Jimmy Panetta: Democrats Just 'Want To Know What The Heck Elon Musk And DOGE Is Doing' At SSA

12 hours ago

At Wednesday's House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) demanded transparency about DOGE actions at SSA.

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Transcript

00:00When I move to strike the last word to my colleague and good friend from Florida, Mr.

00:04Bean, look man, fact is that the Clinton administration had a plan.

00:10That's all we're asking for.

00:12We just want to see the plan.

00:13That's the intent of this resolution right here.

00:17It's very straightforward and more importantly, it's desired and

00:21it's demanded by my constituents in California's 19th congressional district.

00:26All it would do would require the administration to provide Congress with

00:29details about what the heck Elon Musk and DOJ is doing in their

00:34accessing of sensitive information at the Social Security Administration.

00:38All we're asking for is transparency.

00:41And this inquiry would do that by requiring information about the actions

00:46taken by DOJ to reduce staff and

00:49shut down offices at the Social Security Administration.

00:53We are asking because these actions directly impact the delivery of benefits

00:58to all of our constituents.

01:01Now in my district alone, over 140,000 people receive Social Security benefits

01:05with 282 million in monthly benefits.

01:09That's 120,000 retirees, 5,000 children, and 8,000 disabled workers.

01:15To get those benefits, my constituents need a Social Security Administration

01:20that is responsive, that's prompt, and just able to do its dang job.

01:25Now I agree, we'll have to do something about the Social Security Administration.

01:30If we don't have serious conversations about it, about how we shore it up,

01:35about how we fix it, we gotta do that.

01:37Because if we don't, we lose it by 2034.

01:39Something needs to be done.

01:40But that something is not putting it in the wood chipper without a plan.

01:46Because if you allow Elon Musk to do that, then you will be held accountable.

01:51Now one of the things that I pride myself on, and

01:53I think if you're a good member of Congress, all of us pride ourselves on this,

01:57is casework, making the federal government work for people at a personal level.

02:02That's what inspired me to run for Congress,

02:04because I heard about it throughout my life.

02:06This is how we are doing our jobs that we can then affect people's lives for the better.

02:11And when they have an issue with the federal government,

02:13when it comes to the services of the federal government that they have earned,

02:17they come to us, IRS, veterans, passports, immigration, and

02:21of course, Social Security.

02:23They rely on us to help them with that.

02:26Since I've been in office, we have worked on thousands and

02:29thousands of cases related to Social Security.

02:32And I'm proud to say that when it comes to Social Security, we have had numerous,

02:36numerous success stories for people who come to us after struggling to get answers.

02:41So we get the inquiry, we get on the horn, and

02:44we push the agencies to get them to do the right thing, to get to yes for our constituents.

02:49We highlight the issue, we push the issue, and there are people there to help us solve the issue.

02:54Now unfortunately, this administration is doing the exact opposite.

02:58It's putting the Social Security agency in a wood chipper by cutting the people and

03:03gutting the systems that help us, that help our constituents get their earned benefits.

03:09They want to decimate it.

03:10They want to tear it down.

03:12And eventually, it looks like that they want to privatize it.

03:15They are doing this by planning to close nearly 50 field offices and

03:19slashing the Social Security workforce by 12%.

03:22They have not provided evidence to prove that this can be done without impacting benefits.

03:28If anything, they are proving the opposite.

03:30Closing field offices means longer travel times and less help for people looking for guidance.

03:35Reducing the workforce means fewer people to review disability claims, hear appeals,

03:40answer phones, and sort through the paperwork required to claim survivor benefits.

03:44Last year, Social Security call wait times were actually improving and reduced to 13 minutes.

03:49This year, they're already back to doubling that time at over a half hour.

03:53What's worse is that as a part of these cuts by DOJ,

03:56the acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek said to himself,

04:00that outsiders who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the Social Security programs

04:04are making decisions and they will make mistakes.

04:07Mr. Chairman, mistakes could have terrible consequences for our constituents, for

04:11your constituents, and for the access of benefits that they have earned.

04:15Look, our duty as members of Congress is to conduct oversight.

04:18That means asking the administration basic questions about what they are doing with

04:22taxpayer resources and why these actions have been taken.

04:26Like I said, and I think many of you, all of us,

04:29are proud of the casework we do when we make government work for people.

04:33But when those services stop or get reduced, the least that we can do is live up to

04:37our responsibility as members of Congress to find out why, how, and what.

04:43We're asking for it, but let me tell you, our constituents,

04:46your constituents are demanding it.

04:49So it's well past time that we stop abdicating our constitutional

04:52responsibilities and start pushing back on this administration, Elon Musk, and DOJ.

04:57We fight to ensure that our constituents get those services.

05:00Let's fight to keep those services, especially when it comes to Social Security.

05:04We can do that by supporting this resolution of inquiry and report it favorably.

05:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

05:09I yield back.

05:10The gentleman yields back and now recognizes Ms. DelBene.

Jimmy Panetta: Democrats Just 'Want To Know What The Heck Elon Musk And DOGE Is Doing' At SSA

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