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Chairman Estes Holds Social Security Hearing with Commissioner Bisignano - June 10, 2026
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About Congressman Ron Estes:
Ron Estes (pronounced ESS-tiss) is a 5th generation Kansan and serves Kansas’ 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since being sworn into office in 2017, Congressman Estes has been a leader on passing landmark tax reform, rolling back burdensome regulations and implementing trade agreements with some of Kansas’ biggest trading partners. In Congress, Rep. Estes has defended Wichita’s aviation industry, help...
About Frank Bisignano
Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), testified before Congress in June 2026, stating that the agency had reduced wait times for initial disability claims decisions by 34 days and hearing wait times by 91 days. He said the SSA had reconciled the Social Security number database for the first time and had not added living individuals to the Death Master File during his tenure. Bisignano attributed these improvements to technology and leadership continuity, and said the agency was "protecting and preserving Social Security." During a June 10 hearing, Ranking Member John B. Larson questioned Bisignano on whether billionaires should pay more into Social Security. Bisignano responded, "I believe whatever the law is should be upheld," and later said, "Congress... has a responsibility to decide what they want to work on." In an April 2026 hearing on IRS enforcement, Bisignano, who also serves as IRS CEO, said the agency had collected $250 million from its top five cases and had 12% more enforcement revenue year-to-date. When asked about the tax gap, he stated the last reported figure was $650 billion, adding, "650 is big enough so we don't have to debate the trillion."
Transcript (15 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Chairman0:00
Subcommittee will come to order. Good morning and welcome to today's hearing. I want to thank our witness, Commissioner Frank Bisignano, for appearing before us today to discuss the state of the Social Security Administration. I have to start off with criticism and a little bit of a complaint. Your office was extremely late getting your testimony to us to review and prepare. I mean, we have a responsibility here in the subcommittee to provide oversight and direction for the Social Security Administration, and I just expect better results in the future, and I look forward to working with you to make sure that it happens. Now, let's get to the hearing. Tens of millions of Americans rely on the Social Security Administration to deliver monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits, and millions more interact with the agency for critical life events. For far too long, the American people were forced to deal with an agency plagued by outdated systems and antiquated processes, resulting in unacceptable delays and a complete breakdown in basic customer service. Under the previous administration, our constituents faced a full-blown crisis in delivery of their services. Average telephone wait times reached an atrocious 42 minutes, and the backlog for initial disability claims eclipsed 1 million for the first time in history. But today, we're here to talk about a dramatic turnaround. Since Commissioner Bisignano took the helm just over a year ago, Social Security Administration has made historic progress by shifting resources away from the bureaucracy at its headquarters back to direct frontline service delivery. The numbers speak for themselves. Wait times for the national 800 number have shrunk by roughly 89%, dropping from 42 minutes down to under 5 minutes. Average wait times at field offices nationwide have been slashed by 30%. The backlog of initial disability claims has been reduced by 32% from its peak of 1.27 million. And the Social Security Fairness Act was implemented months ahead of schedule, providing rapid, much-needed relief to millions of beneficiaries. We are seeing that by investing in modern technology and focusing on efficiency, the SSA can serve more Americans better with fewer employees. I'm particularly proud of how these efforts have translated to real world results, particularly back in my home in Kansas. Since I took the gavel as chairman of Social Security subcommittee, my team and I have worked hand-in-hand with our local personnel and Commissioner Kijakazi to address regional bottlenecks. I'm thrilled to report that because of this close coordination, wait times at our Wichita office are down an incredible 60% compared to 2 years ago. That's what responsive government looks like when we prioritize the needs of our constituents over the conveniences of Washington. However, as we celebrate these operational victories, we cannot lose sight of the financial headwinds facing the program. Yesterday, the 2026 annual trustees report was released. The findings in this report are a stark reminder of the urgency before us. The OASDI trust fund is projected to reach insolvency in 2032. Protecting and strengthening Social Security requires absolute fiscal sanity and strict oversight. Every single dollar lost to administrative error, inefficiency, or improper payments is a dollar stolen from the benefits of hardworking Americans. In fiscal year 2024 alone, SSA improperly made billions in overpayments and underpayments. We must continue to deploy advanced automation tools and human common sense to prevent these errors from happening, to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and protect this vital lifeline for generations to come. Commissioner Kijakazi, you have proven that strong leadership and private sector efficiency can break through federal stagnation to dramatically improve customer service. We look forward to hearing how you intend to build on this momentum, root out improper spending, and work with our committee to strengthen Social Security. Thank you, and I look forward to your testimony. I now yield to ranking member John Larson for an opening statement. Today's sole witness is Commissioner of Social Security, Commissioner Frank Bisignano. Thank you for joining us today. Your written statement will be made part of the hearing record and you have 5 minutes to deliver your oral remarks. Commissioner Bisignano, you may begin whenever you're ready.
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Frank Bisignano4:09
Thank you. Members of the subcommittees, under President Trump, the Social Security Administration is delivering faster service, better customer experiences, and higher-quality outcomes for the American people. Every customer-facing service channel, field office, phones, and web has improved by double digits. This is the best all-around performance ever at the Social Security Administration. We have pledged and are protecting and preserving Social Security. SSA serves over 300 million people, and this year we will have over 800 million interactions. As a result of our record-breaking performance, we're saving the American people over 40 million hours. The American people are winning. Before I arrived in May 2025, SSA had four different leaders in 5 months and was an agency in turmoil. The American people endured a failed service model, the Biden Administration's so-called appointment-focused service turned people away who traveled to our field offices. On the national 800 number, only half of our customers got their calls answered. On the web, self-service features were down 29 hours a week. Turning people away who traveled to field offices, only answering half the calls, and having office hours on the web is not meeting our customers where they want to be met. The Trump Administration is transforming SSA into a model of excellence, a first agency that meets and exceeds customer expectations for timely, accurate service in the channel of their choice. More than 99% of our field offices are open and serving the public with average wait times reduced to 20 minutes, a 30% improvement. No field office is closed due to staffing. We now answer 90% of calls to our 800 number and have reduced average wait time to 5 minutes, a 75% improvement. Simultaneously, fiscal year-to-date, we are serving 56% more people, which represents 13 million. Online services are now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, enabling customers to complete transactions instantaneously. We are up 37% on our web transactions and up 21% on account creations. We are the largest digital financial services platform with over 103 million my Social Security accounts. In serving our most vulnerable, we have reduced wait times for initial disability claims decisions by 34 days, reduced hearing wait times by 91 days, reaching historical lows, and are quickly delivering disability benefits to those who qualify. Technology, process engineering, and disciplined execution have driven this transformation. Some of our recent improvements include online claims, straight-through processing, and advanced technology. These improvements have generated the equivalent of 2,500 work years in productivity savings across the agency. With better process engineering and management, we have reduced workload in field offices by the equivalent of 600 work years, allowing staff to spend more time serving customers directly. We have also prioritized workforce engagement. For the first time in agency history, I have established advisory councils that report directly to me. These efforts are producing results. Annualized fiscal year 2026 attrition will be 30% lower than fiscal year 2024, providing consistency for both staff and the public we serve. Finally, we have made risk management a core operating principle at SSA. We have closed IG order recommendations at a record pace, helping protect $16 billion in taxpayer funds. We are meeting congressional program integrity requirements, strengthening controls, and relentlessly pursuing the elimination of fraud, waste, and abuse. We have also restored stability. During the past year, there has been no turnover among my direct reports, whether career or political. That leadership continuity, combined with the dedication of SSA's workforce, enabled the agency to serve the American people through the 43-day government shutdown during the peak of retirement season. I am honored to lead this agency and serve the American people. We are building a modern, sustainable, and durable organization. The president's fiscal year 2027 budget request supports this transformation. Mr. Chairman, over the past year, we have improved service, strengthened controls, deployed technology, and delivered measurable results at historic scale. I look forward to discussing these accomplishments and answering your questions.
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Chairman9:53
Thank you for your testimony. We'll now proceed to the question and answer session. Commissioner Bisignano, the operational turnaround we have witnessed over the past year is a testament to what happens when private sector efficiency is brought into a federal bureaucracy. By focusing on core data and cutting through administrative red tape, the SSA is finally starting to deliver the level of service that Kansans and all Americans expect and deserve. To better understand how you achieved these milestones and how we can ensure these gains are sustained securely, I have a few specific questions regarding some of your strategy, staffing, program integrity, and some recent data reports. Commissioner, you've managed to achieve significant improvements to customer service in the first year, including an 84% reduction in the national 800 number average wait times, and a 33% drop in the initial disability backlog, all while operating with fewer total employees. Can you describe how ideas like shifting personnel out of the bureaucratic headquarters positions and onto the front lines made this possible and what further structural changes are planned?
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Frank Bisignano11:04
Thank you. Thank you very much. I think first of all, I'm honored to be here. When we look at what we inherited, we inherited something that existed for a long time. You know, one of the first observations I had is way too many layers of management. We didn't shut down anything actually that was facing clients, right? Regional offices was another level of bureaucracy. We didn't close down a field office. We actually reallocated our staff to where the work was. And I think that's a basic tactic. I think also we looked at what we needed when we needed it. First day I looked at the numbers on the 800 number at 8:00 a.m. with 4,000 people on our staff, we had 400 and the phone was ringing. Obviously, people wanted to call us in the morning and we weren't there. So, I'd like to make this more complicated, but it's not. It's putting people where the work is. It's building technology in a modern-day fashion. It's understanding what best-in-class performance looks like and motivating a workforce who's fully motivated to be here. We have great people in SSA who love to serve the American public.
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Chairman12:27
Well, thank you. Has that reallocation of personnel affected service elsewhere in the agency?
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Frank Bisignano12:33
I think when we look at the numbers, first of all, you know, as you said before, you have fundamentally three-quarters of a million Social Security numbers in your jurisdiction and we pay out more than 300 million a month. So, this is a very important engine to every one of the districts and we're very proud of the full balanced scorecard. Visitors are down in field offices and up everywhere else. Although that's fundamentally half our staffing and we committed to never close a field office and always be there. I think every number in the place is double-digit improvement and that says the head of disability, we never actually had a head of disability before. It's a career person who was a judge, runs disability, and says it's bread and butter management to him what they're learning and they're growing. So, we look at a balanced scorecard. We have a governance structure that looks at the numbers every week as a management team, and we're committed to having a better year in front of us than the year behind us.
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Chairman13:48
Great. Can we talk a little bit more about disability? Appreciate what you just said, but as the pending disability claims and the initial claims and the reconsiderations continue to shrink, how are you ensuring that the bottlenecks do not materialize at other points in the adjudication process?
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Frank Bisignano14:06
Well, that's why we look at every week for an hour and a half as a management team, and that would be my direct reports and their direct reports, 200 indicators and go through them. We want to make sure we're making hearings more efficient. We're making, by the way, efficient equals quality, too. Better output, less errors, quicker responses to clients. So, I think the only way to do it is to look at a balanced scorecard, make sure we have the right resource allocation, and a technology roadmap to change it. We're not modernizing, we're transforming.
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Chairman14:45
While the operational turnarounds are incredible, our constituents are still occasionally surprised by overpayment notices, often due to no fault of their own. After 10 years of intense oversight by the committee, the SSA is finally beginning using the authority to implement a payroll information exchange designed to improve payment accuracy and relieve the burdens and reliance on self-reported wage information, a leading cause of the improper payments. Can you provide us with an update on the status of the information exchange?
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Frank Bisignano15:13
Yeah, it's called PI, payment information exchange, and first days here, I didn't know what they meant by PI, but we learned it real quick. We've expanded it. We have more information coming into it and we changed the interval that the information comes. So, it's a daily exchange. It's a way that we get information from outside bureaus and can compare. So, we reduce our improper payments.
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Chairman15:46
Thank you. You know, data integrity and security are some of the most critical roles of the SSA, which maintains some of the most personal information of nearly every American. Recent media reports have alleged plans to add millions of living individuals to the Death Master File, which is an important database. I say it's one of the main national databases, if not the only national database, that provides that information. But the Death Master File is managed by SSA and utilized by other federal agencies to ensure taxpayer dollars are not going to otherwise deceased and ineligible individuals. Mr. Commissioner, what's your response to these reports from the media about adding living individuals, and is the SSA knowingly adding living individuals to the Death Master File?
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Frank Bisignano16:34
We are not. From the day I've been here, we haven't added people to the Death Master File who are living. I will tell you our approach to this is a first-time-ever approach. There was something called the Numident File. Maybe you all have heard of Numident. It's not a common word in anyone's neighborhood probably. No one walks into a Social Security office and says, 'Am I on the Numident File?' I like to call it the Social Security number database. And that Social Security number database had never been reconciled. Now, recognize we created two new positions: a head of risk management to report to me, which was well subordinated in the organization, and a head of cyber and resiliency. Both are great career executives in the federal government. And in the creation of those roles, they absorbed all different types of ways to do the business and the work. We reconcile today the Social Security number database. We use lots of data exchanges. We are the number one identifier for Americans of who they are. So, having that as pristine as possible, and if it was never reconciled before, it's really been a heroic effort by the team, which I think ensures our data integrity and our data accuracy. And then building a cyber function of world class, where we actually have outsiders and ourselves continually pounding at it to ensure it's right, is about the risk management function of Social Security, which did not exist before.
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Chairman18:13
Thank you for that update on how the process works. And you said you haven't added any living individuals. Are there any plans to do that in the future?
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Frank Bisignano18:21
No. No, sir.
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Chairman18:23
Great. Well, thank you. I now recognize Mr. Larson for questions.