Sponsors (4)
The bill prioritizes preserving local, accessible in-person services and stronger transparency/oversight for vulnerable populations, at the cost of higher operating expenses, reduced agency flexibility to consolidate, and added administrative burdens.
Seniors, people with disabilities, rural residents, and low-income claimants retain local in-person SSA/IRS access because field offices must remain open and staffed at 2025 levels with planning to maintain prior-year service levels.
Taxpayers and local communities gain substantially more transparency and public input before closures through 180-day notices, public hearings, posted comments, required written reports, and disclosure of which offices closed and why.
Independent oversight and more inclusive advisory review—via SSA Inspector General verification and Advisory Board consideration of vulnerable populations—strengthen checks on closure decisions and reduce the risk of service disruptions.
Taxpayers may face higher ongoing operating costs because offices must be staffed at or above 2025 levels and underused offices may be preserved instead of consolidated.
The bill reduces agency flexibility and will likely slow or complicate efficiency efforts (closures/consolidations), delaying cost-savings and making it harder to respond quickly to changing demand or lease issues.
Agencies and oversight bodies will face added administrative burden and must divert staff time and resources to prepare notices, reports, hearings, and impact analyses, which may reduce capacity for other duties.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires SSA to maintain 2025 or higher field-office staffing and public hours, imposes strict notice/hearing/IG-review rules before closures, and mandates reports on past closures and a 10-year resource plan.
Introduced January 22, 2026 by Gwendolynne S. Moore · Last progress January 22, 2026
Requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to keep enough field-office staff and open hours to meet current and projected workloads and to avoid reducing in-person access below levels in effect on January 1, 2025. Sets strict processes for permanently closing, consolidating, or ending leases for field offices, including long public notice, local hearings, IG review of health/safety claims, and a moratorium until the Inspector General confirms the new rules are implemented. Also directs the SSA to report to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees within 180 days on field offices closed in the prior five years, explains GSA’s role in those closures, and provides a 10-year plan to ensure field offices have enough resources to meet demand. Requires the Social Security Advisory Board to explicitly consider impacts on people with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and other vulnerable groups when recommending office changes.