Lawmakers seek details behind SSA plan to slash office visits

Four senators are asking Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano to address their concerns with a reported agency goal to cut the number of field office visits in half in the coming year.

Nextgov/FCW first reported last week that SSA means to have 50% fewer field office visits in fiscal year 2026 than there were in fiscal 2025, or no more than 15 million total. Over 31 million people visited the agency's field offices last year to file for benefits, get Social Security cards and more.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., detailed their concerns with that goal in a Tuesday letter to Bisignano.

"Given that beneficiaries are already waiting months for field office appointments, and the agency has not shared with Congress or the public on how it plans to achieve this goal, we are concerned that these efforts are in fact part of a plan to 'quietly kill[] field offices,' implementing a back-door cut in benefits by making it harder for Americans to access the Social Security customer services they need," the group wrote.

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