ONEONTA _ Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, is seeking congressional oversight of local Social Security Administration field offices to ensure seniors are getting quality service.
During a stop at the Nader Towers senior community Monday, Arcuri announced his support for the Social Security Customer Service Improvement Act, H.R. 5110.
Arcuri's appearance before about 30 people, most of whom are residents of Nader Towers, spawned a spirited question-and-answer session during which the war in Iraq was repeatedly referenced.
The Social Security legislation would require congressional notification and justification at least six months before a field office is closed or has its hours limited. It also would require the SSA to provide statistics to Congress on pending cases, staffing levels and backlogs at these offices within its annual budget estimate.
Arcuri said an SSA field office in Auburn closed, and he suspects more of the 11 offices in the 24th Congressional District could close, leaving residents with a travel burden when they deal with Social Security issues.
"We are seeing it more and more around the country, this idea of closing offices," Arcuri said. "We'll end up with an office in Utica, an office in Syracuse, an office in Albany and an office in Binghamton, and that's just not the way it's supposed to be."
The stated reason for the Auburn office closure was lack of use, Arcuri said.
"They tell you that New York's population is decreasing," Arcuri said.
That may be true, but the population is also aging, he said.
"People who have worked their whole lives and paid into Social Security deserve a local office where they can go with questions or complications and receive quality face-to-face service," Arcuri said. "Social Security is a binding contract this country made with generations of workers _ the men and women who built our country and fought its wars."
Arcuri said he could not project the chances of the legislation's passage or if it will receive bipartisan support.
"It was just very recently introduced," he said.
Arcuri said it was a mistake to lower tax rates for the richest Americans, as "I think they can afford to pay more."
But he also said the war in Iraq has diverted an "obscene" amount of money away from domestic spending.
Arcuri said he was impressed by the direct questions from the audience on immigration, Medicaid, senior housing and the Iraq war.
"It was a very enthusiastic crowd," he said, and the audience seemed very knowledgeable on the issues.
Among the audience members was Nader Towers resident Richard Campbell.
"There is more common sense right here in this room than there is in government," he said as he argued for the military's need to avoid a repeat of its exit from Vietnam.
Arcuri said he does not support an overnight withdrawal of troops.
"I think we need to pull out by the end of the year," Arcuri said.
The Sons of Iraq program funded by the U.S. government, he said, is an example of the massive amounts of money being spent in Iraq five years after the American-led invasion.
That program involves paying 91,000 Iraqis $300 a month to work for the American forces.
"We are taking young Iraqis and we are paying them to work for the American government to give us information, to work with us, to be loyal to us," Arcuri said. "That is $27 million a month we are paying out. What if I were to propose that we give all gang members in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles $300 a month to go back to school and they get that money if they stay in school and stay out of their gangs? I'd get voted out of office and I'd probably never get elected again."
In the 24th Congressional District, the SSA pays $1.5 billion in monthly Social Security benefits each year to nearly 137,000 retirees, workers with disabilities and certain family members, including those of deceased workers.
The SSA also pays $102 million in monthly Supplemental Security Income benefits each year to 18,000 people age 65 and older or individuals who are blind or disabled of various ages who have limited assets and income, according to Arcuri's office.
In addition to the Social Security legislation, Arcuri also reminded seniors to file their tax returns to be eligible for the economic stimulus rebates passed by Congress.
The Oneonta field office of the SSA at 31 Main St. is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
