To amend title II of the Social Security Act to permanently appropriate funding for the administrative expenses of the Social Security Administration, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act shields the Social Security Administration (SSA) from executive branch restructuring efforts, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It establishes automatic funding for SSA operations at 1.2% of benefit payments and appropriates billions for customer service improvements.
Who Benefits and How
Social Security beneficiaries and applicants benefit from protected field offices, maintained staffing levels, improved phone services, and limits on overpayment recovery (capped at 10% of monthly benefits). SSA employees gain job protections from hiring freezes and mass transfers to excepted service positions. Disability applicants receive access to new legal assistance through $25 million in state grants and $15 million in community organization grants. Protection and advocacy organizations receive dedicated federal funding to assist disability claimants.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Executive Branch loses authority to restructure SSA, access its data systems through DOGE, or implement hiring freezes at the agency. Political appointees and special government employees face strict limits on accessing beneficiary data, with civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation and criminal penalties up to 5 years imprisonment. The federal budget absorbs $2 billion in new appropriations plus ongoing automatic funding, though SSA costs are excluded from budget calculations.
Key Provisions
- Exempts SSA entirely from DOGE jurisdiction and related executive orders
- Limits overpayment recovery to 10% of monthly benefits (protecting beneficiaries from sudden benefit cuts)
- Establishes automatic SSA administrative funding at 1.2% of total benefit payments
- Appropriates $2 billion for IT modernization and disability claims backlog reduction
- Creates $40 million in grants for disability legal assistance programs
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Protects the Social Security Administration from executive branch restructuring efforts (particularly DOGE) while maintaining service levels, staffing, data security, and establishing automatic funding mechanisms.
Key Policy Areas
Social Security, Government Administration, Data Privacy, Disability Benefits, Federal Employment
Primary Purpose
Protects the Social Security Administration from executive branch restructuring efforts (particularly DOGE) while maintaining service levels, staffing, data security, and establishing automatic funding mechanisms.
Policy Domains
SSA Funding (Sections 8, 9)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Social Security Administration
- SSA employees
- Social Security beneficiaries
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Appropriations Committees
- Federal budget
- Taxpayers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Federal Employment Protections (Sections 4, 6, 7)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- SSA employees
- Federal employee unions
- Social Security beneficiaries
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Executive Branch
- Commissioner of Social Security (discretion limited)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Data Access and Privacy (Section 3)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Social Security beneficiaries
- Privacy advocates
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Political appointees
- Special government employees
- Federal employees violating access rules
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
DOGE Exemption (Section 2)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Social Security beneficiaries
- SSA employees
- Current administration opponents
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Executive Branch
- DOGE
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Disability Legal Assistance (Sections 11, 12)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Disability applicants and beneficiaries
- Protection and advocacy organizations
- Legal aid organizations
- Community-based disability organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal budget
- Taxpayers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Beneficiary Protections (Sections 5, 10)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Social Security beneficiaries
- Individuals erroneously recorded as deceased
- Beneficiaries with overpayments
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Social Security Trust Funds
- SSA (reduced collections)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Blumenthal, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Career civil servants (senior), Commissioner of Social Security, Congressional Appropriations Committees
Social Security Administration faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Career civil servants (senior), SSA career employees, SSA employees, SSA employees (diversity/inclusion), SSA employees with disabilities
Negative-direction: Commissioner of Social Security, Congressional Appropriations Committees, Executive Branch, Political appointees, SSA (administration), SSA (collections), SSA Inspector General, Social Security Trust Funds, Special government employees
Current/former disability beneficiaries (advisory roles), Disability applicants, Disability applicants and beneficiaries
Positive-direction: Current/former disability beneficiaries (advisory roles), Disability applicants, Disability applicants and beneficiaries, Disability beneficiaries seeking legal help, Disability benefit applicants, Families with disabled children, Low-income Social Security beneficiaries, Rural communities, Social Security beneficiaries, Social Security beneficiaries and applicants, Social Security beneficiaries with overpayments
Negative-direction: Federal budget/Taxpayers
Legal aid providers, Protection and advocacy organizations, Protection and advocacy systems
Community-based disability organizations, Disability rights advocates
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "doge"
- → Department of Government Efficiency (US DOGE Service)
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
- "inspector_general"
- → Inspector General of SSA
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Personnel Management
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
- "chief_actuary"
- → Chief Actuary of SSA
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The United States DOGE Service; the United States DOGE Service Temporary Organization; any DOGE team as defined in Executive orders 14158, 14210, 14219, 14222; any entity established to implement such orders; and any successor entity
A system maintained by SSA that issues or records social security account numbers; determines eligibility or pays benefits; or contains personally identifiable information, health information, or tax information of applicants or beneficiaries
A title II or XVI disability beneficiary; an applicant for such benefits on basis of disability; one requesting a hearing or administrative review; or one filing for reinstatement of entitlement
As defined in section 2103 of title 5, United States Code
As defined in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology