Sponsors (130)
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The bill preserves in-person SSA access and boosts public notice and transparency for communities—especially seniors and people with disabilities—at the cost of higher short-term operating costs and reduced flexibility for the SSA to reorganize or modernize over time.
Seniors and people with disabilities keep local in-person SSA offices, reducing travel burdens and preserving easier access to benefits and services.
Communities receive 120-day advance notice and public hearings before SSA office changes, giving local governments and affected residents time to respond and seek alternatives.
SSA must prepare and publish cost–benefit analyses and replacement plans for lost access, increasing transparency and accountability to taxpayers and communities.
A strict rule preventing the number of SSA offices from falling below the Jan 20, 2025 level may hinder the agency’s ability to adapt to long-term changes in demand and technology, reducing service efficiency over time.
Maintaining or delaying office closures to meet coverage rules could increase SSA operating costs, raising the fiscal burden on taxpayers or diverting funds from other services.
The required 120-day notice and public hearings could slow necessary SSA reorganizations and staff reallocations, delaying efficiency improvements and responsiveness.
Introduced March 5, 2025 by John B. Larson · Last progress March 5, 2025
Imposes an immediate moratorium on closing or consolidating Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices, hearing offices, and resident stations and on imposing new limits to public access, with limited exceptions for emergencies. The moratorium stays in place until 180 days after the SSA Commissioner files a detailed report to congressional tax and entitlement committees (the report cannot be submitted earlier than January 21, 2029). After the moratorium ends, requires new procedural protections before any future closure, consolidation, or access limitation: at least 120 days public notice with direct mailing and community outreach, at least two public hearings, a detailed pre-action report to Congress at least 30 days before the action, an opportunity for affected individuals to request a hearing, a requirement that total office numbers not fall below the count as of January 20, 2025, and retention of an emergency-closure exception.