Sponsors (131)
Bars new closures or limits on Social Security field, hearing, and resident offices, imposes a moratorium and sets strict public-notice, hearing, reporting, and appeal requirements for future actions.
Official title: To prevent closure of social security field and hearing offices and resident stations.
Introduced March 5, 2025 by John B. Larson · Last progress March 5, 2025
The bill preserves local, in-person Social Security access and adds public notice and appeal protections, at the expense of higher taxpayer costs, greater SSA administrative burden, and delayed modernization.
Seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals keep local in-person access to Social Security services now and the bill bars a net reduction in offices below the January 20, 2025 level, preserving service capacity.
Residents and their Representatives get advance public notice and multiple hearings before office closures or consolidations, increasing transparency and local input.
Affected individuals gain an explicit individual appeal/hearing right to challenge proposed closures or consolidations, protecting due process and preventing arbitrary decisions.
Taxpayers may face higher costs because the bill keeps potentially inefficient or underused SSA offices open rather than allowing consolidation or closures.
The moratorium and floor on reductions could delay modernization or consolidation plans, prolonging staffing shortages and inconsistent service quality for beneficiaries.
Extensive notice, hearing, reporting, and appeal procedures will increase SSA administrative burden and could slow routine or non-emergency operational decisions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits the Social Security Commissioner from closing, consolidating, or imposing new limits on public access to Social Security field offices, hearing offices, and resident stations while establishing a temporary moratorium and new procedural protections for any future changes. The bill requires public notice, community outreach, public hearings, a detailed report to Congress and affected members, an individual appeal/hearing right, and prevents the agency from reducing its total number of offices below the level in operation on January 20, 2025, with limited emergency exemptions.