Hearing Wrap Up: Backlogs, Delays, and Poor Customer Service Stemming from Pandemic-Era Policies Continue to Affect Americans

WASHINGTON—The Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce held a hearing titled, “Please Leave Your Message at the Tone: Addressing Post-Pandemic Backlogs and Delays at Federal Agencies.” Subcommittee members discussed with witnesses from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), and the U.S. Department of State how disruptions in service due to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to negatively affect American citizens to this day. Subcommittee members also examined how these federal agencies are addressing the backlogs that are harming service to American citizens and ensuring it does not happen again.

Key Takeaways:

Backlogs and poor customer service at federal agencies have created headaches and hardships for Americans trying to attain passports, veterans requesting personnel records necessary for benefits, and U.S. citizens simply trying to speak with agency representatives regarding their social security benefits.

• Rena Bitter— Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs at U.S. Department of State—spoke on the measures that her agency has resorted to due to the size and scope of the backlogs: “We have surge teams in place across the department of volunteers. We’ve called back retirees.”
• The State Department is currently receiving about 500,000 passport applications per week, roughly 30-40 percent over 2022. State issued 22 million passports in 2022 and is on pace to increase that by 18 percent for 2023, suggesting no end to the heightened wait times.
• During the pandemic, SSA’s 1-800 customer service line experienced a surge in demand as in-person service was unavailable. The increased network demand has not dissipated post-pandemic, and SSA’s current telephone service platform struggles to keep up.

Several issues led to backlogs. Federal workers were kept out of their workplaces and in-person services were halted for extended periods of time. Information technology was also inadequate to allow for normalized operations during the pandemic. In other cases, agencies were unprepared for the surge in demand once the pandemic ended.

• At the onset of COVID, NPRC restricted access to its facilities. From March 23, 2020, to February 28, 2022, the percentage of employees allowed on-site ranged from eight percent to 45 percent. This left NPRC unable to keep up with incoming requests.
• Scott Levins—Director of the National Personnel Records Center—admitted that a return to in-person work has been a remedy in clearing the backlog plaguing the agency: “The biggest difference in our ability to get our backlog down has been returning people to work.”

Both Republicans and Democrats urged federal agencies to take action to address delays, backlogs, and poor customer service.

• Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) spoke on the struggles her constituents have had with Social Security: “When it comes to Social Security, I actually agree with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Folks who are on Social Security, obviously many of them are elders…and when they call the regional offices or they call the 800 number, they get a run around by an employee who is not physically in the office. It means that they are not going to be able to get their check. We do need those offices reopened; we do need more staff physically in person.”
• Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) spoke on the frustration his constituents have had in attaining passport services: “When they’re on hold for three hours, I hate to say it, but those words are very hollow I guess I should say. When I get an angry constituent, and I can tell you it happens a lot…I can generally tell in the tone of their voice if it’s going to be a question dealing with something like this…it’s very troubling to me that this just keeps happening.”

Member Highlights:

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) emphasized that federal workers need to return to the office and help clear the backlogs crippling service to the American people.

Rep. Palmer: “We have some information that indicates that a fairly substantial percentage of federal employees have not returned to the office and that’s part of what I’m trying to find out.”

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) highlighted how prolonged remote work has harmed federal agencies’ customer service.

Rep. Donalds: “Was your office fully open in 2021?”

Deputy Commissioner Poist: “They were not fully open in 2021.”

Rep. Donalds: “Were they fully open in 2022?”

Deputy Commissioner Poist: “We had our entire workforce back in 2022.”

Rep. Donalds: “So it took a year and half for everyone to come back?”

Deputy Commissioner Poist: “That is correct.”

Rep. Donalds: “And there’s no problem with that delay in people coming back to work?”

Deputy Commissioner Poist: “I don’t see a problem.”

Rep. Donalds: “That’s the problem Mr. Poist, is that you don’t see a problem. But I can tell you right now the American people see a big problem with that.”

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) discussed lengthy passport processing times which is harming Americans’ travel plans.

Assistant Secretary Bitter: “We are experiencing unprecedented demand, last year we issued 22 million passport books and cards which was the most ever. This year we are on track to do 15% above that.”

Rep. Edwards: “Should we have anticipated the pent up demand which appears to me what we are experiencing after COVID, now folks are traveling and trying to make up for lost trips?”

Assistant Secretary Bitter: “What we have been doing is continuing to aggressively hire passport adjudicators…coming out of the pandemic we were 25% of the level from four years before. So we have been working very hard to rehire people and hire as much staff as possible.”

Rep. Edwards: “Today, how many positions are not filled to deal with passports that are funded?”

Assistant Secretary Bitter: “I think we have about a 10% vacancy rate.”

CLICK HERE to watch the hearing.