Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB1876 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 1876
5	5	To prevent closure of social security field and hearing offices and resident
6	6	stations.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	MARCH5, 2025
9	9	Mr. L
10	10	ARSONof Connecticut (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. DAVISof Illinois, Mr.
11	11	H
12	12	ORSFORD, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. NADLER,
13	13	Ms. T
14	14	LAIB, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. THOMPSONof Mississippi,
15	15	Mr. J
16	16	ACKSONof Illinois, Ms. TITUS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI,
17	17	Ms. B
18	18	UDZINSKI, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. CHU, Ms. SEWELL,
19	19	Mr. B
20	20	OYLEof Pennsylvania, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. IVEY, Mrs.
21	21	C
22	22	HERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mrs. MCIVER, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. DELAURO,
23	23	Mr. T
24	24	AKANO, Ms. ELFRETH, Ms. ANSARI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. SUOZZI,
25	25	Mr. K
26	26	HANNA, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MOOREof Wisconsin, Ms. MCCOLLUM,
27	27	Mrs. W
28	28	ATSONCOLEMAN, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. THOMPSONof
29	29	California, Mr. S
30	30	TANTON, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON
31	31	of Georgia, Mr. G
32	32	OTTHEIMER, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. CARSON, Mr.
33	33	S
34	34	ORENSEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. DELBENE, Mr.
35	35	H
36	36	UFFMAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. AMO, Ms. KELLYof Illinois, Ms. UNDER-
37	37	WOOD, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. RILEYof New York, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. RAN-
38	38	DALL, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BROWN, Ms. PETTERSEN, Mr. MFUME, Mr.
39	39	S
40	40	WALWELL, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. MATSUI, and Mr.
41	41	M
42	42	CGARVEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
43	43	mittee on Ways and Means
44	44	A BILL
45	45	To prevent closure of social security field and hearing offices
46	46	and resident stations.
47	47	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
48	48	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
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51	51	•HR 1876 IH
52	52	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
53	53	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Our Field 2
54	54	Offices Open Act’’. 3
55	55	SEC. 2. PREVENTING CLOSURE OF FIELD AND HEARING OF-4
56	56	FICES AND RESIDENT STATIONS. 5
57	57	(a) M
58	58	ORATORIUM ON CLOSURE ORCONSOLIDATION 6
59	59	OFFIELD ORHEARINGOFFICES ORNEWLIMITATIONS 7
60	60	ONACCESS TOSUCHOFFICES.— 8
61	61	(1) I
62	62	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-9
63	63	graphs (2) and (3), the Commissioner of Social Se-10
64	64	curity shall take no action on or after the date of 11
65	65	enactment of this Act to close or consolidate field or 12
66	66	hearing offices or resident stations of the Social Se-13
67	67	curity Administration or to otherwise impose any 14
68	68	new limitation on access to such offices or stations. 15
69	69	(2) E
70	70	XCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY CLOSURES .— 16
71	71	Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any 17
72	72	temporary action by the Commissioner to close or 18
73	73	otherwise limit access to field or hearing offices or 19
74	74	resident stations in response to an emergency. 20
75	75	(3) C
76	76	ESSATION OF MORATORIUM UPON REPORT 21
77	77	TO CONGRESS.—Paragraph (1) shall cease to be ef-22
78	78	fective on the date that is 180 days after the report 23
79	79	described in paragraph (4) is submitted. 24
80	80	(4) R
81	81	EPORT REQUIRED.—Not earlier than Jan-25
82	82	uary 21, 2029, the Commissioner shall submit to the 26
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85	85	•HR 1876 IH
86	86	Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 1
87	87	Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 2
88	88	the Senate a report outlining and justifying the 3
89	89	process for selecting field or hearing offices or resi-4
90	90	dent stations to be closed or consolidated or other-5
91	91	wise to have limited access. Such report shall in-6
92	92	clude— 7
93	93	(A) an analysis of the criteria used for se-8
94	94	lecting field or hearing offices and resident sta-9
95	95	tions for closure, consolidation, or limited ac-10
96	96	cess; 11
97	97	(B) a description of how the Commissioner 12
98	98	has analyzed and considered relevant factors, 13
99	99	including transportation and communication 14
100	100	burdens faced by individuals serviced by the of-15
101	101	fices and stations, including elderly and dis-16
102	102	abled individuals; and 17
103	103	(C) a description of any method of cost- 18
104	104	benefit analysis applied by the Commissioner in 19
105	105	connection with closures and consolidations of 20
106	106	such offices and stations, and other limitations 21
107	107	on access the offices and stations, including any 22
108	108	analysis that takes into account— 23
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111	111	•HR 1876 IH
112	112	(i) the anticipated savings resulting 1
113	113	from the closure, consolidation, or limita-2
114	114	tion on access; 3
115	115	(ii) the anticipated costs associated 4
116	116	with replacing services lost by the closure, 5
117	117	consolidation, or limitation on access; 6
118	118	(iii) the anticipated effects on employ-7
119	119	ees of the offices or stations affected; 8
120	120	(iv) how the loss of access resulting 9
121	121	from the closure, consolidation, or limita-10
122	122	tion on access will be replaced by the es-11
123	123	tablishment of a new field or hearing office 12
124	124	or resident station, increased access at a 13
125	125	different office or station, or some other 14
126	126	means, and the factors considered by the 15
127	127	Commissioner in determining how to re-16
128	128	place such lost access; and 17
129	129	(v) such other relevant factors as may 18
130	130	be determined by the Commissioner, in-19
131	131	cluding but not limited to transportation 20
132	132	and communication burdens faced by indi-21
133	133	viduals serviced by the offices and stations, 22
134	134	including elderly and disabled individuals. 23
135	135	(b) R
136	136	EQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURECLOSURES, CON-24
137	137	SOLIDATIONS, ANDNEWLIMITATIONS ONACCESS.— 25
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140	140	•HR 1876 IH
141	141	(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 704 of the Social 1
142	142	Security Act (42 U.S.C. 904) is amended by adding 2
143	143	at the end the following new subsection: 3
144	144	‘‘(f)(1) F
145	145	IELD ANDHEARINGOFFICES ANDRESI-4
146	146	DENTSTATIONS.—Subject to paragraph (6), the Commis-5
147	147	sioner may not close a field or hearing office or a resident 6
148	148	station of the Administration, consolidate two or more 7
149	149	such offices or stations, or otherwise impose any new limi-8
150	150	tation on public access to any such office or station, unless 9
151	151	the Commissioner complies with the requirements of para-10
152	152	graphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) in connection with the clo-11
153	153	sure, consolidation, or limitation on public access. 12
154	154	‘‘(2)(A) The requirements of this paragraph are met 13
155	155	in connection with a closure, consolidation, or new limita-14
156	156	tion on access referred to in paragraph (1) only if— 15
157	157	‘‘(i) not later than 120 days before the date of 16
158	158	the closure, consolidation, or limitation on access, 17
159	159	the Commissioner provides effective public notice of 18
160	160	the proposed closure, consolidation, or limitation on 19
161	161	access (including, to the extent practicable, notice by 20
162	162	direct mailing and through community outlets such 21
163	163	as newspapers and posting in heavily frequented 22
164	164	public spaces) to individuals residing in the area 23
165	165	serviced by the affected offices or stations; 24
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168	168	•HR 1876 IH
169	169	‘‘(ii) the public notice issued pursuant to clause 1
170	170	(i) includes information on— 2
171	171	‘‘(I) how the Commissioner will, not later 3
172	172	than 30 days after the date of the closure, con-4
173	173	solidation, or limitation on access, replace the 5
174	174	loss in access resulting from the closure, con-6
175	175	solidation, or limitation on access by estab-7
176	176	lishing a new office or station, increasing public 8
177	177	access to a different office or station, or some 9
178	178	other means; and 10
179	179	‘‘(II) how to contact the Administration if 11
180	180	an individual experiences service delays or prob-12
181	181	lems as a result of the closure, consolidation, or 13
182	182	limitation on access; and 14
183	183	‘‘(iii) not earlier than 30 days after the 15
184	184	issuance of public notice pursuant to clause (i) and 16
185	185	not later than 45 days before the date of the pro-17
186	186	posed closure, consolidation, or limitation on access, 18
187	187	the Commissioner conducts at least 2 public hear-19
188	188	ings (scheduled so that the first and last such hear-20
189	189	ings are separated by at least 10 days), at which the 21
190	190	Commissioner presents the justifications for the clo-22
191	191	sure, consolidation, or limitation on access described 23
192	192	in subparagraph (B) and provides for attendees an 24
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195	195	•HR 1876 IH
196	196	opportunity to present their views regarding the pro-1
197	197	posed closure, consolidation, or limitation on access. 2
198	198	‘‘(B) The justifications referred to in subparagraph 3
199	199	(A)(iii) shall consist of the following: 4
200	200	‘‘(i) an analysis of the criteria used for selecting 5
201	201	the field or hearing office or offices, or the resident 6
202	202	station or stations, for closure, consolidation, or lim-7
203	203	ited access; 8
204	204	‘‘(ii) a description of how the Commissioner has 9
205	205	analyzed and considered relevant factors, including 10
206	206	but not limited to transportation and communication 11
207	207	burdens faced by individuals serviced by the offices 12
208	208	or stations, including elderly and disabled individ-13
209	209	uals; and 14
210	210	‘‘(iii) a description of a method of cost-benefit 15
211	211	analysis which shall be applied by the Commissioner 16
212	212	in connection with the closure, consolidation, or limi-17
213	213	tation on access, and which shall take into ac-18
214	214	count— 19
215	215	‘‘(I) the anticipated savings resulting from 20
216	216	the closure, consolidation, or limitation on ac-21
217	217	cess; 22
218	218	‘‘(II) the anticipated costs associated with 23
219	219	replacing services lost by the closure, consolida-24
220	220	tion, or limitation on access; 25
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223	223	•HR 1876 IH
224	224	‘‘(III) the anticipated effects on employees 1
225	225	of the offices or stations affected; and 2
226	226	‘‘(IV) such other relevant factors as may 3
227	227	be determined by the Commissioner, including 4
228	228	but not limited to transportation and commu-5
229	229	nication burdens faced by individuals serviced 6
230	230	by the offices and stations, including elderly 7
231	231	and disabled individuals. 8
232	232	‘‘(C) The notice provided pursuant to subparagraph 9
233	233	(A)(i) shall include notice of the time and place of the 10
234	234	public hearings to be conducted pursuant to clause (A)(iii) 11
235	235	and of the right of aggrieved individuals to appeal to the 12
236	236	Commissioner regarding the proposed closure, consolida-13
237	237	tion, or limitation on access pursuant to paragraph (4). 14
238	238	‘‘(3) The requirements of this paragraph are met in 15
239	239	connection with a closure, consolidation, or limitation on 16
240	240	access referred to in paragraph (1) only if, not later than 17
241	241	30 days before the date of the proposed closure, consolida-18
242	242	tion, or limitation on access, the Commissioner submits 19
243	243	to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 20
244	244	Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 21
245	245	and each Member of the Congress representing a State 22
246	246	or congressional district in which the affected office or of-23
247	247	fices, or station or stations, are located a detailed final 24
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250	250	•HR 1876 IH
251	251	report in support of the closure, consolidation, or limita-1
252	252	tion on access. Such report shall include— 2
253	253	‘‘(A) the justifications described in paragraph 3
254	254	(2)(B), (including any amendments made to such 4
255	255	justifications after the public hearings conducted 5
256	256	pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)); 6
257	257	‘‘(B) any findings made by the Commissioner 7
258	258	pursuant to the public hearings; 8
259	259	‘‘(C) the status of any appeals regarding the 9
260	260	closure, consolidation, or new limitation on access 10
261	261	which were commenced pursuant to paragraph (4) 11
262	262	before the date of the report; 12
263	263	‘‘(D) the final decision of the Commissioner re-13
264	264	garding the closure, consolidation, or new limitation 14
265	265	on access; and 15
266	266	‘‘(E) such other information as the Commis-16
267	267	sioner considers relevant. 17
268	268	‘‘(4)(A) Upon timely request by any individual who 18
269	269	makes a showing in writing described in subparagraph (B) 19
270	270	in connection with a proposed closure, consolidation, or 20
271	271	limitation on access referred to in subparagraph (A), the 21
272	272	Commissioner shall give such individual an opportunity for 22
273	273	a hearing with respect to the closure, consolidation, or lim-23
274	274	itation on access. The request for the hearing shall be con-24
275	275	sidered timely only if it is made not later than 30 days 25
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278	278	•HR 1876 IH
279	279	before the proposed date of the closure, consolidation, or 1
280	280	limitation on access. The Commissioner shall submit to 2
281	281	the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-3
282	282	resentatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and 4
283	283	each Member of the Congress representing a State or con-5
284	284	gressional district in which the affected office or offices, 6
285	285	or station or stations, are located the Commissioner’s find-7
286	286	ings based on the hearing and a description of any action 8
287	287	taken or to be taken by the Commissioner on the basis 9
288	288	of such findings. 10
289	289	‘‘(B) A showing described in subparagraph (A) shall 11
290	290	consist of a showing that— 12
291	291	‘‘(i) the determination of the Commissioner to 13
292	292	close a field or hearing office or resident station, 14
293	293	consolidate field or hearing offices or resident sta-15
294	294	tions, or impose a new limitation on access to such 16
295	295	offices or stations is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse 17
296	296	of discretion, not in accordance with law, or not 18
297	297	based on substantial evidence; or 19
298	298	‘‘(ii) the Commissioner has failed to observe 20
299	299	procedures required by law in connection with the 21
300	300	closure, consolidation, or new limitation on access. 22
301	301	‘‘(5) The requirement of this paragraph is met in 23
302	302	connection with a closure, consolidation, or limitation on 24
303	303	access referred to in paragraph (1) only if such closure, 25
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306	306	•HR 1876 IH
307	307	consolidation, or limitation on access will not result in the 1
308	308	total number of field or hearing offices and resident sta-2
309	309	tions of the Administration falling below the total number 3
310	310	of such offices and stations that were in operation on Jan-4
311	311	uary 20, 2025. 5
312	312	‘‘(6) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to 6
313	313	any temporary action by the Commissioner to close or oth-7
314	314	erwise limit access to field or hearing offices or resident 8
315	315	stations in response to an emergency.’’. 9
316	316	(2) E
317	317	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 10
318	318	by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall apply with 11
319	319	respect to closures and consolidations of field or 12
320	320	hearing offices and resident stations and impositions 13
321	321	of new limitations on access to such offices and sta-14
322	322	tions occurring after the cessation of the moratorium 15
323	323	under subsection (a) of this section. 16
324	324	Æ
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