Hickenlooper, Bennet, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Save Social Security from Trump Admin’s Dangerous Cuts

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined 27 of their Senate colleagues to introduce the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act to protect social security benefits for Coloradans. The bill would reverse the Trump administration's disastrous cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA), prevent Social Security field offices from shutting down, and make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to apply for their benefits over the phone.

"Coloradans' Social Security benefits are not 'government waste,'" Hickenlooper said. "This admin's reckless cuts have shut down field offices, impacted wait times for services, and risk the reliable retirement that so many people worked their whole lives to secure."

"Social Security is - and must remain - a rock-solid guarantee we owe to America's retirees and individuals with disabilities," said Bennet. "This legislation would reverse President Trump's dangerous polices and invest in the Social Security Administration. After decades of hard work and payments into the program, Americans deserve the security of their benefits."

This April, the Trump administration fired more than 7,000 workers at the SSA while at the same time closing field offices throughout the country and requiring more in-person office visits to receive benefits. The admin also limited access to a live operator when Americans call the 1-800 number for Social Security benefits and issued false statements designed to undermine the confidence that the American people have in social security.

In addition, the Trump admin granted so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) staff unfettered access to Americans' most sensitive private information.

Specifically, the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act would:

• Protect and improve Americans' access to Social Security offices - prohibiting closures, relocations and service reductions, reversing Trump's layoffs, and ensuring Americans can speak to real people to get their benefits

• Increase SSA funding to improve customer service, modernize technology and reduce backlogs

• Restore assistance for vulnerable and disabled people to access their benefits

• Safeguard Americans' data and stop the politicization of Social Security

• Remove DOGE's authority and call for an independent investigation into DOGE's actions at SSA

Hickenlooper has previously called out the Trump administration's dangerous cuts to the SSA and helped pass legislation that would deliver full Social Security benefits for the millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public servants who are unfairly penalized.

The legislation is endorsed by Social Security Works, AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, Center for Living & Working, Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, American Association of People with Disabilities, Justice in Aging, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, New York Legal Assistance Group, New Disabled South, and the National Disability Institute.

Full text of the bill available HERE.

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