Concerns Over Social Security Cuts Spark Rally In Falls Twp.

The rally in Falls Township on Saturday. Credit: Submitted

More than 250 people gathered in Falls Township on Saturday to protest potential cuts to Social Security Administration staffing and services.

The rally was held outside the Social Security Administration’s Fairless Hills district office on Lincoln Highway in Falls Township.

Organizers said it aimed to show support for local workers and the program itself.

Attendees along the busy roadway held signs reading “We love our SS and Government workers” and “Hands Off Social Security.”

The event was organized by local Democratic clubs, supported by Indivisible, a national progressive advocacy group.

Concerns over potential cuts have grown following reports of office closures and staffing reductions.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that 47 Social Security Administration offices were slated to close this year. The Fairless Hills office was not on the list.

The agency clarified it had provided the General Services Administration a list of “small hearing rooms with no assigned employees” that could be closed.

The Social Security Administration issued a statement last week saying offices will not be closing, while the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is an office overseen by the president and is not a federal department, lists Social Security Administration office leases as being terminated in different parts of the country.

The Trump administration has also introduced new identification policies that require people to visit field offices or access information online rather than calling.

USA Today reported the Social Security Administration has a target to reduce staffing by 7,000 people, and AARP noted staffing is already down 9 percent since 2015.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns that the cuts to staff and changes in verification policies that will delay people collecting are “backdoor” cuts for the program.

AARP has also raised concerns about the impact of staffing cuts and new identification policies on older and disabled Americans, as well as those in rural areas.

“People are worried about any cuts that might be made to Social Security or Medicare,” said Karen Vander Laan, chairperson of the Lower Makefield-Yardley Democrats, who helped organize the Saturday rally. “Citizens across the country — seniors and folks on disability — will be greatly impacted.”

Nancy Sherlock, former longtime president of Morrisville Borough Council and a key organizer, said the future of Social Security benefits is at risk.

“The rally was important to send a message to those that may not be paying attention,” she said. “Republicans continue to say Social Security will not be touched, but Musk has a different message and has been given the power to act.”

Elon Musk, a billionaire government contractor and employee tasked with cutting spending, has called for reducing the spending in the program that serves more than 70 million people.

White House officials have said Musk is focused on waste and fraud.

In a statement, the White House has stated it “will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.”

“Social Security is a vital support for millions of Americans. In this time when the program is being threatened by President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE, we must show how much we value the life-sustaining benefits it provides to our most vulnerable Americans,” Kierstyn Zolfo, of Indivisible Bucks County, said.

Recent polls from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed two-thirds of citizens believe the government spends too little on Social Security.

The Falls Township rally comes as demonstrations in oppositions have become regular occurrences outside Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s Middletown Township office since Trump took office for his second term. There have also been pro-Musk and anti-Musk rallies outside the Tesla dealership in Warminster Township.

Trump and Musk have said their goal is to cut the government and its services in a bid to slim the nation’s $36 trillion deficit rapidly.

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