Another member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine has called for Social Security to open up offices to the public again and the same sentiment is growing louder from others as federal agencies have moved at a snail’s pace in developing plans of bringing employees back to work.
Social Security offices have remained mostly closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March of 2020 and while most of the rest of the country has opened up in some capacity, in person service at Social Security offices has been unavailable for close to 17 months now.
In a recent article from a Maine publication a portion of a letter Golden wrote to Social Security stresses that it is imperative that Social Security offices open up again to provide service to the public.
“The current unavailability of most in-person services at SSA field offices … creates difficulty for people who lack broadband access, have certain disabilities, or are otherwise more comfortable with in-person service,” wrote Golden in a recent letter to the administration.
“In light of the public’s need to access SSA services in a timely and convenient way, I request that SSA expedite its OMB-mandated reentry planning to increase staffing at field offices to enable a wider set of in-person services, and to end the requirement for people to part with their original identification documents.”
President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to have a final plan to address reopening no later than July 19, 2021, which seems to provide for ample time for Social Security to get its ducks in a row regarding reopening, but still no specific plans have emerged. With increased calls for Social Security to open up offices the agency’s status quo attitude is not going to fly with most people much longer.
