AFSCME Retiree Sue Conard was 3 years old when her father died. Social Security survivor’s benefits kept her family afloat until she graduated from high school.
When she worked as a public health nurse, Conard saw just how important Social Security was to many of her patients. That included one elderly woman in rural Wisconsin who needed a leg amputation. After the operation, this patient was able to survive on her own only because of her Social Security benefit, according to Conard, president of AFSCME Wisconsin Retiree Chapter 32.
After Conard’s husband died, his survivor’s benefit helped her buy groceries and afford health insurance. Her own Social Security benefits allow her to age with dignity.
Conard told her story Tuesday at a hearing organized by pro-worker members of the House of Representatives. Her message: Fight hard to protect Social Security from billionaire Elon Musk, his reckless minions at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the administration.
Musk and the administration “have created chaos and confusion” for Social Security recipients, Conard testified before the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
AFSCME successfully sued to block DOGE staffers from accessing our personal, sensitive records. In response, the administration threw a hissy fit and even threatened to shut down the Social Security Administration before backing off. But the White House is undermining Social Security in other dangerous ways.
“The administration has made irresponsible staff reductions, threatened to close field offices and reduce telephone services, and brought back cruel overpayment policies that threaten the futures of millions of retirees, seniors and people with disabilities — the future of people like me,” Conard said.
Her testimony came as Musk goes around Conard’s home state of Wisconsin spreading lies about Social Security. Specifically, he’s saying that noncitizens were granted Social Security numbers — without ever mentioning that these are legal immigrants who are authorized to receive these numbers and who pay taxes in the United States.
The South Africa-born Musk was himself once a noncitizen immigrant before becoming a U.S. naturalized citizen.
“The Elon Musk DOGE team and the Trump administration have produced zero evidence of fraud while undermining a program 69 million Americans rely on,” Conard testified. “It is essential that we defeat these dangerous plans and reinforce Social Security for future generations.”