House Hearing Scrutinizes Social Security Commissioner’s Agenda

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, also CEO of the Internal Revenue Service, defended his leadership of the safety net agency before a joint House subcommittee hearing Tuesday, telling lawmakers that the Social Security Administration is delivering faster service, even as Democrats pressed him over purported delays.

The hearing before the House Committee on Ways and Means’ subcommittees on Social Security and Work and Welfare centered on whether the expansion of online services, phone system changes, staffing shifts and new technology are working to improve SSA service for beneficiaries or masking persistent access problems.

In written testimony, Bisignano said the SSA is seeing “the best overall performance” in its history, citing a reduction in the national 800-number “average speed of answer” to less than five minutes in May, down from a high of 42 minutes in fiscal 2024. He also said field office wait times fell 30%, the initial disability claims backlog has dropped 32% from its June 2024 peak and online transactions exceeded 500 million in fiscal 2025.

Republicans in attendance praised the numbers Bisignano reported as evidence that the agency is moving in a positive direction. But Democrats challenged the agency’s reliance on “average speed of answer,” arguing that it understates what callers actually experience. Representative Judy Chu, D-California, pressed Bisignano to acknowledge that callers who select a callback option are counted as having a zero-minute wait. She said that makes the headline number misleading for beneficiaries who remain on hold or wait for callbacks.

Workforce Cuts

Other Democrats raised concerns about field office staffing, disability benefits delays and access for vulnerable beneficiaries.

Last year, the SSA cut 7,150 positions, an approximately 13% reduction of employees, according to the agency.

The commissioner repeatedly argued that the SSA’s broader performance has improved, saying the agency has expanded web access, ended appointment-only policies that turned away walk-ins, and served millions more callers. He said the SSA now has more than 100 million online “my Social Security” accounts and that the agency is aiming to become a “digital-first” service provider while still maintaining field office and phone access.

Lawmakers also questioned Bisignano on disability programs, employment barriers and fraud. Several subcommittee members said beneficiaries who want to work often face confusing rules and delayed wage reporting that can trigger overpayments. Bisignano said SSA has assigned dedicated leadership to programs such as Ticket to Work, a free, voluntary initiative run by the SSA to help people with disabilities enter or return to the workforce and retain their full cash benefits while also earning wages. He said similar leadership has addressed issues with the Supplemental Security Income program and is improving data exchanges to reduce improper payments.

On the topics of fraud and cybersecurity, Bisignano said he created new senior roles, including a chief risk officer and chief of security and resiliency, both reporting directly to him. He said the agency is using data, identity verification tools and fraud prevention efforts to protect Social Security numbers and beneficiaries’ payments.

Social Security Fairness Act, Funding

Also during the hearing, several Republican subcommittee members pointed to the agency’s implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act, which delivered more than $17 billion in retroactive benefits to 3.1 million Americans.

The law enacted in January 2025 passed with bipartisan support. The legislation allowed full Social Security benefits for public service workers such as teachers and police officers who had previously faced reductions because they were entitled to government pensions and were not covered by Social Security. The law was listed as a factor in last year’s Social Security Administration report about continued financial pressure on Social Security funds, but was not named as a factor in the report released yesterday.

According to the most recent trust fund report, the main trust fund holds enough money to pay full benefits to retirees and other beneficiaries until 2032, two years sooner than the 2034 figure reported in 2024.

On the ongoing challenge of Social Security solvency, Republicans emphasized that Congress, not the commissioner, must address the trust fund’s projected shortfall. Bisignano avoided endorsing benefit changes, saying his job is to make the agency operate better so that lawmakers have better options when confronting the program’s finances.

Congress could decide to improve the program’s solvency by either raising revenues through some kind of payroll tax increase, which Republicans would be unlikely to support, or through a reduction in benefits, which would be difficult for either party to endorse.