This bill temporarily prohibits the closure or consolidation of, or other limitation of access to, Social Security Administration (SSA) offices and stations, and sets forth procedural requirements for future changes to office and station availability.
Specifically, the bill prohibits through at least January 21, 2029, the closure or consolidation of, or other limitation of access to, SSA field offices, hearing offices, and resident stations. On or after that date, SSA must submit a report to Congress justifying its process for selecting stations and offices to be closed, consolidated, or limited. The prohibition is lifted 180 days after the submission of such report.
The bill also sets forth requirements that must be met before SSA may close, consolidate, or otherwise limit access to an office or station after the initial moratorium expires. At least 120 days before such a change takes effect, SSA must provide public notice to individuals in affected areas, including information on how lost access to SSA services will be replaced. SSA must also conduct at least two public hearings on each such change.
Further, SSA must provide a hearing to any individual who makes a timely showing that a determination to close, consolidate, or limit an office or station is arbitrary, capricious, or deficient in another specified manner.
Finally, a closure, consolidation, or limitation may not result in the total number of SSA offices or stations falling below the number of such offices or stations in operation on January 20, 2025.
