Action, not words, from Kiley on Social Security

Congressman Kiley has consistently stated he will protect Social Security. That is well and good, but Social Security is facing a significant change, and I haven't seen any concern expressed by our Congressman. Effective the end of March, the administration is eliminating telephone verification and transactions by phone, thus requiring interactions/verifications done online or in person. At the same time, 40 Social Security offices are being closed (none in California yet), and employees are being eliminated despite the agency being understaffed. These restrictions will create a burden and obstacles for a population that may not have access/proficiency in accessing online data, not to mention that not everyone has access to broadband service. Some recipients - children - cannot create an online account and will be required to have family bring them to an agency office. Disabled or institutionalized recipients may not be able to access digital services or travel to an agency office. Based on 2023 data from the SS Administration, Placer County has 56,805 recipients served by the Auburn office and 124,580 recipients served by the Roseville office. Of the total served by these offices, there are more than 15,000 disabled recipients and more than 7,000 children. Telephone verification is a common method used by banking institutions and other financial services to verify identity. Eliminating this option creates obstacles, will result in delays and undue burdens for recipients. Coupled with reduction in staffing, there will no doubt be further delays in service. Social Security Administration reports the current phone hold time is two hours and average time to get an appointment is one month. It is time for Kiley to speak out against these changes and prove his commitment in his actions and not just empty words. June Paquette Lincoln More frustration, and ideas for future town halls I'm one that is also frustrated at the telephone town hall format. I was able to listen but had no idea how to "raise my hand" for a question. And I was similarly dissatisfied by some of the answers and would have loved to have asked for more details or clarity. I finally hung up after listening for an hour. Some have mentioned an issue of accountability to the people. I prefer to be able to meet in person as well. Word to Mr. Kiley: People have grown weary of elected leaders giving word salad answers. More respect is given to people who state they need more info and will get back to you, and publicize that info online for others to see. Speaking of which, not everyone has a Facebook account. It's kind of pointless to get on your mailing list and be told that for surveys or more information you must do so via Facebook. Public officials relying on membership to a private company's website for dissemination of public notices is not becoming of a public official. Perhaps set up your own website? I noticed in a large article about the town hall that a local chapter of "Indivisible" wanted Kiley to meet with them in a local town-hall meeting. Indivisible's mission is hyper-partisan, and includes usurping town-hall meetings with large protests. Their funding and support comes from a globalist organization. Kiley is not alone in congressmen avoiding meetings sponsored by them, given those tactics and affiliation. I invite readers to learn more for themselves. I hope Kiley will be open to more public appearances in person instead of via a telephonic town hall. With 25,000 tuning in, there's definitely interest in what he has to say. But more importantly, it shows there are people who are interested in real answers and accountability. People recognize restrictive venues for communication. People also don't like not being heard. While you can't possibly answer 25,000 questions, you could put up a pool for questions to be addressed and avoid bots stuffing it, such as having a six-digit number sent to people's email that they enter in on a website to submit their questions. Have staff members put them into common groupings to collate them and address the most popular as part of your presentation. Then leave time for other questions or requests for further clarification. Keep questions to 30 seconds. Address the question asked. Make the town hall recording available for a week or so in case of overflow or scheduling conflicts. Justin MastersRoseville Support for Kiley, not for town hall story The article written by Nicole Buss regarding Kevin Kiley's tele-town hall ("Kiley town hall leaves some callers hanging," March 28, page A1) was unbelievably biased, one-sided, highly critical and couldn't have been more negative. Remember that he won by an overwhelming majority, but you would never know that anyone was happy with Representative Kiley. Nicole is a true warrior for the far left, hardly a professional journalist. She only chose to reference callers who were unhappy and/or angry. She did not cite one caller who expressed strong support for him or was happy with his representation. But his choice to have a tele meeting allowed 25,000 callers to listen, and some were able to ask questions. Seems to me he was serving his constituents much better by this far-reaching format. In conclusion, I wonder if there is anything Representative Kiley has done or said that would make you or your liberal readers happy or support him. The overall experience in Republican town halls around the country is that they are attended by liberals who just want to yell and scream and cause disruption and don't allow the program to proceed, and they serve far fewer people. I, for one, offer him my strong support as he fights daily for the betterment of his constituents and the state. I am proud of his representation. Rita Louise Piziali Lincoln Keep Social Security as is Dear Rep. Kiley, I have worked every year since I was 16 years old. I am now approaching 80, having finally retired at age 70. I have contributed to Social Security all these working years. I don't consider it a Ponzi scheme, as Elon Musk has stated, nor is it an entitlement or "perk." I hope you will fight to keep the Social Security Administration as it is. It is the best-run division in our federal government and I certainly do not support any changes! Nor do I want it privatized, as many of the GOP desire. Sincerely, Rosalie Wohlfromm Auburn