I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7228 
To amend title VII of the Social Security Act to improve the Social Security 
Administration’s procedures to close or reduce access to field offices, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2026 
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, and Ms. NOR-
TON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend title VII of the Social Security Act to improve 
the Social Security Administration’s procedures to close 
or reduce access to field offices, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maintain Access to 
Vital Social Security Services Act of 2026’’. 
SEC. 2. FIELD OFFICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 714. FIELD OFFICES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) NUMBER
OF
FIELD
OFFICES
AND
PER-
SONNEL.—The Commissioner shall operate a suffi-
cient number of field offices and employ an suffi-
cient number of personnel at each field office to— 
‘‘(A) provide comprehensive, convenient, 
and accessible services to the public; 
‘‘(B) meet current and projected work-
loads, including consideration of anticipated 
workload or population changes identified 
through a service area review; and 
‘‘(C) maintain posted public operating 
hours to the maximum extent possible and min-
imize wait-times at each field office, including 
for those without appointments. 
‘‘(2) 
MINIMUM
REQUIREMENT.—Notwith-
standing paragraph (1), the Commissioner take such 
actions as are necessary to ensure that the number 
of personnel assigned to field offices is not less than 
the number so assigned on January 1, 2025. 
‘‘(b) PROCEDURE TO CLOSE OR REDUCE ACCESS TO 
A FIELD OFFICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO FOLLOW PROCE-
DURE.—The Commissioner may not take any 
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action described in subparagraph (B) with re-
spect to a field office except in accordance with 
this subsection. 
‘‘(B) COVERED ACTIONS.—The actions de-
scribed in this subparagraph with respect to a 
field office are the following: 
‘‘(i) Permanently closing a field office, 
including by ending or electing not to 
renew a lease for a field office. 
‘‘(ii) Ending, or electing not to renew, 
a lease for any field office. 
‘‘(iii) Consolidating the field office 
with one or more other field offices. 
‘‘(iv) Any other action that would im-
pose a new limitation on public access or 
reduce in-person services at a field office. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY EXCEP-
TION.—This subsection shall not apply for the 
duration of any public health emergency under 
section 319(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 247d(a)). 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF ANTICIPATED ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days before the date on which the Commis-
sioner intends any action described in para-
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graph (1)(B) with respect to a field office to 
take effect, the Commissioner shall promulgate 
a public notification of such action that includes 
the following information: 
‘‘(i) An identification of the field of-
fice. 
‘‘(ii) The date on which such action is 
intended to take effect. 
‘‘(iii) The reasons for taking such ac-
tion, including, if applicable, the reasons 
for rejecting any available alternative ac-
tions such as relocation of the field office 
and the role, if any, played by the General 
Services Administration in contributing to 
such decision. 
‘‘(iv) The date, time, and location of 
the public hearings to be held pursuant to 
paragraph (3). 
‘‘(v) Any alternative means of receiv-
ing assistance related to social security 
which may be used by individuals served by 
the field office. 
‘‘(vi) Contact information, including 
by phone and internet, by which individ-
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shall provide written notification to any unit of 
local government within the service area of such 
field office and provide the opportunity for local 
governments to propose alternatives for such 
action. 
‘‘(3) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.— 
‘‘(A) PUBLIC HEARING.—Not earlier than 
30 days and not later than 120 days after a no-
tification is published under paragraph (2)(A) 
with respect to any action described in para-
graph (1)(B) with respect to a field office, the 
Commissioner shall hold not fewer than two 
public hearings in the geographic area served 
by the field office, at which the Commissioner 
shall— 
‘‘(i) present the reasons for taking 
such action, including the criteria used to 
select the field office for such action and, 
if applicable, the reasons for rejecting any 
available alternative actions such as reloca-
tion of the field office within the area 
served; 
‘‘(ii) describe the Social Security Ad-
ministration’s plan to mitigate disruption 
in service for the community served by the 
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field office, including any special needs of 
the community and any anticipated impact 
on vulnerable populations such as the el-
derly, individuals with disabilities, and 
those with language or mobility challenges; 
and 
‘‘(iii) provide an opportunity for pub-
lic comment, including an opportunity to 
recommend alternatives to such action. 
‘‘(B) SUBMISSION
OF
WRITTEN
COM-
MENTS.—The Commissioner shall accept writ-
ten comments from the public relating to such 
action during the period described in subpara-
graph (A), which shall be posted on the website 
of the Social Security Administration. 
‘‘(4) PUBLIC REPORT ON HEARING.—Not later 
than 15 days before the date on which any action 
described in paragraph (1)(B) with respect to a field 
office takes effect, the Commissioner shall promi-
nently publish on the website of the Social Security 
Administration a written report that describes the 
action the Commissioner intends to take with re-
spect to the field office after giving full consideration 
to, any alternatives proposed by local governments 
pursuant to paragraph (2)(c) and any public com-
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ments received during the period described in para-
graph (3)(A). Such report shall include a response 
by the Commissioner to each unique written com-
ment received during such period. The Commissioner 
shall submit a copy of such report to each member 
of Congress identified pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), 
the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate, the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, 
and the Committee on Finance of the Senate. 
‘‘(5) APPROVAL
BY
INSPECTOR
GENERAL
OF 
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.—No action 
described in paragraph (1)(B) may go into effect 
until the Inspector General of the Social Security 
Administration has reviewed any health and safety 
claims made by the Commissioner with respect to 
such action and has determined that the Commis-
sioner substantially and procedurally complied with 
all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines with 
respect to such action.’’. 
(b) MORATORIUM.—The Commissioner may not take 
any action described in section 714(b)(1)(B) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 914(b)(1)(B)) with respect to a 
field office until the date that is 30 days after the date 
on which the Inspector General of the Social Security Ad-
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ministration provides a written determination that the 
amendments made by subsection (a) have been fully imple-
mented by the Social Security Administration, except that 
in the case of such an action related to health and safety 
reviewed by the Inspector General, such action may take 
effect for a period not to exceed 30 days unless the Com-
missioner provides public notice explaining the need to ex-
tend such period. 
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADVI-
SORY BOARD. 
Section 703(b)(4) of title VII of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 903(b)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘public’’ 
and inserting ‘‘public, taking into account the impact of 
closing field offices on the quality of service to individuals 
with disabilities or language barriers or other vulnerable 
populations’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit to the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate 
a report that— 
(1) includes a list of all field offices closed dur-
ing the 5-year period ending on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the reason for each such closure, 
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and any impacts of each such closure on wait-times 
and staffing at nearby affected field offices; 
(2) describes the role played by the Government 
Services Administration (GSA) in each of the field 
office closings in identifying any available alternative 
actions such as relocation of the field office, includ-
ing a detailed description of— 
(A) the number of alternative locations 
identified by the GSA during each closure pro-
cedure; 
(B) whether the GSA sought input (and 
the means by which that input was solicited) on 
alternative locations from State or local public 
officials or the public in the affected service 
area (including how many days, weeks, months, 
or years prior to the closing the GSA sought 
such input) and the most common cited reasons 
for not finding suitable alternative locations 
prior to closing a field office; and 
(C) any recommendations for how to im-
prove the transparency and adequacy of the 
process for soliciting and determining the ap-
propriateness of alternative space for relocation 
prior to closing a field office; and 
(3) describes a plan— 
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