The Social Security Administration plans to close its Arlington field office and one of its Baltimore locations in June, part of a series of shutdowns across the country that activists and political leaders say is causing major difficulties for the elderly, people with disabilities and other beneficiaries.
The agency has closed about 125 of its approximately 1,250 offices since 2000 — a 10 percent reduction, part of what officials describe as a shift to greater use of online services in an era of budget constraints and a growing population of senior citizens.
In addition, all 533 Social Security Administration “contact sites” — locations that serve remote, rural populations on a weekly or monthly basis — have closed, said leaders of the union that represents Social Security employees.
The most recent closures, which have not been publicly announced, come on the heels of the shutdown of offices in Milwaukee and Chicago in the past year, which elected officials also protested to no avail. An SSA spokeswoman attributed the Arlington closure to an expiring lease and an inability to find space nearby — an explanation that elected officials in Virginia dispute.
“Closing the Arlington office is a shortsighted way to cut costs, and will inflict hardship on people least able to cope with it,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said. He said he is asking the Social Security Administration’s inspector general to investigate whether the agency complied with requirements for public notice and community feedback before field offices were shuttered.