Re-open Social Security field offices–Scott

Senator Tim Scott, South Carolina’s Junior U-S senator, is a co-sender of a letter to the acting Social Security commissioner to immediately reopen SSA’s field offices to the public.  “On March 17, 2020,” the letter from Scott and fellow Republican Mike Crapo of Idaho reads, “the Social Security Administration (SSA) suspended in-person services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This suspension created a disruption to the millions of new applicants and beneficiaries receiving Social Security benefits.” According to Scott’s office, the disruptions include challenges for individuals, especially seniors in rural areas, who do not have reliable telephone or internet access.  The South Carolina lawmaker further complains that SSA reportedly sent a re-entry plan to the Office of Management and Budget in July, but it has failed to fully reopen its offices to the public.