This is a press release from Senator Jon Ossoff’s office.
Senate Republicans blocked U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s amendment to reverse cuts to the Social Security Administration ordered by Elon Musk.
Tonight, Senate Republicans blocked Sen. Ossoff’s amendment during the Senate’s budget debate that would have reversed cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA) by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“This amendment will reverse Elon Musk’s cuts to the Social Security Administration, and before it is denied this is happening, today, yet another mass firing was reported when service quality is already in a tailspin.
“Phone services are being terminated. Offices are being closed. Seniors are waiting on hold for hours. Office managers manning the phones because receptionists are fired. The website crashing repeatedly under strain.
“Mr. Musk calls Social Security a ‘Ponzi scheme’ but refuses to testify before Congress.
“I know he is rich and powerful, but where are the subpoenas? American seniors deserve transparency.
“Now Secretary Lutnick said his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain if she missed a Social Security check. Maybe that’s because her son-in-law is a billionaire, but Georgia seniors don’t have that luxury.
“Support this amendment. Stand with America’s seniors over the richest man in the world.”
The Washington Post reported just today that Musk is calling for more staff reductions within the agency.
Last month, The Washington Post reported that retirees and other social security beneficiaries were experiencing problems and delays in accessing help or interacting with the agency through the phones, website, or offices, and that its website crashed four times in 10 days last month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts.
In February, the SSA announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs—about 12% of its workforce—amid long-standing issues with service delays and already historically low staffing levels.
