Lawler, a Republican from the 17th District, announced the transition with new SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano. Speaking outside the field office on West Nyack Road Friday, Lawler said it’s a win-win for the federal government and Hudson Valley residents.
“It’s a practical, common-sense solution that preserves access for the people who need it most, while eliminating unnecessary costs," said Lawler.
Until now, the former White Plains location was the only hearing office in the Hudson Valley. The next-closest hearing offices are in the Bronx; Newark, New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; and Albany, New York. The White Plains closure drew concern from lawmakers earlier this year, especially given that other SSA offices in the Hudson Valley, including the West Nyack office, were closed for renovations. Some offices, like the Kingston location, closed for “renovations” years ago and never reopened. The West Nyack office reopened in August.
Bisignano says roughly 90 percent of benefit cases are now conducted online, but a lot of seniors still prefer to handle their cases in-person. The West Nyack office is a roughly 25-minute drive from the old White Plains facility.
“Social Security serves 330 million American citizens. It’s their number one identifier throughout the system, and we serve them in many ways," says Bisignano. "What you’re hearing about today is the opening of a disability hearing office: 400,000 times a year we have disability hearing. Two million disability claims a year. And that’s one aspect.”
Back when the closure of the White Plains office was first announced, Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James warned there was a roughly 2,000-case backlog. When asked if there was still a backlog, Bisignano denied that there were any backlogs across the country, saying any delays are caused by claimants, not the system.
“Obviously a hearing requires a bunch of work," he said. "And we’re generally waiting on the claimant and their counsel to get hearings. They’re 100 percent on time.”
Chris Delaney is the president of AFGE Local 3343, which represents hundreds of federal workers at Social Security field offices throughout the greater Capital Region. He says while he doesn’t have hard data, his members tell him operations at local offices have been slowed since January, when the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency cut Social Security staff and even closed or reduced services at some sites.
"Things are slower, the wait times are slower — but there's always ways for management to cook the books as well," says Delaney. "Like the phone answer rate: they say the phones may be doing better, but they counted from the point the call went on hold, compared to when it was answered or whatnot. So they can try to make it look better when it's actually not. Especially this administration, they don't like facts, because it's usually not on their side."
Delaney says the government shutdown has only exacerbated the problems at field offices. Workers at the West Nyack office are currently working without immediate pay, given the shutdown.
Lawler blamed the closure of the White Plains office and the government shutdown on Democrats, saying it was the Biden Administration that initially decided to close the White Plains hub. He calls the government shutdown the “Schumer Shutdown,” after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“There was no reason for this. Chuck Schumer, after 50 years in elected office, having always voted to keep the government running, decided to shut the government down," says Lawler.
Democrats have refused to vote on a bill to reopen the government in an effort to push Republicans to extend tax credits from the Affordable Care Act, which are expected to expire at the end of the year. Democratic lawmakers say ACA recipients will face significant premium increases if the tax credits are not extended.
When asked if both sides could come to a compromise on the ACA tax credits, Lawler appeared to say it’s unlikely, and that he's already tried.
“I have signed onto a bill that would extend it by one year. I am open to a discussion on more than that. But you don’t shut down the government and inflict pain on every American," says Lawler.
The opening of the West Nyack hearing office comes after other lawmakers in the region tried to convince the SSA to either keep the White Plains office or move it somewhere else in Westchester County. County Executive Ken Jenkins and Congressman George Latimer, both Democrats, proposed hosting it in a county building, but the plan fell on deaf ears.
