need to invest and protect Social Security … I will be pushing new legislation with Senate Democrats to reverse these Trump cuts, hire more workers, stop local offices from closing, and make Social Security more efficient for our seniors.

“We need to fix Social Security and make it easier for seniors … to get their benefits, not cut the system down to the bone. Our seniors worked hard their whole lives for their Social Security benefits, and we are going to make sure it is protected, not cut.”

Social Security is one of the most successful government programs in our nation’s history – without Social Security, nearly 40% of people over age 65 would be living in poverty, he said. In the Southern Tier of upstate New York, more than 203,000 beneficiaries receive more than $330 million in Social Security payments every month, he said.

Sen. Schumer explained that for too long, the SSA has been underfunded, but now, amid DOGE cuts, the Social Security system is breaking, with former Social Security Administrators and experts saying these cuts could collapse the system.

In response to President Trump, Schumer said that Senate Democrats will introduce the new legislation to increase investment in Social Security and reverse these cuts. While it’s unlikely the bill will advance with a Republican majority in Congress, the bill will:

• Stop field offices from closure and increase staffing, reversing previous cuts and prohibiting closures without congressional approval. It would boost staffing levels to help reduce wait times and ensure beneficiaries can continue to make appointments in person and speak with live representatives on the phone, not robotic call services.
• Boost funding for Social Security to $5 billion annually to create the modern Social Security Administration our seniors deserve, making long-needed upgrades and providing grants to improve technology, reduce claim backlogs, and enhance customer service, he said.
• Improve access for beneficiaries by reversing Trump cuts, increasing support to protect beneficiaries, and restoring limits on benefit clawbacks that could reduce benefits for seniors.
• Protect Social Security data. The bill imposes civil and criminal penalties for improper access to sensitive Social Security records and blocks unauthorized access from DOGE.

Related: Social Security must prevail: 4 steps Trump, Congress must take ASAP, says Schwartz Center

“Our seniors built this country—on farms, in factories, and behind desks … They paid into Social Security every week and earned every dime of it,” said Congressman Josh Riley. “Now they’re stuck with jammed phone lines, glitchy websites, and threats of office closures—while billionaires try to privatize what should never be weakened. I introduced the Social Security Access Act and co-sponsored the You Earned It, You Keep It Act to make sure folks can get help when they need it and keep the benefits they’ve earned. I’m thankful for Senator Schumer’s work on these issues.”

In May, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano to be the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, despite strong opposition from Democrats who voiced concerns over his relationship with DOGE officials.

Bisignano testified at the Senate hearing that he would “ensure that every beneficiary receives their payments on time, that disability claims are processed in the manner they should be.” He also recently released a statement announcing “substantial progress in service delivery outcomes resulting from focused technology enhancements and process engineering.” Recent accomplishments, according to the statement, include:

• SSA is handling more calls with a faster response time, which is down from an average of 18 minutes so far this year and 30 minutes last year, or an 80% reduction.
• SSA is reducing field office wait times. The agency reduced the wait time in field offices to 23 minutes so far this year, compared to 30 minutes last year, or a 23% reduction.