Murphy, Blumenthal highlight consequences of Social Security workforce layoffs

Noting that Connecticut has more than 700,000 Social Security recipients, Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal have joined their Democratic Senate colleagues in opposing workforce cuts to Social Security, saying such a move would threaten the ability of millions of Americans to access their earned benefits.

The senators took the action as Social Security has been beset by problems since Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have arrived on the scene. As The Washington Post reported: “The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts.” The article goes on to say office managers have had to answer phones since so many receptionists have been let go.

“As one of the nation’s most popular and effective programs, Social Security provides a foundation of income on which workers can build for their retirement, as well as valuable insurance protection against unexpected hardship,” Murphy and Blumenthal write. “By slashing staff and eliminating field offices, fewer Americans will be able to seek assistance during pivotal life events and risk causing further hardship to those in dire circumstances.”

The two Connecticut senators were joined in the letter by 45 of their Senate colleagues in writing to the agency’s acting commissioner.

They note that in person services are critical for people who lack reliable internet access and cannot navigate the Social Security website. On average, 120,000 Americans visit the site daily and 233,000 call SSA field offices every day.