Welch Joins Bill to Reverse the Cuts Trump and Musk Made to Social Security and Protect Benefits

Aug 14, 2025
Today is the 90thanniversary of Social Security
BURLINGTON, VT– On the 90thAnniversary of theSocial Security Act,U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)joined legislation led bySenator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)to reverse the disastrous cuts the Trump administration has made to the Social Security Administration (SSA). TheKeep Billionaires Out of Social Security Actwould 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.
“Ninety years ago, President Roosevelt created Social Security as part of his vision to build a strong social safety net for everyone. Since then, the program has proven to be mightily successful in achieving that goal, delivering crucial benefits and providing economic security to millions of workers Americans. Yet for the past eight months, President Trump and Elon Musk have embarked on a lawless rampage to dismantle and discredit this essential program. The President’s administration has also set its sights on local Social Security offices, which are vital to ensuring Vermonters get the benefits they deserve,”said Senator Welch. “We cannot let this stand. This bill would reverse the Trump Administration’s catastrophic cuts to Social Security to ensure every American can get the benefits they need and depend on.”
“Since Trump has been in office, he has been working overtime with the wealthiest man in the world, Elon Musk, to dismantle Social Security and undermine the faith that the American people have in this vitally important program,”said Senator Sanders.“Thousands of Social Security staff have lost their jobs, seniors and people with disabilities are having a much harder time receiving the benefits they have earned, field offices have been shut down and the 1-800 number is a mess. That is beyond unacceptable. On the 90th anniversary of Social Security, our job must be to reverse these disastrous cuts, expand Social Security and make it easier, not harder, for Americans to receive the benefits they have earned and deserve. That’s precisely what this legislation will do.”
Social Security is the most successful government program in U.S. history—paying out benefits owed to eligible Americans on time and without delay for almost 90 years, and helping millions of seniors, widows, dependent children and people with disabilities live with dignity. In 2023 alone, Social Security lifted 27.6 million Americans out of poverty, including more than 19.5 million seniors. Without it, nearly 40% of people over age 65 would be living inpoverty.
Despite the program’s success, the Trump Administration has fired over 7,000 workers 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 Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) staffunfettered accessto 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.
TheKeep Billionaires Out of Social Security Actwould reverse Trump’s cuts to Social Security and rebuild the Social Security Administration by:
In addition to Sens. Welch and Sanders, the legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), 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), 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.).
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, New York Legal Assistance Group and New Disabled South.
Learn moreabout theKeep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act.
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