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Kathleen Romig

@kathleenromig

πŸ“Š Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at @centeronbudget πŸ›οΈ Proud former fed: SSA, CRS, OMB, SSAB

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24.07.2023
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Latest posts by Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig

Great new article on our report on barriers to access in Social Security disability programs.

Read all the way to the end. The closing quote from @ksavin.bsky.social is a banger.

05.03.2026 17:36 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Accessing Social Security disability benefits became harder in 2025, researchers find Changes like the push to online servicing and introduction of AI on SSA phone lines made it difficult for certain recipients to access the agency.

Accessing disability benefits at the Social Security Administration has gotten more difficult since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to new qualitative research.

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

04.03.2026 22:33 πŸ‘ 46 πŸ” 26 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Democrat’s plan would eliminate federal income taxes for half of U.S. workers Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s tax relief plan could benefit tens of millions of middle-class workers, with a focus on those making at or below a living wage.

The latest Democratic affordability proposal–this one from Senator Van Hollen– was previewed in the Washington Post by @jeffstein.bsky.social this morning. While we don’t have all the details, it seems like a case of good intentions but some problematic results www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

05.03.2026 20:36 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2
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Trump Has Been Sued 198 Times for Withholding Funding. It Hasn’t Stopped Him. (Gift Article) Immigration demands for highway dollars, D.E.I. rules for homeless grants: how Trump has tried to wield spending to get his way.

We've been tracking nearly 200 lawsuits against the Trump administration over its attempts to leverage federal funding to impose the president's agenda.

The most startling pattern: The administration seems entirely undeterred when it loses in court.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

04.03.2026 13:50 πŸ‘ 548 πŸ” 267 πŸ’¬ 22 πŸ“Œ 28
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Estimating the Cost and Impacts of the SSI Restoration Act Stephen NuΓ±ez and Jack Landry find that the SSI Restoration Act would cut poverty among SSI households by nearly 60 percent while updating and strengthening the program.

SSI supports 7.4M low-income seniors & people with disabilities but outdated rules and low benefits leave millions in poverty.

Our new paper from @socio-steve.bsky.social and @jacklandry.bsky.social models what would happen if Congress modernized SSI. The results are striking. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡

Full report:

03.03.2026 14:25 πŸ‘ 79 πŸ” 37 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4

As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.

02.03.2026 20:39 πŸ‘ 8070 πŸ” 2220 πŸ’¬ 120 πŸ“Œ 70

Must-read new report!

It's excellent work, providing crucial insight into how service to Social Security applicants and beneficiaries deteriorated over the past year.

It's especially important now that SSA leadership has removed most customer-facing metrics from public view.

02.03.2026 17:46 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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What to know about Trump retirement accounts The basic idea is to enroll lower income Americans without 401(k)s into similar kinds of plans.

I love that the one Trump policy from #SOTU that people don't hate is actually a Biden policy.

What to know about Trump retirement accounts www.axios.com/2026/02/27/t... #axiosmarkets

27.02.2026 13:19 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Your work has been so helpful! I think at this point roles & themes are most useful.

26.02.2026 12:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Oh thank you! I missed that. We will definitely take that into account for next year’s update. I think they’re doing great work.

26.02.2026 01:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Social Security Lifts More People Above the Poverty Line Than Any Other Program Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty in every state, and they lift more people above the poverty line than any other program in the United States. Without Social Security, 23...

Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty in every state & lift more people above the poverty line than any other program.

Without Social Security, 23.5 million more adults and children would live in poverty, according to our updated analysis.

www.cbpp.org/research/soc...

25.02.2026 22:28 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

A: Yes

"Customer services at Social Security have become worse by many key measures since Pres. Trump began his second term, as thousands of employees were fired or quit & hasty policy changes & reassignments left inexperienced staff to handle the aftermath."

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

25.02.2026 21:52 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

love you, Bobby! ❀️

25.02.2026 03:11 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

trump is calling for banning congressional stock trading, but he leaves out the key detail: the reason there's a standstill right now is democrats want it to apply to trump and the white house, but trump issued a veto threat over that.

25.02.2026 02:58 πŸ‘ 3039 πŸ” 838 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 18
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Reassignment Won’t Fix the Largest-Ever Social Security Staffing Cut The Social Security Administration will have fewer and less experienced staff on the front lines serving the public with significantly less support, leading to worse outcomes for people who rely on So...

Though Trump claims he'll "always protect Social Security," his Admin indiscriminately pushed out 7K+ SSA workers β€” the largest staffing cut in agency history β€” compromising access to earned benefits for seniors, bereaved families & people with disabilities. #CBPPSOTU

www.cbpp.org/research/soc...

25.02.2026 03:01 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3
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Speaking of tax increases, tariffs are a MASSIVE tax increase. #CBPPSOTU

25.02.2026 02:38 πŸ‘ 166 πŸ” 52 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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Let's be clear about who the Republican megabill helped and hurt. #CBPPSOTU

25.02.2026 02:43 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The President boasts of "no tax on tips", but this expires in 2028.
He boasts of "no tax on overtime," but it is taxed, and the break expires in 2028.
He boasts of "no tax on social security," but it is taxed, and his break expires in 2028.

He also passed tax cuts for the rich. They're permanent.

25.02.2026 02:43 πŸ‘ 6151 πŸ” 2514 πŸ’¬ 148 πŸ“Œ 79
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Contrary to Administration’s Misleading Claims, New Senior Deduction Doesn’t Help Low- and Middle-Income Seniors, Does Deplete Social Security Trust Funds The Trump Administration has been peddling false and exaggerated claims about the harmful Republican megabill’s effects on the taxation of Social Security benefits, including in a blast email from...

Fact check: the OBBBA did NOT eliminate taxes on Social Security.

In fact, it does nothing to help lower- and middle-income seniors--but it does harm Social Security's financing. #CBPPSOTU

www.cbpp.org/blog/contrar...

25.02.2026 02:44 πŸ‘ 94 πŸ” 43 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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two elderly women are standing in a living room talking ALT: two elderly women are standing in a living room talking

When home values rise that means prices have gone up. But, if you care about housing affordability, then you are screwing buyers.

You can't do both. #CBPPSOTU

25.02.2026 02:23 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump: "In one year, we have lifted 2.4 million Americans -- a record -- off of food stamps" (In other words, Republicans cut food stamps)

25.02.2026 02:24 πŸ‘ 3614 πŸ” 902 πŸ’¬ 291 πŸ“Œ 161

Flashback to last year's State of the Union: Trump falsely claimed that 10s of millions of dead people were getting Social Security.

But of course this year he won't claim victory--or even even acknowledge that wild claim--because it was false all along. #CBPPSOTU

25.02.2026 02:12 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We’ll be giving real-time commentary and analysis of tonight’s speech so be sure to follow along using #CBPPSOTU. And check back for more analysis on the President’s budget in the coming weeks.

25.02.2026 01:38 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Tonight, during the State of the Union address, we’ll hear President Trump’s priorities for the year ahead. It’s worth comparing what he says to the extreme actions his Administration took last year.

25.02.2026 01:38 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday https://theonion.com/it-only-tuesday-1819569397/

24.02.2026 20:43 πŸ‘ 6846 πŸ” 1825 πŸ’¬ 78 πŸ“Œ 107
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Tax season is here and DC Public Library wants to support you throughout that process. Thanks to a partnership with the AARP Foundation, DC and Maryland residents can meet with a trained volunteer to help prepare their income tax return. https://bit.ly/3Hfz2ja

24.02.2026 00:56 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Our snow isn’t even sticking, but completely agree

23.02.2026 14:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Huh, I just followed you back so maybe it’ll work now! Thank you!

22.02.2026 11:39 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s unconscionable to make a widow wait so long. I’d love to learn more about your experience if you’re willing (but understand if not). Please DM me if you’d like to chat.

21.02.2026 12:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This sounds awfully familiar to people familiar with the Social Security Administration…

19.02.2026 22:48 πŸ‘ 125 πŸ” 38 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0