Today, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson wrote to Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Michelle King, alongside every Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, demanding answers following reports that Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ has its sights set on the Social Security Administration.
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of Social Security benefits to our nation’s people – or the potentially dire consequences if a beneficiary’s personal information is compromised,” the Members wrote. “That is why we have been alarmed by reports that Elon Musk and the so-called U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) gained access to the Department of the Treasury systems that deliver Social Security benefits, and that the DOGE will soon turn its attention to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
“We will not stand by and allow the sensitive personal information of our nation’s Social Security beneficiaries to be politicized or bought and sold to the highest bidder, or to allow any harm to their Social Security benefits,” the Members continued. “The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave.”
After President Trump took office, Elon Musk and his unaccountable ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ were granted access to confidential taxpayer data, including names and addresses of Americans.
Last week, Larson and House Democrats, including the entire Connecticut delegation, introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to stop people with conflicts of interest or without a security clearance from accessing the U.S. Treasury’s sensitive payment system, which processes trillions of dollars in payments, including Social Security benefits.
The full text of the letter is available HERE.
The lawmakers requested answers to the following questions within 72 hours:
- What potential risks do the public and Social Security beneficiaries face if their sensitive SSA records are exposed to unqualified external parties?
- Has anyone, including Mr. Musk or those associated with the DOGE team, sought access to any of SSA’s systems, such as its systems that issue and record SSNs, its eligibility determination systems, or its beneficiary payment systems?
- Has anyone associated with the DOGE team been granted access to any of SSA’s systems? If so:
- Why has the DOGE team been granted access to SSA’s systems?
- What information about the public and Social Security beneficiaries has the DOGE team already accessed? Please provide a complete list of all systems that the team has accessed.
- Have any files been modified by the DOGE team? If so, please provide a complete list of all modifications that the team has made.
- What is the specific authority under which the DOGE team has been granted access to SSA’s systems?
- Who at SSA is responsible for monitoring the DOGE team’s access and their actions with regard to the data?
- What type of background or security checks are given to SSA employees who have access to beneficiary data and payment systems? Have Mr. Musk or those associated with the DOGE team been subjected to similar background or security checks?
- Has anyone at SSA advised Mr. Musk, his DOGE team, or other Trump Administration officials about the potential dangers of exposing sensitive and personal information to unqualified external parties?
- Has SSA received calls to its national 1-800 number and field offices from seniors and other members of the public concerned that their personal information has been shared with Mr. Musk or those associated with his DOGE team, and potentially further exposed?
- What has been the volume of calls?
- What is SSA telling the public?
SSA faces a customer service crisis due to years of underfunding, with the lowest staffing levels in over fifty years. Has the alarm caused by the actions of Mr. Musk and his DOGE team worsened SSA’s customer services, and if so, how?
