WATCH LIVE: SSA chief testifies before House subcommittee on embattled agency's performance

By — Fatima Hussein, Associated Press Fatima Hussein, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-ssa-chief-testifies-before-house-subcommittee-on-embattled-agencys-performance Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH LIVE: SSA chief testifies before House subcommittee on embattled agency's performance Politics Jun 9, 2026 4:22 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — After complaints about staffing cuts and long waits to get help at the Social Security Administration, its commissioner says he's ready to make the case to Congress this week that things are getting a lot better at the embattled agency. The House Ways and Means Committee's hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 10. Watch it live in the player above. Frank Bisignano is expected to face pointed questions from lawmakers at a hearing on his agency's customer service performance, its ability to pay Americans their benefits, protect their privacy, and other questions about the inner workings of the SSA. WATCH: Whistleblower responds after DOJ confirms DOGE mishandled Social Security data He plans to tout shorter wait times and other customer service metrics to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing slated for Wednesday, and slam his predecessor for requiring appointments for field office visits, in a letter to lawmakers viewed by The Associated Press. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. In the letter, Bisignano states that the SSA has cut phone wait times by 75% under his leadership, fixed frustrating website issues, and served 50% more people. "I've been very clear. We will meet clients where they want to be met. You want to call us on a phone, we'll have technology on the phone, or you can talk to somebody on the phone. You want to come to a field office, you can come with an appointment, or without," Bisignano told The Associated Press in an interview. Critics argue those gains are being achieved through temporary staffing shifts, increased reliance on online services, and workforce reductions that have created longer-term service risks, shifting bottlenecks around rather than solving staffing problems. Bisignano dismisses the criticism. "People boo at Yankee Stadium, even when they're winning," he said. READ MORE: Social Security has existed for 90 years. It may be more threatened now than ever Bisignano took over the agency after a series of chaotic customer service changes, leadership exits, and false allegations made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — who ran the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program — that millions of dead people were receiving benefits. The SSA cut 7,000 workers at the start of the Trump administration. Roughly 2,000 employees were reassigned last year into direct-service positions, including staff whose jobs don't normally involve answering calls. T