The Hands Off Our Social Security Act, a bill introduced in late July, would require congressional approval before the Social Security Administration could make any changes to benefits or services.
The bill — introduced by Reps. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., and John Larson, D-Conn. — would ensure the "continued effective operation" of the Social Security Administration and protect Social Security services "by prohibiting tampering with benefits, unauthorized data mining, privatization efforts, workforce reductions, office closures, and communication changes that hinder access to Social Security benefits," its text states.
H.R. 4734 "would require Congressional approval for any further Social Security staff cuts, as well as field office closures," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Tuesday in an email. "It would protect our private data. And it blocks any privatization of Social Security, both of benefits and of the system's customer service." The group, which supports the bill, calls on Congress to "stand up for Social Security by passing this essential legislation into law immediately."
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said it supports the bill's goal "to contain the chaos and harm caused by the Trump Administration's mishandling of the Social Security Administration."
"President Trump promised not to touch Social Security, but he allowed DOGE and SSA leadership to slash agency staff — and erect new, needless barriers to seniors and people with disabilities simply trying to access their earned benefits," Max Richtman, president and CEO of the committee, said in another email Tuesday.
Trump Accounts and Privatization
Altman said the legislation is "particularly important" in light of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's recent comments about the Trump administration pursuing "backdoor privatization" of Social Security through Trump accounts created under the recent tax and spending megabill.
(Bessent later said on X that the accounts would "supplement the sanctity of Social Security’s guaranteed payments.")
While there's no question that President Donald Trump and many Republicans "want to create special accounts that would replace or alter Social Security," Greg Valliere, chief U.S. policy strategist for AGF Investments, said Tuesday in his newsletter, the plan "has virtually no chance in Congress despite Bessent’s trial balloon."
That being said, "the idea won't die," Valliere opined, "as both parties scramble to fix Social Security before the system goes bankrupt early in the next decade. Only a Democrat could get away with any significant reform, and for now the Republicans will stay quiet."
In late July, SSA filed with the White House's Office of Management and Budget to expand use of personal identification numbers created online to access telephone services that did not previously require them, including generating a benefit verification letter, changing address or obtaining a tax statement.
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