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Trump & Musk Tried to Make it Harder for Parents to Register Newborns for Social Security

It started as a baffling and alarming decision. The Social Security Administration (SSA), under the influence of President Trump’s campaign to gut the federal government and Elon Musk’s DOGE team, announced the termination of Maine’s Enumeration at Birth (EAB) program. For 35 years, the EAB program had allowed parents to register their newborns for Social Security numbers right at the hospital. But suddenly, without warning, SSA moved to rescind this critical service, effectively forcing parents to register their children for Social Security with an SSA agent, at a time when Trump and Musk are closing SSA field offices and radically reducing the agency’s workforce.
2025-03-07T17:11:15-04:00March 7th, 2025|Categories: Max Richtman, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), SSA field offices, Trump, Uncategorized|

What the Heck is Going on at the Social Security Administration?

In the short period of time that Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE have had their hooks in the Social Security Administration, there have been alarming changes at the agency. The most obvious – and most egregious – is Musk and DOGE’s access to the sensitive personal data of some 70 million Social Security beneficiaries, creating the potential for enormous abuse.  This was the first line of attack in Musk’s bogus campaign to expose fraud at an agency where improper payments are less than 1% of total benefits paid. 
2025-08-27T16:10:44-04:00February 26th, 2025|Categories: Social Insurance, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Trump|

Trump “Buyout” Offer May Devastate Social Security Administration

Voters may have sent various messages to Washington last November, but they certainly did not include a call to gut the federal workforce that serves American seniors and people with disabilities. Yet, that’s exactly what the Trump administration --- abetted by billionaire advisor ex-officio Elon Musk --- is attempting to do. On Tuesday, federal workers --- including employees of the Social Security Administration --- received an email from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), offering “deferred resignation.” The email said employees could resign now and continue to receive pay and benefits through September --- an offer of dubious legality that was immediately criticized by Democratic lawmakers and labor unions representing federal workers.
2025-02-03T13:45:50-04:00January 31st, 2025|Categories: President Trump, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Disability Insurance, Uncategorized|

Dem/GOP Split on Social Security Apparent in Hill Hearing

The House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing about the program's trustees' projection that the Social Security trust fund will become depleted in 2035, absent Congressional action. Even so, Social Security still could pay 83% of scheduled benefits at that time. No one wants Congressional inaction, but the hearing emphasized the difference in the two parties' approaches to the problem.
2024-06-11T14:19:17-04:00June 10th, 2024|Categories: Congress, Debt, Democrats, Rep. John Larson, Republicans, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA)|

House GOP Appropriators Announce 10% Cut in Labor/HHS Spending

House Republicans once again are showing where their true priorities lie.  Appropriations committee chair Tom Cole (R-OK) announced the GOP’s topline numbers for fiscal year 2025 --- including at least a 10% cut in funding for Labor/HHS (Health & Human Services).  That could mean agencies like the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would endure a huge spending cut, while Republican appropriators propose to boost military spending by 1%.
2024-05-17T12:16:18-04:00May 16th, 2024|Categories: Budget, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Congress, Democrats, Republicans, Social Security Administration (SSA)|

FDR Would Be “Fighting Mad” About Assaults on Social Security, Says Grandson on New Podcast

President Franklin D. Roosevelt would be “fighting mad” about conservative attempts to undermine Social Security, says his grandson, Jim Roosevelt on the first episode of our new podcast --- released this week.
2023-12-18T21:33:46-04:00December 15th, 2023|Categories: Medicare, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Republicans, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA field offices, You Earned This podcast|

Reassurance & Warning at Social Security Town Hall in Las Vegas

The message at Thursday’s NCPSSM/AARP town hall in Las Vegas was:  the government may temporarily shut down on September 30th, but Social Security is here to stay. The town hall, entitled “Social Security: Here Today, Here Tomorrow,” was an opportunity for nearly 100 Las Vegas residents to hear from some of the nation’s leading experts about the value of Social Security --- and to receive reassurance that benefits still will be paid during a shutdown.
2023-09-29T00:50:05-04:00September 29th, 2023|Categories: Max Richtman, Social Insurance, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA)|

Would a Government Shutdown Affect Social Security and Medicare?

First, the good news. Even if the government shuts down at the end of this week because of House Republican intransigence, Social Security benefits will continue to be paid and customer service for retirees should not get significantly worse. Now, the bad news. The impending shutdown is symptomatic of a disorder in Congress that seniors should care about:  MAGA hardliners once again gumming up the works of a government which best serves the public when operating smoothly, without needless disruptions.
2023-09-26T11:53:16-04:00September 25th, 2023|Categories: Congress, Democrats, Disability, GOP, Medicare, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA)|

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