Rep. Juan Vargas, South Bay Community Rally to Protect Social Security, Counter DOGE Cuts
Rep. Juan Vargas and local leaders stood in front of the Chula Vista Social Security office Friday with a clear message to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Don’t mess with the long-time federal benefit program, which supports retirees, those with disabilities and their survivors.
“It’s not a mystery what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing when they fire Social Security staff and call Social Security a scam,” said the San Diego Democrat, referring to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. “They’re getting ready to go after the people’s benefits. That’s what they’re doing,”
Last month, the Social Security Administration said in a statement sent to all agency employees that they should prepare for “significant workforce reductions.”
While Trump has previously promised that “we’re not touching Social Security,” Vargas said he doesn’t buy it.
“Of course, they’re going to make cuts to Social Security,” Vargas said. “Of course they are because they want to give trillions of dollars of tax breaks to their billionaire buddies who put them there, and that’s what they’re trying to do. And I hope no one loses sight of that. They say they won’t make cuts, they’re already making cuts.”
Acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek announced plans last week to cut 7,000 positions across the agency, closing regional hubs and field offices that serve the public in the process.
“If you can’t get your check on time because of mass firings, that’s a cut in benefits. If you can’t get an issue resolved over the phone because there’s nobody there to take your call, that’s a cut in benefits,” Vargas said.
Over 20 people stood behind the representative from the 52nd District – which includes parts of the city of San Diego, along with South Bay communities – holding signs that read “Stop Elon’s Takeover” and “Workers Paid In, Billionaires Cash Out.”
Roberto Velasquez, the president and CEO of the Southern Caregiver Research Center, took to the podium to advocate for the estimated 490,000 unpaid family caregivers in San Diego county, many of whom rely on Social Security.
“With these proposed cuts, the programs that families need to stay at home and be caregivers, they’re going to be going away,” Velasquez said. “It’s going to be an unimaginable task and burden on a family member who is already overstressed, overworked, not getting paid and having a massive, massive financial hardship on themselves.
“We need to educate and advocate for our most vulnerable populations.”
During Trump’s Tuesday address to a joint session of Congress, he reiterated Musk’s previously debunked claims of centenarians fraudulently receiving retirement benefits, saying, “We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors.”
For those who work alongside senior citizens, like Martha Rañón, executive vice president of the caregiver center, these claims are cause for concern.
“There is an erroneous belief that MediCal, (In-Home Support Services) and Social Security funds are … being wasted,” Rañón said. “Let me tell you, as a person who grew up depending on these community services, as many of my colleagues here work for and offer these in their communities, as the caregiver of an elderly woman who relied on every penny she had just to survive – these funds are a lifeline.”
With the latest announcement of Social Security office closures, there are currently a total of 47 offices nationwide that already have been closed or are set to close, according to the DOGE website. Despite this, Vargas said, they will still fight.
“The court’s been stopping Trump and Elon Musk time and time again because what they’re doing is illegal. We’re going to continue that strategy,” Vargas said.
By: TESSA BALC
Source: Times of San Diego