I-TEAM: Lawmakers demand answers from Social Security Administration

DAYTON — A News Center 7 I-Team investigation is gaining traction in the nation’s capital, with lawmakers demanding answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA). There are even calls for congressional hearings.

This all comes in the wake of our reporting on billions of dollars in overpayments to vulnerable Americans who are now being asked to pay it back.

Since our investigation aired Sept. 14, we’ve heard from families all across the country. Nearly 200 people have reached out to the I-Team, our sister Cox Media Group stations across the country, and KFF Health News who partnered with us on the investigation.

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“I think that is shameful,” Angela Worley said.

The SSA told Jeffrey Shaw he owes more than $51,000.

“Where does anybody have that kind of money lying around?” Shaw asked.

Tammy Eichler learned she’s not alone in this.

“I saw your segment and I’m like, Oh, I’m not the only one. There’s many, many, many people out there,” Eichler said.

The I-Team told you in our original investigation about how hundreds of thousands of families are getting demand letters from Social Security, to repay benefit overpayments.

Even when it’s the government who made the mistake, you are on the hook for the money.

“It just feels like we’ve been failed,” Kristen Cooper said.

Kristen’s husband Matt Cooper was shot in the head in the line of duty working as a police officer. Now, Social Security is demanding the Coopers repay $30,000 in overpayments

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The SSA is demanding the Coopers not only repay $30,000, it’s cutting their children’s monthly payments down from about $900 to just $150, because of a government calculation error.

“The system has definitely let us down,” Kristen said.

So, we took the Coopers and so many other family’s stories, along with our research to lawmakers in Washington.

“They weren’t trying to game the system, they were just playing by the rules,” Miami Valley Congressman Mike Carey said.

Carey is pressing for the Social Security subcommittee he serves on to hold a congressional hearing.

“We do have a problem. We’ve got to address it. We’ve got to fix it. And the best way to do that is with a hearing,” Carey said.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on Social Security, reached out to Social Security leadership after seeing the I-Team’s report.

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“We’ve let the federal agency know we expect them to stop and not penalize those people,” Brown said.

Florida Senator Rick Scott said citizens should not be held responsible for government mistakes.

“If somebody lied, if there was fraud, then that person ought to be responsible for that. But when the Social Security Administration tells you a number, then they should be held accountable,” Scott said.

The Social Security Administration tells the I-Team, regardless of whose fault the overpayment is or when they discover it, federal law requires they get it back. That’s why a congressional hearing could be so important here; It’s Congress who created this law and they can explore if it’s working as they intended.

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