SOCIAL SECURITY CUSTOMER SERVICE

On 2026-01-08, Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) delivered a floor speech titled "SOCIAL SECURITY CUSTOMER SERVICE" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered Social Security.

SOCIAL SECURITY CUSTOMER SERVICE

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)] [House] [Pages H227-H228] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SOCIAL SECURITY CUSTOMER SERVICE (Mr. SUBRAMANYAM asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) [[Page H228]] Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, 74 million Americans depend on Social Security, but because of the Trump administration's actions, customer service has completely collapsed. The agency faces 6 million backlogged cases, 12 million delayed field-office transactions, and some of the worst wait times in history. Why is this happening? It is because the Trump administration pushed out 7,000 Social Security employees. That is 12 percent of their workforce. Offices were reorganized overnight, hiring was frozen, and thousands of workers were reassigned. This has real-life consequences for my constituents, like a 75-year- old stroke victim who hasn't received his check for months because he can't drive or use a computer, or an immigrant who may lose his job because a name correction appointment is weeks away, or the retiree who waited hours just to schedule an appointment on the phone. Social Security is not a political experiment. It is a promise. The American people paid into the system and earned these benefits. They shouldn't have to fight their own government to receive them. ____________________