One of the major differences House and Senate Appropriations negotiators will need to tackle is the funding level for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for Fiscal Year 2025.

The House version of the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill includes $13.7 billion for SSA’s administrative budget, a reduction in SSA spending by $450 million. The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill by a vote of 31-25, but it has not yet been voted on by the full chamber. In contrast, the Senate version of the bill would boost SSA’s budget by $500 million over the current funding level, or approximately $14.7 billion in 2025, and a spending difference of nearly $1 billion from the House bill. Both bills propose more than $500 million less than the Biden Administration’s request of $15.4 billion.

SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley referenced an expanding workload and low staffing levels as challenges that have hampered the agency. In an interview with Government Executive, O’Malley said, “There’s a growing awareness among many in Congress that the staff reductions at Social Security is really hurting the level of customer service that people have already spent their whole lifetimes paying for.” He called the Senate bill a “very strong bipartisan rebuke” to the proposed $450 million cut in the House bill.

FMA vehemently opposes the dramatic $450 million cut to SSA, which could cripple this critical agency. We will advocate to ensure the agency receives the resources it needs to provide services to the American people.