August 13,2025

Wyden Leads Bill to Reverse Trump Cuts at Social Security and Protect Benefits

On the Eve of the 90th Anniversary of Social Security, Wyden Leads Senate Democrats In Effort to Safeguard Earned Benefits and Improve Customer Service After DOGE Disaster

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he would introduce the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act.

The legislation — unveiled ahead of the 90th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law — reverses the disastrous cuts the Trump administration has made to the Social Security Administration (SSA), prevent Social Security field offices from shutting down, make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to apply for the benefits they have earned over the phone and provide the resources the SSA needs to approve earned benefits quickly.

“As Americans celebrate this milestone, it’s more important than ever to remember the vigilant defense that’s required to hold on to these earned benefits – Trump and his Republican allies have made that crystal clear,” Wyden said. “This legislation is a critical first step to ensure Americans get gold-standard customer service for their earned benefits, and undo the damage that DOGE has inflicted at Social Security.”

Joining Wyden as cosponsors on this legislation are Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Despite the program’s success, the Trump administration has forced over 7,000 workers out at the SSA, closed field offices throughout the country, required in-person office visits to receive benefits, 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 this life-saving program. Adding insult to injury, Trump has given the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) staff unfettered access to Americans’ most sensitive private information.

Trump’s cuts to the Social Security Administration could not come at a worse time. Even before Trump became president, the SSA was grossly under-funded and under-staffed. As a result, some 30,000 people with disabilities die each year waiting for their benefits. Trump’s dangerous cuts to Social Security will only make a bad situation even worse.

The Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act would reverse Trump’s cuts to Social Security and rebuild the Social Security Administration by:

  • Protecting and improving 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.

  • Increasing funding by $5 billion to improve customer service, modernize technology and reduce backlogs.

  • Restoring assistance for vulnerable and disabled people to access their benefits.

  • Safeguarding Americans’ data and stopping Trump’s politicization of Social Security; and

  • Removing DOGE’s authority and calling for an independent investigation into DOGE’s actions at SSA.

The legislation is endorsed by several organizations, including: 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, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and New York Legal Assistance Group.

Read a summary here.

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