Social Security Cuts Back on Customer Service
Why wouldn't you rely on a program that can't afford to keep offices open
Citing budget pressures, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has once again suspended mailing paper statements and will begin next month to close its more than 1,200 field offices 30 minutes earlier each day. Next January, the offices will begin closing at noon each Wednesday.
Most federal agencies began their 2013 fiscal year on October 1 with budgets that were only six-tenths of 1 percent greater than in fiscal 2012. This continuing resolution (CR) was agreed to by President Obama as part of a deal to avoid triggering debt-ceiling problems until next spring. "Under the current CR, we are operating on significantly less funding than either the agency or President Obama requested," Social Security spokeswoman Kia Green told U.S. News in an e-mail.
