The American Federation of Government Employees recently sent a letter to the Democratic members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that explained the negative outcomes of agency budget reductions regarding Social Security Administration services and programs.
"Any reductions below the FY 12 budget request will have adverse consequences," says AFGE National Council of Social Security Administration Field Operations Locals President Witold Skwierczynski, who was briefed by SSA officials regarding various budget reduction possibilities. "Further cuts below the current FY 11 baseline will lead to furloughs, staffing reductions, office closings, longer wait times and general dissatisfaction with the Social Security system itself."
In 2011, the agency has shut down 19 offices, and AFGE anticipates that figure to grow by year's end, which could result in up to 515 office closures.
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"By closing Social Security offices, SSA is effectively removing face-to-face, community-based service from thousands of customers," Skwierczynski says. "SSA's customers are senior citizens, survivors of a deceased wage earner, disabled people and the poor. Many of these people are unable to effectively communicate their issues to SSA through telephone or through the Internet. Eliminating community-based services from this population is outrageous and intolerable."
Most employees lost in FY 11, and those expected lose in FY 12 are directly working with the public in field offices or teleservice centers answering telephone calls, agency officials say.
"The threat to the Social Security system by budget reductions and those who seek to dismantle the program is real and immediate," Skwierczynski says. "Actions by the Joint Select Committee on deficit reduction to reduce either benefits or administration will not reduce the federal deficit but will continue an inexorable process of eroding the most successful social program in our history. We urge the committee to oppose reductions in spending below the FY 12 budget request, a level, which will preserve the quality of service beneficiaries and workers have come to expect from the Social Security Administration."
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