Two members of Congress have requested that Social Security conduct a study to determine how the agency is performing in delivering services since the COVID-19 pandemic has mostly closed Social Security offices to the public more than six months ago.
In a letter sent to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) September 15, 2020, U.S. Rep. John Larson and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis requested Social Security conduct a study on the delivery of services to assess how disruptive the pandemic has been for Social Security customers.
“The COVID-19 crisis presents a new set of unprecedented challenges for SSA in delivering services to the public. In response to the pandemic, SSA made the difficult, but necessary, decision to temporarily close all of its offices to in-person visitors, with limited exceptions. Due to the pandemic, SSA also prioritized its core mission work of paying benefits to eligible individuals, and temporarily suspended many workloads that result in benefit reduction or termination. “We have supported these SSA actions to protect the safety of the public and agency employees while also ensuring that seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors continue to receive monthly Social Security and SSI benefits. At the same time, we have been concerned about the impact on vulnerable beneficiaries and applicants, and on individuals who need services that typically require an in-person visit to a local field office to get assistance from SSA. We are especially concerned about the disproportionate impact that the closure of field offices to in-person visitors has on historically underserved populations,” Larson and Davis stated in their letter.
Below are the following questions both Larson and Davis want addressed to determine how well Social Security has done serving the public since mid March when Social Security offices closed to the public.
- What service delivery challenges has SSA faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How has SSA changed its service delivery due to the COVID-19 crisis, including suspending certain services and workloads?
- What services and workloads did SSA suspend at field offices, card centers, teleservice centers, program service centers, Disability Determination Services agencies, Hearing Offices, and the Appeals Council?
- What exceptions did SSA provide for dire need or other reasons?
- What services and workloads has SSA been able to resume? When and how?
- What has been the impact of these challenges and changes on the public? Have these challenges and changes affected the public differently in the Social Security and SSI programs?
- How has the performance of SSA’s field offices, card centers, teleservice centers, program centers, Disability Determination Services agencies, Hearing Offices, and Appeals Council on core service metrics changed?
- How have service and workload suspensions reduced the public’s ability to access services from SSA?
- Has the public been able to access exceptions for dire need or other reasons? To what extent is this access available uniformly at all field offices?
- What are the indicators that vulnerable populations, including people of color, very low-income individuals, and people with disabilities, have been disadvantaged by field office closures to in-person visitors and service and workload suspensions?
- What steps has SSA taken to mitigate this, and have these steps been effective?
- What lessons does SSA’s response offer for SSA’s future service delivery and the ability of workers and beneficiaries – including those who are most vulnerable – to receive timely and expert assistance from SSA?
