Really?  
Deploying the military, and specifically the Marines, to counter domestic demonstrations is fundamentally at odds with the principles of a democratic society and risks escalating tensions rather than resolving them. Military forces are trained and equipped for combat against foreign adversaries, a mission centered on the use of overwhelming and lethal force, which is entirely inappropriate for managing civilian protests protected by rights of assembly and free speech. The introduction of troops, who are not trained in de-escalation or crowd control techniques used by civilian police, can be perceived as an act of war against the citizenry, irrevocably damaging the trust between the people and their government.This can lead to a rapid and tragic escalation of violence, turning a protest into a conflict zone and undermining the very liberties the armed forces are sworn to defend.

U.S. troops could be sent to more American cities
Trump administration could surge National Guard; Newsom calls it “brazen abuse of power.”
By SHAWN HUBLER, ERIC SCHMITT and THOMAS FULLER • The New York Times

​
LOS ANGELES - Trump administration officials said Wednesday that they were prepared to deploy more troops and National Guard units to counter the growing number of demonstrations against the White House's immigration crackdown, threatening to expand what California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned as a "brazen abuse of power."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at an Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday that the same legal authorities the Pentagon used to send nearly 5,000 Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles in recent days could be employed in other cities "if there are riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened."

"We would have the capability to surge National Guard there, if necessary," he said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. military's Northern Command said that the Marines, who have arrived in the Los Angeles area, were receiving training on how to handle civil disturbances and not yet assisting the National Guard troops or federal immigration agents.

Under Department of Defense policy, they can detain, but not arrest, people, and then they must hand them over to local officials as soon as possible.

The decision to deploy Marines and National Guard troops in Los Angeles was made without the consultation of Newsom, who in a nationally televised address Tuesday night urged Americans to stand up to Trump, calling it a "perilous moment" for democracy and the country's long-held legal norms.

"California may be first, but it clearly won't end here," Newsom said, speaking to cameras from a studio in Los Angeles. "Other states are next. Democracy is next."

California has requested a temporary order that would limit the National Guard and Marines' presence in Los Angeles to guarding federal buildings. On Wednesday, the Trump administration filed its response, arguing that the state's legal objections — including that the guard callup order did not go through Newsom — are meritless. The Justice Department cited memos from the Vietnam War era, written by the future Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, for the idea that presidents have inherent power to use the military to protect federal buildings and functions against protesters, notwithstanding a 19th-century law that generally makes it illegal to use troops for law enforcement.

Newsom's televised comments on Tuesday, the first night of a curfew in downtown Los Angeles, came as Gov.

Greg Abbott of Texas said he would deploy National Guard troops ahead of expected protests across the state, a move that aligns with the governor's long-standing calls for more aggressive action to stem illegal immigration.

The mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg, called the extra presence unnecessary and said the Trump administration's approach was "theater and provocation."

Protesters have gathered in a growing number of cities across the country, including Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; New York; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Santa Ana, Calif.; San Antonio; San Francisco; and Seattle.

In Los Angeles, where the protests ignited last week, the police department said Wednesday that 203 people were arrested and charged with failure to disperse after the overnight curfew began downtown on Tuesday. More than a dozen other people were arrested and charged with curfew violations, according to the police.
In many cities, the protests have been small and localized, although the number of arrests has been rising.

Police in New York City arrested 86 protesters on Tuesday night during an hourslong demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an internal police report obtained by the New York Times.

In Chicago, where some demonstrators threw water bottles at police officers and vandalized at least two vehicles, police arrested 17 people during protests that drew thousands Tuesday, a department spokesperson said.

The portrayal of the protests varied widely across the political spectrum, with Democrats strongly criticizing the deployment of U.S. troops to quell the demonstrations, arguing that troops should be used inside the United States only in the rarest and most extreme situations. Republicans have cast the protests as chaotic and violent and necessitating a forceful response.

Many Americans are likely to have caught glimpses on television or social media of burning vehicles and tussles between protesters and police officers in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Where the public will come down on the demonstrations and federal response remains unclear, but curtailing illegal immigration is among the most popular Trump administration policies in opinion polls.

The Department of Homeland Security echoed the language of administration officials on Wednesday in describing the Los Angeles protests as "riots." The department noted that ICE officials had arrested a man on an attempted murder charge and accused him of throwing a Molotov cocktail at law enforcement officers during the protests.

The department said the man, Emiliano Garduno- Galvez, is a Mexican national in the country illegally.

The administration appears set on hastening the pace of immigration raids in the face of the demonstrations against them.

Mario Trujillo, a member of the Downey, Calif., City Council, in Los Angeles County, said at a news conference that federal immigration officials had raided a Home Depot and an LA Fitness location on Wednesday and arrested a man who was with his granddaughter in front of a place of worship.

"These raids at Home Depots, restaurants, places of worship or schools are not keeping our community safe," Trujillo said. "They are creating havoc and fear."

Heightened tensions over the administration's use of the military in domestic affairs seem likely to extend into the weekend, given Trump's plans on Saturday for a parade in Washington to mark the Army's 250th anniversary.
The event will coincide with his 79th birthday.

On Tuesday, Trump warned that any protests at the parade would "be met with very big force."
​
Activist groups are organizing protests on Saturday, in what they are calling the "No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance." The organizers said the protests are intended to "reject corrupt, authoritarian politics in the United States."

Harv's Corner

Understanding Artificial Intelligence is no longer optional; it's essential for navigating our modern world. As this transformative technology increasingly shapes everything from our daily routines and job market to critical societal and ethical questions, a basic comprehension is vital for informed participation in the future.

Artificial Intelligence - What is it?

​​Does the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) scare you or intimidate you? Or do you figure it won’t actually impact your life, so why bother learning about it? Well, AI is definitely entering – and improving – your life, whether you choose it or not.

When I first wrote about ChatGPT several years ago, AI was viewed as a powerful tool to collect information from huge databases, and sort it out to provide answers to questions. Since then AI has quickly morphed into a useful tool for business and individuals, creating accurate and life-like interactions that make outcomes easier.

For example, the new Social Security Commissioner, a former tech payments CEO, has announced that Social Security will soon be using AI in its call centers. If the idea of talking to a “robot” sends chills down your spine, think again. In this column, I’ll show you a company that is already using AI in its call center – and generating responses that truly make you think you’re talking to a helpful person.

A Reality Check
It’s a generational thing. When I want help after calling a toll-free number for product information or credit card adjustments or insurance issues, I want to talk to an intelligent human being. I guess there aren’t enough to go around! One of my pet peeves is being transferred to a voice messaging system that tries to “help” me decide how to get answers to a simple question. They offer five choices, none of which is helpful.

Representative, please!
The only thing worse than a voice-activated decision tree is getting transferred to a live person who just happens to live in the Philippines or some remote island, and who is obviously responding off a pre-arranged script. If I ask to talk to a supervisor, I’m told there is no supervisor available! Don’t these companies care about their customers? (Insert your own swear word here!)

Artificial Intelligence That’s Real
So I must say I was absolutely shocked to hear a demonstration of Artificial Intelligence being used by eHealth to start the process of guiding seniors to the appropriate choices for Medicare programs. For many years, eHealth has been a popular health insurance marketplace that helps people find the right insurance coverage by comparison-shopping plans from over 180 insurers for coverage ranging from Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans to individual and family health policies, along with other benefits such as dental and vision. Many people access eHealth through their website – eHealth.com. Others use their toll-free number 1-800-EHEALTH (1-800-343-2584) to reach their licensed and helpful insurance agents. Getting to the agent licensed in your state of residence, and knowledgeable about your specific product request, could take a lot of time during busy days around Medicare enrollment. And what about calls that come in late at night?

That’s why eHealth created “Alice” –
an AI “agent” who does not actually sell insurance policies, but who asks relevant questions to direct you to the correct licensed agent. You’d swear that you are talking to a live person, since “her” responses are not only appropriate but friendly. Listening to the demo that eHealth sent me, I was absolutely blown away. I knew that you’d want to hear the same thing, so if you are reading this column online at my website – www.TerrySavage.com – you can click on this link in the article  

(Note - to listen to this you may have to copy and paste into your URL)
​https://news.ehealthinsurance.com/ehealth-ai-voice-screener-demo

​In this case, an audio demo is worth a thousand words! Even if you’re not shopping for health insurance, I recommend listening to this short clip of an interaction between someone calling the toll-free line late at night and the AI agent, “Alice.” This company has taken AI to the next level. Suddenly, you’ll understand how much more helpful an AI agent can be than a call center in the middle of nowhere! And, on a personal level, you’ll see how AI has so much potential to change our lives for the better (yes, or for the worse)
.
I spoke with Ketan Babaria, Chief Digital and AI Officer of eHealth. He notes that while AI is not (yet) selling policies, it is making a big difference in their processes:

“Our new AI agents are trained to be patient, caring and sympathetic. As a result, we are making it easier and faster for people to start the shopping process for a Medicare plan, enabling them to more quickly connect with a licensed agent who can help them comparison shop for the right health coverage.”

So the next time you hear that your call will be answered by AI, don’t hang up in fear, hoping that the next time you’ll get a “real person.” Odds are that soon you’ll be connecting with many AI agents. And there are even better odds are that you’ll get the correct answer from a compassionate robot than you’d get from the overworked and underinformed call center worker.

​That’s The Savage Truth.

Harv's Corner

I believe . . . 
The U.S. government should support free college for its young citizens because it represents a strategic investment in the nation's future prosperity and global competitiveness. By eliminating the financial barrier of tuition, a larger segment of the population, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, would be able to access higher education. This would lead to a more educated and skilled workforce, fostering innovation, boosting economic growth through increased consumer spending and tax revenues, and reducing reliance on social safety nets. Ultimately, free college is an investment in human capital that yields substantial returns for individuals and the nation as a whole, ensuring a more equitable and robust society.

Millions with late student loans are hit with bad credit
Drop is akin to filing for bankruptcy and could lead to pricier loans.
By ABHA BHATTARAI
​The Washington Post

​
Millions of Americans are suddenly facing dramatically lower credit scores from delinquent student loans, making it tougher for them to secure housing, insurance, car loans, even employment at a vulnerable time for the U.S. economy.

Credit scores dipped by more than 100 points for 2.2 million delinquent student loan borrowers and 150 points or more for over 1 million in the first three months of 2025, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It's the kind of credit score drop that follows a personal bankruptcy filing. About 2.4 million of those Americans previously had favorable credit scores and would have qualified for car loans, mortgages or credit cards before these delinquencies were reported, researchers said.

The slide in credit scores could lead to pricier loans for millions as borrowing costs are near 20-year highs. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it doesn't plan to cut interest rates right away.

Already there are signs that lower credit scores are making it harder for more Americans to get loans, with rejection rates for auto loans, credit cards and mortgage refinancing all ticking up in February, compared with a year earlier.

Tina Johnson was two days away from finalizing the purchase of a used Nissan Pathfinder when she got notice that her preapproved loan was no longer valid. Her credit score had fallen from 650 to 418 after she missed $440 worth of student loan payments that she didn't realize were required again. Although the U.S. Department of Education said lenders would send borrowers a bill at least three weeks before it was due, Johnson said she was never notified that payments needed to resume.

"Nothing, no email, no phone call, no letter — I could've avoided all this if I had known," said Johnson, 44, who lives in Fleming County, Ky.
Johnson's expected car payment of $350 a month nearly doubled overnight, making it unaffordable for the DoorDash delivery driver. She's stuck with her 12-year-old Nissan Altima for now. Johnson says she's also putting off other plans, including borrowing against her home to repair her roof and going back to school for a bachelor's degree .

"I took care of the accounts, but there's nothing else I can do," she said. "It'll take me years to get those 200 points back."

Federal student loan payments were paused early in the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, offering millions of Americans relief at a time of economic upheaval and high unemployment. Although payments started back up in late 2023, the Biden administration offered a yearlong grace period. That ended on Sept. 30, but millions of borrowers have yet to make a payment on their student loans.

This month the federal government restarted collection efforts for defaulted student loans and said it will resume seizing wages, tax returns and Social Security payments this summer, making the stakes even higher.

Nearly 1 in 4 borrowers required to make loan repayments were more than 90 days behind at the end of March, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis. And although younger Americans tend to hold the most student debt, borrowers ages 40 and older are most likely to be behind on their loans, suggesting that years of inflation are making it harder for middle-aged Americans to keep up with payments.

"This is the beginning of something big, and we need to be paying attention," said Dominik Mjartan, chief executive of American Pride Bank in Macon, Ga. "There's a very high cost to having a low credit score in America. Your cost of living goes up — your cellphone bill, your utilities, your insurance payments, everything. And that trickles down through the economy."

Credit scores, which generally range from 300 to 850, offer a snapshot of a person's financial history that takes into account debt levels, bill-paying record and length of credit background. They're used by lenders of all types, as well as landlords, employers, insurance firms, cellphone providers and utility companies to gauge how likely someone is to make loan payments on time. A good credit score, generally 670 or higher, can translate to lower interest rates and higher credit limits, while a subprime score, under 620, can disqualify borrowers from most conventional loans.

"It's been a major hit to credit scores, and for a lot of people, has been enough to put them in subprime territory, making it very difficult to get loans at decent interest rates," said Stefania Albanesi, an economics professor at the University of Miami and a former researcher at the New York Fed. "And while credit scores can drop quickly, they recover very slowly. Even if you've gotten back on track with your payments, it can take years to get back to where you were before."

Kayla Moore found out in March that her credit score — a "good" 730 — had fallen by more than 100 points to become subprime after three missed student loan payments of $30 apiece.

Moore, who had already paid off $5,500 in loans, said her father had offered to cover the last $1,000. She didn't realize those payments had slipped through the cracks until she got emails from Credit Karma and Experian. She immediately paid the balance in full but says her credit score has barely budged, to the mid-600s.
​
"I basically lost my mind when I saw what had happened," said Moore, 24, who works at a bank in Chicago. "I really wanted to move to a nicer apartment this year, and now I'm worried they're going to see my credit score and immediately deny me."

Harv's Corner

Terry Savage is a nationally recognized expert in personal finance, known for her straightforward and common-sense approach to money matters. With a background as a stockbroker and a pioneering female trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Savage brings decades of experience in the financial markets to her work.

IDENTITY THEFT AND WHAT TO DO!

​It makes sense to assume your identity has — or will be — stolen! Ever since the Equifax breach two years ago, the “dark web” has the names, birth dates, addresses, and Social Security numbers of millions of Americans! Now, that information is being used to scam states out of unemployment benefits. And you may not even know that your identity has been used until you receive a 1099 tax form from the Government in January demanding taxes on money that was supposedly distributed to you from state unemployment offices or even the SBA’s PPP program! So if you never applied for unemployment but suddenly receive a debit card, or a letter from your state unemployment department, here’s what you should do.

SPECIAL UPDATE FROM IRS 02/21/21
The IRS has put up a short, but helpful page, telling taxpayers what to do if they are victims of Identity Theft fraud related to unemployment benefits. As I have previously written, although they advise asking your state for a corrected 1099G, that is unlikely to happen given all the confusion. Instead, you should file “an accurate federal tax return reporting only income received.” That is, do NOT report income from a fraudulent 1099G that you received. Here is a link to the new IRS page on Identity Theft and Unemployment Benefits.

SPECIAL NOTE TO ILLINOIS RESIDENTS RE UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD 01/27/2021
The very messed up IDES website has made just a promise and posted a link! The promise is that if you report fraud on their site you will not receive a 1099G form, reporting those fraudulent earnings for tax purposes. It’s hard to believe that IDES will be that organized! But if you even suspect unemployment fraud in Illinois, here is the new link to report it online at IDES:
https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/Report-Identity-Theft.aspx

​ BE SURE TO TAKE A SCREEN SHOT OF YOUR FRAUD FORM BEFORE SUBMITTING! (Just push the “prnt scrn” button on your keyboard, and then paste it into an email to yourself!) If you DO receive a 1099G from any state for unemployment benefits that you did not receive, you must contact the state to re-issue the 1099 in a corrected form (Good luck with that!) And don’t ignore that 1099G on your Federal tax return, because the state will share that info with the IRS. Instead the IRS suggests putting a note — even on electronic forms — alerting the IRS to the fraud. No idea how that will be resolved, but I will update this post when more news is available!

Get Your Credit Report
Below are links to contact each of the three credit bureaus. The first step is to FREEZE YOUR CREDIT. There should be NO COST to freeze your account and to get your credit report online, immediately. Keep your secure PIN so that you can easily lift the freeze if you want to allow a company to check your credit, perhaps in a job search, insurance purchase, or mortgage refinancing. Here are the direct links to the CREDIT FREEZE pages at each of the three bureaus:

Here is the link to the freeze Page on Transunion’s site: https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

​Here’s the link at Experian: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

And here’s the link at Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/

You can get a free copy of your report from each of the three bureaus by going to AnnualCreditReport.com. Or call the numbers below: TransUnion 1-800-916-8800 www.Transunion.com
Equifax 1-800-685-1111 www.Equifax.com
Experian 1-888-397-3742 www.Experian.com

The whole idea of freezing your credit report is so that no one can use your identity to open NEW ACCOUNTS in your name. But you still must be vigilant about your existing bank and card accounts to make sure no one is using them for fraudulent purposes.

READ Your Credit Report!
You are looking for “inquiries” into your credit. Many people have reported a “soft inquiry” from a state unemployment bureau. Typically they then receive one of those fraudulent debit cards. Make sure you do NOT ACTIVATE any debit card. BUT, you may also see an inquiry from a bank or credit card company that you do not recognize. If you see a bank inquiry, contact that bank to make sure someone did not open an account in your name. Bank accounts do NOT appear on your credit report, but an inquiry will be a tip-off that you are a victim of identity theft. AND, if you see an inquiry from the SBA (Small Business Administration) contact them immediately. I have heard from several people that small business loans were taken out in their name — and they had no idea! Contact the SBA inspector’s office at (800) 767-0385.

Contact the FBI
The FBI has an active, nationwide investigation into Unemployment-related Identity Theft. In addition to trying to report fraud to the unemployment office and banks issuing benefits cards, they ask you to report directly to the FBI — and promise that your tip, whether by phone or online — will be read by TWO agents.

1-800-CALL FBI

Tips.FBI.gov Report Suspected Fraud to the Unemployment Department
You may not get through by telephone, search for the word FRAUD on your state unemployment website. Report your suspicions online immediately. And keep proof that you did! Directions below.

Report Suspected Identity theft to Social Security and the Federal Trade Commission You can contact the Social Security Office of the Inspector General’s fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271 or submit a report online at https://oig.ssa.gov/. Since the IRS checks with Social Security regarding income attributed to your number, you want them to know your identity might have been stolen. That way, if you get a 1099 for income from unemployment, you will have one more level of proof that it wasn’t yours! (By the way, at www.Socialsecurity.gov, you can check your own personal account safely and securely online, using the “My Social Security” tool. Here is a link to that page. Checking your own benefits history does more than let you know what your monthly check is likely to be at retirement. It allows you to make sure your employer is contributing appropriately AND make sure that no one else is using your SS number in a fraudulent way.) Surprisingly, the Federal Trade Commission is the nation’s consumer protection agency. You can call them at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338); (TTY 1-866-653-4261); or call 1-800-908-4490. Also, you should file an online complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov.

Keep Track of Your Attempts to Report Fraud
You might need to prove you tried to report any attempts at fraud. Here’s how to do that: Every time you file an online fraud complaint, take a screen shot of the filing page. (You can do that by pushing the button at the top of your keyboard marked “Prt Scr”. ) Then send yourself an email and “paste” the “screen shot” in the body of the email. You do that by clicking in the body of the email and if you don’t see the word “paste” come up, just press CONTROL +V at the same time, and the picture of the screen shot will appear in the body of the email! Save those emails that you send to yourself in a special folder. That will let the IRS know you tried to report fraud when it happened. And that will be useful if you receive a 1099 form next January asking you to pay taxes on the “unemployment benefits” your allegedly received – but, of course, didn’t!

Keep a Close watch on your Credit and Bank Accounts
Freezing your credit denies fraudsters the opportunity to open NEW credit in your name. But you must still check your accounts — bank and credit — on a regular basis online for unauthorized activities. Do this at least once a week. Change your password if you suspect identity theft might have occurred. Make sure you do your online checking from a SECURE WI-FI connection — not at a library or restaurant! Report any unexpected bank deposits, as they may be a prelude money being wired OUT of your account. And if you are offered “two-factor” identification (requiring confirmation by text or email of significant transactions) take a moment to set that up. Your goal is to BE AWARE, BE CURRENT, BUILD A FORTRESS AROUND YOUR CREDIT — and take action immediately if you think something is wrong.
Better safe than Sorry. That’s a Savage Truth!

Harv's Corner

Close to 1 trillion dollars will be cut out of Medicaid leaving millions of folks who depend on that support to keep them healthy/alive.  You probably can guess what my opinion of this cut  is.  
What do YOU think?

​GOP plan cuts billions from Medicaid
Democrats say millions will lose coverage, hospitals will shutter, premiums will rise.
By LISA MASCARO The Associated Press

There is no large group of malingers on Medicaid. Onerous work requirements for day laborers will put deserving people in horrible pain. Disgraceful.

WASHINGTON - House Republicans have unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," at least $880 billion in
cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.

Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation revealed late Sunday is touching off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried but failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump's first term in 2017.

While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out "waste, fraud and abuse" to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage. A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over the decade.

"Savings like these allow us to use this bill to renew the Trump tax cuts and keep Republicans' promise to hardworking middle-class families," said Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, the GOP chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles health care spending.

But Democrats said the cuts are "shameful" and essentially amount to another attempt to repeal Obamacare.

"In no uncertain terms, millions of Americans will lose their health care coverage," said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the panel. He said "hospitals will close, seniors will not be able to access the care they need, and premiums will rise for millions of people if this bill passes."

As Republicans race toward House Speaker Mike Johnson's Memorial Day deadline to pass Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, they are preparing to flood the zone with round-the-clock public hearings this week on various sections before they are stitched together in what will become a massive package.

The politics ahead are uncertain. More than a dozen House Republicans have told Johnson and GOP leaders they will not support cuts to the health care safety net programs that residents back home depend on. Trump himself has shied away from a repeat of his first term, vowing there will be no cuts to Medicaid.

One Republican, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, warned his colleagues in an op-ed Monday that cutting health care to pay for tax breaks would be "morally wrong and politically suicidal."

All told, 11 committees in the House have been compiling their sections of the package as Republicans seek at least $1.5 trillion in savings to help cover the cost of preserving the 2017 tax breaks, which were approved during Trump's first term and are expiring at the end of the year.

But the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee has been among the most watched. The committee was instructed to come up with $880 billion in savings and reached that goal, primarily with the health care cuts, but also by rolling back Biden-era green energy programs. The preliminary CBO analysis said the committee's proposals would reduce the deficit by $912 billion over the decade — with at least $715 billion coming from the health provisions.

Central to the savings are changes to Medicaid, which provides almost free health care to more than 70 million Americans, and the Affordable Care Act, which has expanded in the 15 years since it was first approved to cover millions more.

To be eligible for Medicaid, there would be new "community engagement requirements" of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents. People would also have to verify their eligibility to be in the program twice a year, rather than just once. The bill also adds a more rigorous income verification for those who enroll in the Affordable Care Act's health care coverage.

This is likely to lead to more churn in the program and present hurdles for people to stay covered, especially if they have to drive far to a local benefits office to verify their income in person. But Republicans say it will ensure that the program is administered to those who qualify for it.

Some Medicaid recipients who make more than 100% of the federal poverty level — about $32,000 a year for a family of four — would be required to pay out-of-pocket costs, too, for some services. Those fees, which would not apply to emergency room visits, prenatal care, pediatric visits or primary care checkups, would be limited to $35 per visit.

And applicants could not qualify for Medicaid if they have a home that is valued at more than $1 million.

The proposed bill also targets any immigrants who are living in the country illegally or without documentation. It reduces by 10% the share the federal government pays to states — such as New York or California — that allow those immigrants to sign up for Medicaid. To qualify for the ACA coverage, enrollees would have to prove they are "lawfully present."

Other moves would shift costs to all states.

Many states have expanded their Medicaid rosters thanks to federal incentives, but the legislation would cut a 5% boost that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There would be a freeze on the so-called provider tax that some states use to help pay for large portions of their Medicaid programs. The extra tax often leads to higher payments from the federal government, which critics say is a loophole that allows states to inflate their budgets.

The energy portions of the legislation run far fewer pages, but include rollbacks of climate-change strategies President Joe Biden signed into law in the Inflation Reduction Act.

It proposes rescinding funds for a range of energy loans and investment programs while providing expedited permitting for natural gas development and oil pipelines.

​Harv's Corner

State climate scientists abruptly cut
White House dismisses contributors to National Climate Assessment, a key monitoring tool.
Story by KRISTOFFER TIGUE • Photo by RENÉE JONES SCHNEIDER • The Minnesota Star Tribune

State climate scientists abruptly cut - White House dismisses contributors to National Climate Assessment, a key monitoring tool.

Melissa Kenney has spent decades researching how to best convey scientific information to the public.

That expertise has landed Kenney, director of research at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, on several high-profile projects, including Minnesota's mandatory report on how the state will safeguard clean water for the next 50 years.

Last year, Kenney was asked to contribute to the National Climate Assessment, the foremost report on how climate change is affecting the United States. It would be her third time contributing to the report, which typically comes out every four to five years. The next edition was to be released in 2027.

But last week, Kenney received an email from the Trump administration telling her the scope of the report was "being re-evaluated" and that her services were no longer required.

"Thank you for your participation in the 6th National Climate Assessment," the email said. "We are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles."

Kenney is one of nearly 400 scientists who were dismissed from the report, which Congress mandated under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Earlier in April, the White House also terminated its contract with ICF International. The global consulting firm provides much of the staffing for the U.S.  Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the federal agency charged with drafting the climate assessments.

The Trump administration has widely targeted climate initiatives in its effort to slash federal spending. Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump for the second time pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, the international treaty to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, have frozen tens of billions of dollars in climate related grants and loans since February. Trump's most recent budget proposal would cut funding for the EPA and the National Science Foundation in half.

Still, the email took Kenney and other National Climate Assessment contributors by surprise.

"I had always been under the naive impression that making those major changes would be hard. Congress is supposed to be the one who's allocating resources," Jay Austin, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, told the Minnesota Star Tribune. "I'm missing something, or things are really off the rails."

The White House didn't respond to questions from the Minnesota Star Tribune, but said in a statement that "as plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage."

Austin is one of at least eight Minnesotans who contributed to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, the edition released in 2023.

Climate scientists and advocates say the report is a valuable resource for policymakers and the public. It synthesizes tens of thousands of peer-reviewed studies that document sea-level rise, the frequency of extreme weather events, changes in biodiversity and other phenomena.

Anyone who reads the Midwest chapter of the Fifth National Assessment would learn that the region has become 5%-15% wetter over the decades, when comparing the most recent 30-year averages, and that states like Minnesota are experiencing warming most notably during the winter.

The USGCRP's funding for fiscal year 2023 amounted to $4 billion, but that doesn't fund the vast majority of the contributors.

"They're zeroing out this ... federally mandated project,"

Austin said. "But the hundreds of scientists that are actually doing the writing and doing the real work are all volunteers."

John Baker, a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher who was coordinating lead author for the assessment's Midwest chapter, said the report benefits numerous constituents, including law-makers, nonprofit leaders and businesses.

One of the metrics tracked by the assessment is how the nation's flood plains are changing, which Baker said is crucial information for property insurers. In recent years, home insurance premiums have skyrocketed in states like California and Florida as the changing climate increases the frequency and severity of wildfires, floods and other extreme weather.

"Actuaries can only work with past data, so it's a real challenge if you're in a rapidly changing environment and you're seeing increased likelihood of flooding or increased risk of severe thunderstorms,"

Baker said. Without regularly updated data, "it makes it pretty hard to figure out, 'How do you price insurance?' "

The perils of flooding became obvious last summer in Minnesota.
Record rainfall caused a partial failure of the Rapidan Dam near Mankato, destroying a home and nearby business.

Kenney's work on the Fifth Climate Assessment focused on how communities are adapting to climate change. Last year's flooding demonstrates why the report matters, she said.

"We need to be thinking about how we manage dams proactively and put in flood abatement measures, not just for the types of rain events we have already seen but for those that scientists say are possible given a changing climate," she said.

Marissa Ahlering is the science director for the Nature Conservancy's operations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota and also contributed to the climate report. She said her nonprofit uses the assessment to help plan their conservation and restoration efforts, including how best to engage with landowners whose property might overlap with a project.

"We use it in the Nature Conservancy to help us inform our actions," Ahlering said. "That is one of the goals: To synthesize this information so it can be used by local communities, policymakers — at the state and federal levels."

Kenney said the report also provides useful information for Minnesotans who care about the state's forests. The habitable zone for some species will be pushed farther north as the state warms, meaning some plants that grow in southern Minnesota may not in the future.

"If we want robust forest systems that are climate adaptive, we actually have to be thinking about that now, what the seed banks should be, where they should go, where it makes sense," she said.

Now it's unclear what will come of the next climate assessment, Baker said, adding that he was "extremely disappointed" to see so many scientists, many of them at the top of their fields, taken off the project.
"It really is an apolitical process," he said. "The whole reason it was mandated in the first place was to inform policymakers."

Austin said he "would not want to be a young scientist graduating into this environment."

Kenney said that whatever happens, she hopes the next assessment is as robust as the previous ones, which undergo multiple reviews, including by federal agencies, as well as a lengthy public comment period.

"The reason why we know that the previous assessments are rigorous is because we had hundreds of scientists who have the expertise to evaluate tens of thousands of research papers in a very short period of time," she said.

​[email protected]

Harv's Corner 

​Tariff woes starting to come ashore
Canceled orders from China set to trigger tidal wave of higher prices.
By ANA SWANSON The New York Times

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, factories in China shut down and global shipping traffic slowed. Within a matter of a few weeks, products began disappearing from U.S. store shelves and American firms that depend on foreign materials were going out of business.

A similar trend is beginning to play out, but this time the catalyst is President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to a minimum of 145%, an amount so steep that much of the trade between the United States and China has ground to a halt. Fewer massive container ships have been plying the ocean between Chinese and American ports, and in the coming weeks, far fewer Chinese goods will arrive on American shores.

While high tariffs on Chinese products have been in place since early April, the availability of Chinese products and the price that consumers pay for them has not changed that much. But some companies are now starting to raise their prices. And experts say that the effects will become more and more obvious in the coming weeks, as a tidal wave of change stemming from canceled orders in Chinese factories works its way around the world to the United States.

The number of massive container ships carrying metal boxes of toys, furniture and other products departing China for the United States has plummeted by about a third this month.

The reason consumers haven't felt many of the effects yet is because it takes 20 to 40 days for a container ship to travel across the Pacific Ocean. It then takes another one to 10 days for Chinese goods to make their way by train or truck to various cities around the country, economists at Apollo Global Management wrote in a recent report. That means that the higher tariffs on China that went into effect at the beginning of April are just starting to result in a drop in the number of ships arriving at American ports, a trend that should intensify.

By late May or early June, consumers could start to see some empty shelves, and layoffs could occur for retailers and logistics industries. The major effects on the U.S. economy of shutting down trade with China will start to become apparent in the summer of 2025, when the United States might slip into a recession, said Torsten Slok, an economist at Apollo.

"U.S. consumers will within a few weeks see empty shelves in clothing stores, toy stores, hardware stores and retail drugstores, and higher prices of the goods that still are on the shelves," he said.

Molson Hart, CEO of Viahart, a toy company, wrote on the social platform X: "It's almost like we're speeding towards a brick wall but the driver of the car doesn't see it yet. By the time he does, it'll be too late to hit the brakes."

The decline in Chinese imports w as amplified Friday, when the United States eliminated so-called de minimis treatment for Chinese goods. The rule had allowed products up to $800 to avoid tariffs as long as they are shipped directly to consumers. It has boosted the business model of companies such as Temu and Shein, and it has resulted in a surge of individually addressed packages to the United States, many of which are shipped by air.

Supporters of the change say that this tariff loophole has given Chinese shippers an unfair advantage and hurt American businesses. But the decision to get rid of it is already resulting in higher prices for U.S. consumers. And the change is expected to weigh on airlines and private carriers like FedEx, which have steady business delivering small-dollar goods.

Port workers and logistics companies have been expecting their own disruptions. At the port of Los Angeles, the main entry point for Chinese products arriving in the United States, imports surged in recent months as businesses and consumers tried to stock up on goods in advance of the tariffs coming into effect. But that activity has now started to decline.

The number of containers arriving at the Port of Los Angeles is expected to drop more than 35% next week compared with the same period last year, port data shows. Gene Seroka, the port's executive director, said that a quarter of the ships that had been scheduled for May had canceled because of light volume.

As of about two weeks ago, goods coming into the port from China have been "very few and far between," Seroka said.

Data shows that sales of heavy trucks have fallen sharply, too, suggesting that companies in the logistics space expect to be moving fewer goods in the future.

Trade experts say that companies have stockpiled enough inventory in recent months that, if the White House reverses course soon and significantly drops tariffs on China, much of the pain for the U.S. economy and consumers can be avoided. Data from the Institute for Supply Management shows that U.S. inventories are at their highest level in more than two years.

Gabriel Wildau, a managing director at Teneo, who advises firms on doing business with China, said Chinese goods that U.S. retailers had stockpiled in the first three months of the year would give stores some time before they would need to raise prices. But if the situation is not changed quickly, American consumers will feel the impact of trade changes unfold over the next three to six months, he said.

"We're going to have higher prices and, in some cases, empty shelves," he said.

Trump officials have admitted that there could be some disruptions for consumers. The president seemed to acknowledge Wednesday that his trade changes could lead to fewer goods and higher prices.
"You know, somebody said, 'Oh, the shelves are going to be open,' " Trump said from the White House. "Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally."

But administration officials have said any pain will be minimal. At a White House briefing Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he did not expect to see supply chain shocks from U.S. tariffs on China. "I think retailers have managed their inventory in front of this," he said.

Some firms that are in a more fragile financial position have not been able to stockpile and are rapidly being forced out of business. Even if the Trump administration finds a way to reduce its tariffs on China, it's not clear that the levies will fall enough to meaningfully restart trade.

Many firms say that tariffs above 50% on Chinese imports are enough to stop trade entirely. With tariffs now at a minimum of 145%, and in some cases much higher, that would mean that the Trump administration may have to drop its China tariffs by at least 100 percentage points to meaningfully restart the flow of goods.

Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a supply chain company, said that, even before the president hiked tariffs on China to 145% this month, the tariffs the Trump administration had put on China were high, at a minimum of 54%.

"The reality is that 54% was already an incredibly high tariff rate," Petersen said. "It depends on how far they walk it back. If they walk it back to 25%, maybe this all becomes a nonevent."

145%
Minimum tariff on Chinese imports. Many companies say that above 50% would stop trade .
​
35%
Expected drop in containers arriving in Los Angeles next week compared with same time last year.

Harv's Corner

Regard​ing Immigration;
While standard reasons for being denied entry or detained still apply (such as criminal records, past immigration violations like overstaying, misrepresentation, or lack of sufficient funds), the recent reports focus on detentions perceived as arising from heightened scrutiny, policy changes, or unclear causes, contributing significantly to Canadian traveler apprehension

Canadians booking far fewer U.S. visits
Trump’s bluster, border arrests have taken a toll.
By ROB GILLIES and JIM MORRIS The Associated Press​

VANCOUVER - Diana and Rick Bellamy initially planned to take a Caribbean cruise out of Houston before heading to Laurel, Miss., to visit the home of one of their favorite HGTV shows, "Home Town."

The Calgary, Alberta, couple scrapped those plans and vacationed last month along Mexico's Pacific coast instead, put off by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada, the insults he's hurled at their homeland, and stories about American border agents searching people's phones and detaining foreigners for minor reasons.
​
Diane Bellamy found it ironic that she felt more comfortable traveling to Mexico than the U.S.

"I never thought I would hear myself say that," she said.

Trump's attacks on Canada's economy and threats to make it the 51st state have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips to the U.S. in large numbers.

They also seem to have also flipped the narrative heading into Canada's parliamentary elections on Monday, with Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party surging after trailing far behind in the polls just a few months ago.

The U.S. gets more visitors from Canada each year than from any other country, according to the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group, which said the 20.4 million visits from Canada last year generated $20.5 billion in spending.

But there has been a big drop in foreigners traveling to the U.S. since Trump took office, and Canadians are no exception.

There were more than 910,000 fewer land border crossings from Canada into the U.S. last month than in March 2024 — more than a 22% drop — according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. An Air Canada spokesman, meanwhile, said Canada-U.S. flight bookings for April through September are down about 10%.

Since Trump started his second term, there have been well-publicized reports of tourists being stopped at U.S. border crossings and held for weeks at immigration detention facilities before being allowed to fly home at their own expense.

On March 3, Canadian Jasmine Mooney, an actor and entrepreneur on a U.S. work visa, was detained by U.S. border agents in San Diego. She was released after 12 days detention.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers, which represents university faculty and staff, warned its members against nonessential U.S. travel.

McKenzie McMillan, a consultant with a Vancouver travel agency The Travel Group, said its bookings to the U.S. have dried up. "We have seen a neartotal collapse of U.S. business," he said. "Probably about a 90% drop since February."

Lesley Keyter, the CEO and founder of the Travel Lady agency in Calgary, said she's seen people actually forfeit money to cancel their U.S. trips.

"Even if they're going on a Caribbean cruise, they don't want to go down to Fort Lauderdale to get on the cruise ship," she said.

Harv's Corner

We in Minnesota have this problem - what's going on in your state?

Minnesota's hospital network is financially fragile post-pandemic, with nearly a quarter (31 of 127) considered distressed after 2023 due to operational losses. Key challenges include severe staffing shortages driving up costs (especially for contract labor) and increased reliance on ERs. There's significant concern that potential federal cuts to programs like Medicaid could worsen the situation, potentially leading to further service reductions or even hospital closures, particularly impacting rural and independent facilities and threatening the state's healthcare safety net. While some hospitals remain profitable and others are exploring collaborations and innovative solutions, a widening financial gap exists between struggling and stable hospitals.

Staffing costs push some Minn. hospitals to the financial brink
When permanent staff can’t be hired, hospitals must spend more on temps.
By JEREMY OLSON The Minnesota Star Tribune

Minnesota has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with a fragile network of hospitals at risk of closure and vulnerable to cuts in government aid.

Thirty-one of 127 Minnesota hospitals were financially distressed after 2023, meaning they had lost money on operations in four of the prior eight years.

Another eight hospitals were one bad year away from being distressed, while others, such as Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minn., remained stable but lost money on operations for the first time in decades.

"We're trying to uncover every stone we can" to cut spending without cutting medical services, said Ken Westman, chief executive of Riverwood, which lost money on hospital operations in 2022 but recovered in 2023.

The Minnesota Star Tribune analyzed new state data to see whether more hospitals had fallen into financial distress since the end of the pandemic and before the start of any cuts that the Trump administration proposed to federal health care spending.
Import tariffs could also raise the cost of essential drugs and equipment hospitals can't acquire domestically, but state leaders are particularly worried about cuts to Medicaid.

The state-federal program provides health benefits to 20% of Minnesotans, up from 15% a decade ago.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., visited Riverwood last month and Hendricks Community Hospital in western Minnesota on Wednesday to highlight the vulnerability of rural hospitals.

They're especially at risk if Congress advances a budget that cuts an estimated $1.5 billion per year from Minnesota's Medicaid program.
U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison held a forum Tuesday in Bloomington with Gov. Tim Walz and predicted dire consequences if federal losses force Minnesota to cut people off Medicaid or pay hospitals less for their care.

"Entire hospitals may shut down," she said.
The news isn't all bad: Operating margins exceeded 10% for 32 hospitals in 2023, the most recent year for which comparable state data is available.

And some money-losing hospitals in 2023 showed stronger results in 2024, based on their own financial reports. But the state data reveals a widening gap in financial performance that could poke holes in
Minnesota's hospital safety net, which keeps most people within 30 miles of an emergency room and 60 miles of a major trauma center.
"There is a clearer distinction between the haves and the have-nots, meaning hospitals who are constantly struggling," said Stefan Gildemeister, state health economist.
Staffing struggles

Twelve hospitals posted operating losses of 10% or more in 2023, the highest total in at least a decade. Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center in Hallock, Minn., stayed financially healthy for years, even as the population in northwest Minnesota declined. But its operating loss ballooned to 23% in 2023.

Andrea Swenson has dedicated her career to the hospital in Hallock, starting in high school when she worked as a dietary aide before returning after college as a registered nurse. She then earned her master's degree and eventually became Kittson's administrator.

At one time, the hospital could rely on a local pipeline for workers, but interest in health care careers evaporated after the pandemic. Kittson had no choice but to hire outside contract nurses and health care providers at double or triple the cost, Swenson said.

"We don't have eight people who do one job. We have one person who does eight jobs," she said. "In our hospital, we staff with two nurses. That's all we have. We can't have any less than that. We can't cut any more than that."

Hospital fortunes rise and fall from year to year, especially when older buildings need one-time repairs or technology upgrades. So the Minnesota Department of Health takes a longer view of financial performance through eight years before labeling hospitals as distressed.

The Star Tribune based its analysis on operating revenue for hospital operations only.

In some cases, hospitals had other businesses — such as home health care services or pharmacies — that improved their bottom lines or deepened their losses.

Hospital leaders said their staffing problems peaked in 2023, when burned-out doctors and nurses retired early or found jobs elsewhere. Appleton Area Health's losses on hospital operations went from 7% in 2022 to 16% in 2023, and Chief Executive Greg Miner said it was largely because the hospital spared no expense to fill open shifts.
"Temporary staffing is what really kills this hospital," he said.
Repair needs accentuated the losses in 2023, but Miner said the hospital is poised for a comeback. He said he is creating a family culture at the hospital to recruit doctors. Appleton is also opening a clinic in nearby Hancock and debuted an InstaCare online urgent care for anyone in Minnesota.

"Imagine yourself being at a lake in Minnesota, and your kid has a sore throat. Well, you can dial up and take a look through a telehealth [visit]," Miner said.

"And we will see you Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. You would be surprised how that is starting to catch on."

More is at stake than medical access. The hospital became Appleton's largest employer after a prison closed in 2010, and its middle- and upperincome jobs are irreplaceable to the largely agricultural local economy.

Being small isn't necessarily the problem. Hospitals with 25 or fewer beds qualify for federal critical-access designations and payments from the Medicare program for senior citizens.

Those help them come closer to covering their costs.
Sanford Health's 14-bed hospital in Jackson, Minn., routinely posts operating gains of 20% or higher. It has the critical-access designation and doesn't have to subsidize money-losing operations such as nursing homes tethered to other hospitals, said Eric Hilmoe, chief operating officer for Sanford's southwest Minnesota region. Just to the west, though, Sanford's 48-bed hospital in Worthington is distressed while maintaining a full range of hospital services for a wide geographic area without critical-access support.

'The bare minimum'
Federal cuts threaten even metro hospitals, especially the trauma centers at North Memorial in Robbinsdale and Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Morrison said during Tuesday's forum. Hennepin is already financially distressed.

Fifteen of the 20 hospitals that posted the largest operating losses in Minnesota in 2023 were independent. Gildemeister said hospitals affiliated with larger systems benefit from efficiencies, such as cheaper electronic record keeping and bulk pharmacy orders.

But even affiliated hospitals are vulnerable: Mayo Clinic Springfield closed in 2020 under financial pressure.

No Minnesota hospitals have closed since 2020, but nine held public hearings last year, which state law requires when closing units. Three stopped scheduling baby deliveries while two closed inpatient mental health units.

Minnesota's smallest hospitals saw a 15% decline in inpatient admissions from 2019 to 2023 and a 6% decline in childbirths.
But they encountered a 12% increase in ER visits, partly because patients with reduced health care access have nowhere else to go, said Dr. David Taylor, Riverwood's chief medical officer.

Taylor recently tended to a patient in the ER who couldn't schedule an appointment to address an irregular heartbeat.
"I sat down with him and answered questions that nobody had answered with him because he couldn't get in to see his cardiologist," Taylor said.

"I mean, that's not [supposed to be] my role. That's not my expertise. ... He just got a really expensive counseling visit."
If more people lose Medicaid, they will resort to ER visits, he said. The hospital, in turn, will lose more money because federal law requires treating those patients, regardless of whether they have insurance.
Riverwood's survival strategy is partnerships. The independent hospital shares surgeons with Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, 20 miles to the west in Crosby, Minn., that neither could support individually.

Riverwood also helped form the Headwaters Network, a collaboration of 17 hospitals that are standardizing medical practices and pooling results to earn payfor-performance rewards from insurers.
Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, Minn., also shares its childbirth simulation mannequin, allowing Riverwood's obstetric workers to keep their skills sharp, even in years when they deliver relatively few babies.

The Cloquet hospital is financially distressed, having routinely posted gains until 2019, when it started losing money every year on operations. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota funded the simulator in 2022 in Cloquet, which is one of the smallest hospitals in the state that still schedules childbirths.

All options are on the table when it comes to the survival of Kittson, which treats Hallockarea residents who otherwise would have to drive 50 to 70 miles for hospital care. Swenson said she has considered following the lead last year of Mahnomen Health, which took advantage of a new federal program and became the Midwest's first rural emergency-only hospital with no inpatient services.
Kittson shelved the idea, for now, based on feedback from residents. The hospital already shut down its operating room and halted eye procedures after it lost an ophthalmologist.
"They value everything we offer because we already do the bare minimum," she said.
​
"Nobody wants to see any of these things go."
[email protected]

Harv's Corner

Social Security's move to tighten online account security, while necessary to combat fraud, creates a significant challenge when combined with reduced staffing at field offices. Beneficiaries unable to navigate the new technical requirements may be forced to seek in-person assistance, precisely when office capacity is shrinking. This convergence is projected to cause much longer wait times and delays at SSA offices, making it considerably harder for individuals to access services, manage their benefits, report essential changes, or resolve problems efficiently. The result is likely to be increased frustration and stress for those attempting to interact with the agency.

​These difficulties will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including older adults, people with disabilities, rural residents, and those with limited digital literacy or resources, who may struggle with both the online security protocols and the burdens of accessing understaffed offices. This mismatch between the increased need for accessible support (driven partly by the security changes) and reduced agency resources risks creating significant barriers. Ultimately, it could impede timely access to benefits and essential assistance for the very individuals Social Security aims to serve, particularly those most reliant on direct, in-person support.

Social Security website keeps crashing as IT staff cuts loom
DOGE wants to slash the technology division that runs the portal by 50%.
By LISA REIN, HANNAH NATANSON and ELIZABETH DWOSKIN • The Washington Post

​Retirees and disabled people are facing chronic website outages and other access problems as they attempt to log in to their online Social Security accounts, even as they are being directed to do more of their business with the agency online.

The website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to almost a day, according to six current and former officials with knowledge of the issues. Even when the site is back online, many customers have not been able to sign in to their accounts — or have logged in only to find information missing.

For others, access to the system has been slow, requiring repeated tries to get in.

The problems come as the Trump administration's cost-cutting team, led by Elon Musk, has imposed a downsizing that's led to 7,000 job cuts and is preparing to push out thousands more employees at an agency that serves 73 million Americans. The new demands from Musk's U.S. DOGE Service include a 50% cut to the technology division responsible for the website and other electronic access.

Many of the network outages appear to be caused by an expanded fraud check system imposed by the DOGE team, current and former officials said. The technology staff did not test the new software against a high volume of users to see if the servers could handle the rush, these officials said.

The technology issues have been particularly alarming for some of the most vulnerable Social Security customers. For almost two days last week, for example,many of the 7.4 million adults and children receiving monthly benefits under the anti-poverty program known as Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, confronted a jarring message that claimed they were "currently not receiving payments," agency officials acknowledged in an internal email to staff.

The error messages set off widespread panic until recipients discovered that their monthly checks had still been deposited in their bank accounts. Another breakdown disabled the SSI system for much of the day on Friday, prompting claims staff to cancel appointments because they could not enter new disability claims in the system and blocking some already receiving benefits from gaining access to their accounts.

"Social Security's response has been, 'Oops,' " said Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy at the Arc, a national nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities.

The group fielded dozens of calls last week from nervous clients who saw the inaccurate message and assumed their monthly check, usually paid on the first of the month, would not arrive.

"It's woefully insufficient when we're talking about a government agency that's holding someone's lifeline in their hands," Milburn said.

The disruptions are occurring as acting commissioner Leland Dudek and the DOGE team move to lay off large swaths of the workforce in a new phase of downsizing. Thousands already have been pushed out — many in customer-facing roles, others with expertise in the agency's cumbersome technology systems. At least 800 of the 3,000 employees left in the division that manages all of the Social Security databases face layoffs, a senior official said on Friday. The newly named chief information officer, Scott Coulter, a Musk-aligned private equity analyst, has demanded a cut of 50%, the official said.

The network outages are one in a cascade of blows to customer service that also have hobbled phone systems and field office operations as the workforce shrinks.

A surge in visitors to the website is overwhelming the computer system as customers — nervous that the rapid changes at the agency will compromise their benefits — download their benefit and earnings statements and attempt to file claims. President Donald Trump has said that his administration will not reduce Social Security benefits.
The chaos could accelerate starting April 14, when new identification measures are set to take effect that will require millions of customers applying for benefits to authenticate their identity online, part of the administration's campaign to root out allegedly fraudulent claims.
"We're just spiking like crazy," said one senior official, who, like others in this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about agency operations. "It's people who are terrified that DOGE is messing with our systems.

It's the sheer massive volume of freaked-out people."
The Social Security press office said in a statement that officials are "actively investigating the root cause" of the incidents, which they called "brief disruptions" averaging about 20 minutes each with the exception of the SSI error message.

But on several occasions, including during an outage last Monday, customers were shut out of the website for hours.

The system was back online last Monday after two hours, but lingering issues lasted through the afternoon while all backlogged queries were processed, current and former officials said.

And a system upgrade on a Saturday in late March took several hours longer than anticipated and knocked out the network.

Three times in a recent 10-day stretch, the online systems the field office staff rely on to serve the public have crashed, said one employee in an Indiana office.

The downed programs included tools employees use to schedule visits, to see who has booked an appointment and to check who has arrived, the employee said. It is unheard-of for the system to fail this often, and each outage has led to chaos, they said.

T he network crashes appear to be caused by an expansion initiated by the Trump team of an existing contract with a credit-reporting agency that tracks names, addresses and other personal information to verify customers' identities.

The enhanced fraud checks are now done earlier in the claims process and have resulted in a boost to the volume of customers who must pass the checks.

But the technology staff did not test the software against a high volume of users to see if the servers could handle the rush, current and former officials said. Connectivity issues and bugs with the expanded system have caused the portal that manages log-ins and authentication for many Social Security applications to go down, officials said.
​
At a weekly operations meeting on March 28 that was made public last week, Wayne Lemon, deputy chief information officer for infrastructure and IT operations, acknowledged the network crashes and said, "While they've been brief, we prefer no outages." He said the outages were under investigation and may involve "challenges we've experienced with a number of partners." Part of the problem may be that the outages have occurred during "high volume use of the network."