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Exclusive: Top Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee demand that the Social Security Agency explain the surge in phone wait times after removing the online tracking tool from their website on Thursday.
New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote to SSA Commissioner Frank Vignano at its agency headquarters in Baltimore, “serious concerns about changes in performance metrics shared by SSA through public dashboards.”
Hassan also questioned whether Doge-centric cuts to the federal workforce and other government assets had fallen into the situation. Washington Post Report When removing and/or replacing Published tools Independent analysis by minority staff of the Joint Economic Committee.
“Unlike previous dashboards, the new version also lacks historical data and general processing time for retirement, survivors, disability and Medicare benefits,” Hassan wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
Social Security Committee breaks down plans to save the agency from bankruptcy
Several Social Security cards on a $100 bill. (istock)
“These data and other metrics provided important insights into agency performance and served as guide posts for seniors and other beneficiaries navigating the benefits process,” she wrote, noting that callback and callback times, field office casework processing times and other data are no longer easily accessible.
Hassan also asked Doge’s actions or not It was causing one of the changes.
“Deleting this information could also obscure the impact of deep staffing and resource reductions, driven by the government’s efficiency in SSA’s ability to reach seniors,” Hassan said.
“For these reasons, we recommend that you immediately restore all previous metrics to your SSA Performance Dashboard.”
Earlier this month, Doge achieved a big victory with its efficient quest. The Supreme Court issued an unsigned order A Maryland federal court injunction lifts responsibility for efforts to access the SSA system. Critics argued it was creepy because it contained sensitive American data.
“[U]From the current situationSSA can make these members accessible to members of the SSA Doge team to the agency records in question for them to do their job,” the order read.
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A screenshot of the currently deleted call time chart, shared with Fox News Digital, showed approximately 4% to 28% holding times from February to March.
However, the SSA claims that similar information cited in the Washington Post report is “false.”
“The reality of our caller to number 800 is that around 42% handle the business through automated self-service options, and for those who want to talk to representatives, around 75% use the callback assist feature.
“Given the experience of customers who have chosen to receive callbacks, the average response speed for the 800 numbers this year is around 19 minutes. Furthermore, compared to 30 minutes in January, the monthly trend has improved over the past two years as callers only waited about 12 minutes on the phone before speaking to the representative.”
McGraw said wait times are projected to improve the year.
“When Commissioner Vignano evaluates agents, they update their performance metrics to reflect the real-life experiences of the people we serve and highlight the fastest way our customers can get service.”
“It’s important to measure what’s most important to improve customer service while providing all Americans with the information they need to select the best service channel for them,” concluded McGraw.
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Bisignano says that increasing staffing is not a long-term solution to systemic problems at institutions.
He also seemed to support it. Doge Idea In the Tech Systems upgrade, SSA wants to be “a digital-first technology-driven organization and the public as our focus.”
Bisignano admitted that he recognized SSA’s final ranking in government agencies in employee satisfaction, and said he wanted to improve that aspect too before he took the reins.
In her letter, Hassan also quoted Doge Work Eliminating 7,000 jobs in the SSA. Of these, about 4,000 were spontaneous. Doge is also looking to upgrade and update its SSA technology system. Coding regimen It is called “Cobol” that dates back to the 1950s.
“As a result, beneficiaries are facing disruption, error messages and unprecedented failures in the services of tools to schedule and manage appointments at field offices across the country.” About Social Security As of 2023.
Hassan outlined several questions about Vignano, including real-time reports by 5pm, including current callback times, wait times, and more.
She also asked about adjustments or deletions of datasets, as well as Social Security processing times for retirement, survivors, Medicare benefits, and specific data in New Hampshire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
