By Cathy Cook
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
(TNS)
Aug. 12—New Mexico Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury is pushing to ensure Congress gets a say in any downsizing at the Social Security Administration.
“We don’t think it’s likely that the current Congress will take it up, because the current Congress is currently trying to dismantle so many of these programs,” said Stansbury, a Democrat. “But we felt it was important to take a strong stand and say, ‘Do not privatize Social Security.'”
Thursday will be the 90th anniversary of the social safety net program, which delivers monthly payments to more than 460,000 New Mexicans.
Staffing at the Social Security Administration has declined after Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, efforts to cut down the number of federal employees. The Social Security Administration lost close to 20% of its field office staff over the last year, according to Axios reporting.
New Mexico was one of five states to lose 10% or more of its field office staff between March 2024 and March 2025, according to a July report from the Strategic Organizing Center, a labor group organizing coalition.
Stansbury introduced the Hands Off Our Social Security Act last month with fellow Democratic Reps. John Larson and Joe Neguse of Colorado and Julie Johnson of Texas. The bill would make it illegal for a presidential administration to privatize Social Security and require consent from Congress to downsize the agency.
It would also require the Social Security Administration to maintain access to the public through in-person visits or phone calls and increase privacy protections for data kept by the agency.
President Donald Trump repeatedly promised not to cut Social Security during his presidential campaign and after taking office.
“Social Security will not be touched. It will only be strengthened,” Trump said in a February news conference.
In July, Trump’s office celebrated a new tax deduction for seniors aged 65 and older as a way to cut taxes on Social Security benefits.
But Stansbury is concerned staff cuts are part of a long-term Republican strategy to privatize Social Security.
“They want it to break down so that they can make the argument that they have to privatize it,” Stansbury said.
Photo caption: A Social Security office in San Antonio, TX. (DisabilityOffice.org)
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© 2025 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.). Visit www.abqjournal.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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