Wyden, Baldwin, Warren Tell Social Security: Stop Lying to Stroke Trump’s Ego
In Letter to Bisignano, Senate Democrats Call on SSA Commissioner Bisignano to Retract False Claims About Social Security Taxes That Could Confuse or Hurt Seniors
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today led 9 Senate Democrats demanding that the Social Security Administration (SSA) stop peddling lies about the Republican reconciliation bill using the agency’s email platform, which reaches tens of millions of Americans.
The Republican reconciliation bill does not amend, reduce or eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits. Contrary to the release’s claim that taxes would be eliminated on 90% of benefits, in truth about half of beneficiaries will still owe some amount of income tax on their benefits. The bill also does not change tax filing requirements for people receiving Social Security benefits. Commissioner Bisignano spreading lies to appease Trump could upend the lives of millions of American seniors who depend on Social Security benefits. Inaccurate information could lead to Americans making benefit claims against their best interests or even missing payments on taxes they owe.
“We are appalled that the agency distributed misleading and blatantly inaccurate information regarding tax changes affecting older Americans, transforming the agency into a partisan megaphone for Donald Trump while sowing confusion and distrust in Social Security among Americans,” the senators wrote in the letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
On July 3, SSA sent a mass email and issued a press release falsely announcing that the Republican reconciliation bill would cut taxes on Social Security benefits. The agency doubled down on those lies by burying its misleading language on its website and keeping millions of Americans who received the initial email in the dark. Commissioner Bisignano has abandoned his promise to the Finance Committee and to the American people that under his leadership SSA would not become a partisan agency subject to the whims of Trump.
“Rather than focusing on improving customer service, you are using your position as Commissioner to stroke Donald Trump’s ego and peddle lies on his behalf. We urge you to retract SSA’s July 3 statement and issue a correction–on SSA’s website and via email for ‘my Social Security’ account users–clarifying the federal tax treatment of Social Security benefits,” the senators continued.
Wyden has been a leader in the Senate in holding SSA accountable under the Trump administration. In February, before Commissioner Bisignano was confirmed, Wyden sounded the alarm on DOGE accessing Americans’ sensitive Social Security information. In March, Wyden released a whistleblower statement that exposed Commissioner Bisignano’s lie to Congress about his connections to DOGE and his role in giving them access to sensitive data. In May, he and his Senate colleagues called for an investigation into the agency after it improperly declared thousands of people dead. In July, he and other Senate Democrats demanded answers about Commissioner Bisignano’s reckless rollout of AI customer service tools at SSA.
Other senators signing on to the letter include Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
The text of the letter is here.
###
Next Article Previous Article