SCHNEIDER LETTER TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION EXPRESSES ALARM AT POTENTIAL DOGE ACCESS

Washington, D.C.- Today, Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) joined fellow Ways and Means Committee Democrats to express alarm about the recent access Elon Musk and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency ("DOGE") was able to gain to the Department of the Treasury's payment systems, and to raise further concerns about reports that DOGE plans to next turn its attention to the Social Security Administration.

In a letterco-signed by every Democratic Member of the Ways and Means Committee and sent to Michelle King, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Schneider and other members wrote: "Social Security has been the bedrock promise of economic security in our nation for the last century. After a lifetime of work or in life's most precarious moments, it provides benefits to approximately 70 million people across the United States, including seniors, survivors, and people with disabilities."

The SSA has access to Americans' most personal information, including banking information, home addresses, disability status, medical conditions, if a parent or spouse has died, and Social Security numbers themselves.

The letter also requests Commissioner King respond to several questions regarding the security of Americans' Social Security information within 72 hours. These inquiries include an assessment of potential risks to information, whether or not DOGE has requested access to SSA's systems, and what kind of security checks are currently in place.

"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."

"In my time as a member of Congress, I have never seen more outrage from my constituents than over Elon Musk and his DOGE minions gaining access to personal, private social security, tax, and health information," said Schneider. "Elon Musk nor his DOGE team are elected officials, approved by the Senate or vetted by the FBI. They should be nowhere near our confidential information."

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