A February 24 article posted on the Newsweek website showed one of the victims of Department of Government Efficiency cuts was the social security office in Roanoke Rapids.
The article did not state whether it was the field office on Gregory Drive or the office of hearings located in the Thanos Building on Roanoke Avenue.
State Representative Rodney Pierce confirmed Monday through an inquiry with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services that the office of hearings is to be closed.
NCDHHS said in a text to Pierce, “North Carolina Disability Determination Services is aware of the closure of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Social Security Administration Office of Hearing Operations site. The Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, field office remains open to the public … NCDDS relies on the strong federal and state partnership with the SSA to ensure assistance is readily available across the state for those who need it. NCDDS takes seriously its responsibility to efficiently provide these services and will continue to monitor changes at the federal level closely.”
In the gallery: A screenshot of the closings from the Newsweek article
https://rrspin.com/news/10174-ssa-office-of-hearings-on-avenue-closing.html#sigProId55b7e8976d
That statement is in line with what a source familiar with the situation told rrspin.com on February 27 and then a statement from the SSA regional office in Atlanta the following day.
The source said that the hearing office across from the post office is expected to be closed — an office which is called Office of Hearings and is not part of the Social Security field office located on Gregory Drive.
The response from SSA did not specifically mention the Roanoke Rapids office of hearings. Instead, a spokesperson said that the SSA is working with the United States General Services Administration to review its leases “and ensure they are used efficiently.”
The statement says, “Most of the leases we are not renewing are for small remote hearing sites that are co-located with other federal space. As the majority of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings locations.”
In the fiscal year of 2024, the SSA spokesperson said 20 percent of these offices held no in-person hearings. “Other offices are non-public facing, being consolidated into nearby locations, or we had planned to close. Social Security continuously monitors and evaluates the use of our office space to maximize efficiency for the American taxpayer.”
A statement from a GSA spokesperson received by rrspin.com on Friday said, "Acting Administrator (Stephen) Ehikian’s vision for GSA includes reducing our deferred maintenance liabilities, supporting the return to office of federal employees, and taking advantage of a stronger private/government partnership in managing the workforce of the future.”
GSA is reviewing all options to optimize its footprint and building utilization, the spokesperson said. “A component of our space consolidation plan will be the termination of many soft term leases. To the extent these terminations affect public facing facilities and/or existing tenants, we are working with our agency partners to secure suitable alternative space. In many cases this will allow us to increase space utilization and obtain improved terms."
Pierce, referencing cuts by DOGE, said Monday, “This is a clear sign of things to come. I am always concerned when efforts to cut costs have a disparate impact on communities like mine. Everyone supports an efficient government, but there are human costs to these decisions.”
