At Tuesday’s Senate Finance committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock questioned Frank Bisignano, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration (SSA)
Senator Reverend Warnock pushed Bisignano to commit to keeping all field offices in the state open for Georgia seniors
This month, SSA announced it was making access to benefits more difficult for seniors, no longer allowing individuals to apply for benefits or request a direct deposit change over the phone; the proposed change could lead to an increase of 7 million visits to field offices per year across the country, and an estimated 200,000 additional visits in Georgia alone
Senator Reverend Warnock: “Retirees in Georgia who rely on Social Security deserve reliable, timely delivery of their full benefits with world class customer service. […] That’s why so many Georgians and I were alarmed looking at what’s happening last month when several news outlets reported that Elon Musk and his DOGE team announced on their own website plans to permanently close five Social Security customer service offices throughout Georgia”
Watch Senator Reverend Warnock at Tuesday’s Senate Finance committee hearing HERE
Washington, D.C. – Today, during a Senate Finance committee hearing on the nomination of Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration (SSA), U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) pushed the nominee to commit to keeping all field offices in the state open for Georgia seniors and increasing staffing at Georgia field offices. The Senator’s push comes after the SSA announced it was making access to benefits more difficult for seniors, no longer allowing individuals to apply for benefits or request a direct deposit change over the phone. These and other proposed changes at the SSA could lead to an increase of 7 million visits to field offices per year across the country, and an estimated 200,000 additional visits in Georgia alone. Senator Warnock is committed to ensuring Georgians can easily and efficiently access their benefits that they have paid into over their lifetime.
The line of questioning also comes after DOGE announced the closure of five Georgia SSA offices, only to walk back the announcement after the Senator brought attention to the deeply unpopular decision.
“Retirees in Georgia who rely on Social Security deserve reliable, timely delivery of their full benefits with world class customer service. […] That’s why so many Georgians and I were alarmed looking at what’s happening last month when several news outlets reported that Elon Musk and his DOGE team announced on their own website plans to permanently close five Social Security customer service offices throughout Georgia. These closures in Brunswick, Columbus, Gainesville, Thomasville, and Vidalia would give Georgia the highest number of planned Social Security office closures of any state. Those five cities represent five counties with over 136,000 people who rely on Social Security benefits,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.
The SSA, through both retirement benefits and disability insurance, provides support to 68 million Americans. Without Social Security, nearly 40 percent of people over age 65 would be living in poverty. Social Security has reduced elderly poverty to less than 12 percent according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
“I just need to know, when it comes to office closures, who’s going to be making that decision, you or Elon Musk?” asked Senator Reverend Warnock.
“Me,” Frank Bisignano replied.
“That’s a good answer. The seniors in my state, those are the folks I’m concerned about. Will you commit to keeping all field offices in my state open for Georgia seniors?” Senator Reverend Warnock asked.
In response, Mr. Bisignano said, “You know, I was asked this question more than one time today, and what I will commit to is that there will be no decision made without you knowing about it. I have no intent to close field offices, but I’ve studied nothing on the topic. So it’s a little hard to commit to something without…”
Senator Reverend Warnock interjected, “I think study is a good thing, and what we’ve seen so far is no study, no real knowledge about what’s going on, just an effort to close offices, to be able to announce that you’re addressing waste, fraud and abuse.”
Watch the Senator’s full remarks HERE.
See below a transcript of key exchanges between Senator Warnock and SSA nominee Frank Bisignano (remarks have been lightly edited for clarity):
Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): “I want to follow up on some of the issues that we discussed in my office. When we met, I shared with you my strong view that retirees in Georgia who rely on Social Security deserve reliable, timely delivery of their full benefits with world class customer service, and you’ve got a long record of delivering that in the private sphere. That’s why so many Georgians and I were alarmed looking at what’s happening last month when several news outlets reported that Elon Musk and his DOGE team announced on their own website plans to permanently close five Social Security customer service offices throughout Georgia. These closures in Brunswick, Columbus, Gainesville, Thomasville, and Vidalia would give Georgia the highest number of planned Social Security office closures of any state. Those five cities represent five counties with over 136,000 people who rely on Social Security benefits. But since I raised the alarm, since I made some noise about this, DOGE is suddenly out on X, I guess that’s what you call the platform now, denying the closures that it posted on its own website. They posted those closures on their website, and now no one seems to know what’s true or whether or not these announced closures will affect Georgians access to their benefits or other services. So, sir, I know that you aren’t currently at the Social Security Administration, and perhaps you can’t speak to the plans hatched by Elon Musk or DOGE. But if you’re confirmed to lead the agency, Americans deserve to know who will actually be in charge of their benefits. I think we heard an answer from you a moment ago, from my colleague, but I’m going to ask you again for the record, where will the buck stop on this decision, specifically with respect to office closures? As someone who represents the state where they announced five closures–I made noise about it, it was on their website, then they withdrew them and acted like I made it up, they put it on their website–I just need to know, when it comes to office closures, who’s going to be making that decision, you or Elon Musk?”
Frank Bisignano (FB): “Me.”
SRW: “That’s a good answer. The seniors in my state, those are the folks I’m concerned about. Will you commit to keeping all field offices in my state open for Georgia seniors?”
FB: “You know, I was asked this question more than one time today, and what I will commit to is that there will be no decision made without you knowing about it. I have no intent to close field offices, but I’ve studied nothing on the topic. So it’s a little hard to commit to something without…”
SRW: “I think study is a good thing, and what we’ve seen so far is no study, no real knowledge about what’s going on, just an effort to close offices, to be able to announce that you’re addressing waste, fraud, and abuse. And we all know this is true, regardless of whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, because then they have to go back and rehire some of the people they fire. And you’re a businessman, sir, and you said earlier you wouldn’t operate in this way. And the reason I’m asking about these field offices, and these announced changes, is because it could lead to an increase of 7 million visits to field offices per year across the country, especially with the fact that they’re now not allowing you to call on the phone. An estimated 200,000 additional visits in Georgia alone, which is why, frankly, I think that it’s a terrible idea. But if confirmed, will you commit to increased staffing at Georgia field offices to account for this massive, expected increase in appointments, and to help ensure Georgians can easily and efficiently make appointments. Let me be clear about what I’m asking you: if you’re no longer able to call on the phone, which is a decision that’s already been made, and you have to go online or go to the office and actually have an in-person appointment, you’re going to have a backlog. So I want to know what’s the answer to that. How is it that I can assure the seniors in my church that their lines are not going to get longer and longer? I disagree with the Commerce Secretary who said, well, if his mother-in-law missed a check, she wouldn’t worry about it. I guess she wouldn’t. Her son-in-law is a billionaire. That is not the story of the seniors in my church. Will you make sure that they have access to find out what’s going on with the benefits that they have earned?”
FB: “Senator, first of all, thank you very much. I’ve spent my career overseeing financial institutions, and today I serve 3,500 financial institutions in America, and that means we have community banks, rural banks, and I know what it means to have to serve neighborhoods and serve rural communities. My commitment is that it will be a fact based, rule-based organization we run, that we will ensure we have the staffing to get the best level of service for our constituents. So I’m giving you a longer answer, but we will have the talent that we need to get the job done at a service level better than today’s.”
SRW: “I appreciate the answer. I’m just trying to get Georgia residents, senior citizens, the benefits that they have earned. No one is giving them anything, they paid into the system. Thank you.”
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