Sanders Secures New Staff for All Three Social Security Field Offices in Vermont

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON, June 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that Vermont will receive five new Social Security staffers at the agency’s three field offices in Burlington, Montpelier and Rutland.

Since 2010, Vermont has lost almost a quarter of its Social Security field office staff because of national cuts to Social Security’s operating budget. Sanders noted that Vermont had the highest rate of Social Security field staff losses in all of New England, resulting in longer wait times for claims, appeals and even routine inquiries. “Not only was this enormously frustrating for many Vermonters, but the longer wait times sometimes causes significant financial hardship,” Sanders said.

As the ranking member of the Budget Committee, Sanders proposed and secured a $480 million increase in the Social Security Administration’s operating budget. Sanders then worked closely with the acting Social Security commissioner to ensure Vermont field offices got the positions they need to provide Vermonters with better service.

“We have a ways to go, but this is a victory for Vermont’s seniors, people with disabilities and Social Security personnel who are grossly overworked and underpaid,” Sanders said.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-secures-new-staff-for_all-three-social-security-field-offices-in-vermont