November 2024: Bean Launched And Was Co-Chair Of The DOGE Caucus Alongside Rep. Pete Sessions. According to a press release from Rep. Aaron Bean, “Today, U.S. Congressmen Aaron Bean (FL-04) and Pete Sessions (TX-17) launched the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. Specifically, the caucus is committed to supporting President-Elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in its mission to dismantle the out-of-control Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” [Press Release – Rep. Aaron Bean, 11/19/24]
February 2025: Bean Introduced The “DRAIN THE SWAMP” Act That Would Require 30% Of Federal Workers To Relocate Outside The Beltway. According to a press release from Rep. Aaron Bean, “Congressional DOGE Caucus founder and co-chair U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04) today reintroduced a bill aimed at draining the swamp. The Decentralizing and Reorganizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide To Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration, and Management Practices (DRAIN THE SWAMP) Act would require nearly a third of workers to relocate outside the beltway. This legislation is the House companion to Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) legislation introduced earlier this Congress. Upon refiling, Congressman Bean said, ‘The swamp is thick and deep here in Crazy Town, and I’m here to drain it. It is time to remind Washington that our duty is to serve the American people. I’m proud to reintroduce the Drain the Swamp Act to ensure the government works for the people, not the other way around.’” [Press Release – Rep. Aaron Bean, 2/14/25]
March 2025: Bean Introduced Legislation To Codify DOGE Into Federal Law. According to a press release from Rep. Aaron Bean, “Today, founder and co-chair of the Congressional DOGE Caucus U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04) and U.S. Congressman Cory Mills (FL-07) introduced H.R. 2006, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Act. This historic legislation will cement the creation and implementation of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency into federal law. Upon introduction, Congressman Bean said: ’DOGE’s mission is to improve government efficiency and to stop the abuse of taxpayer dollars—and it’s doing just that. As co-chair of the House DOGE Caucus, I am proud to join Congressman Mills in introducing the DOGE Act to codify President Trump’s executive order into law. The American people overwhelmingly support ending waste, fraud, and abuse, and we are working to restore accountability to the American public.’” [Press Release – Rep. Aaron Bean, 3/20/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 4/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
2024: 173,286 Floridians In The 4th Congressional District Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2024, 173,286 Floridians in the 4th congressional district received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, Florida, 2024]
May 2025: Florida Food Banks Suffered After DOGE Cut Funding For Nearly $1 Billion Worth Of U.S. Department Of Agriculture Programs. According to CBS News, “The food goes to people like Rosalyn Budgett, who lives on a fixed income and comes to Feeding South Florida every two months. ‘I'm able to get a balanced meal on a daily basis,’ Budgett told CBS News. She says that without the food bank, ‘I'd probably starve.’ But the aid she relies on has been reduced. In March, the White House's Department of Government Efficiency cut funding for about $1 billion worth of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. The two federal programs that were cut allowed schools and food banks to purchase food directly from local farmers and producers. ‘We've been seeing empty racks since February,’ Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida, told CBS News. ‘These cuts have really made an impact, not just on our ability to serve, but on the families' ability to thrive in South Florida and across the country.’” [CBS News, 5/21/25]
Experts Said DOGE Cuts To FEMA And The National Weather Service Left States Like Florida Vulnerable If A Weather Disaster Hit. According to the Associated Press, “With predictions for a busy hurricane season beginning Sunday, experts in storms and disasters are worried about something potentially as chaotic as the swirling winds: Massive cuts to the federal system that forecasts, tracks and responds to hurricanes. Experts are alarmed over the large-scale staff reductions, travel and training restrictions and grant cut-offs since President Donald Trump took office at both the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which prepares for and responds to hurricanes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks and forecasts them. ‘My nightmare is a major catastrophic storm hitting an area that is reeling from the impact of all of this nonsense from the Trump administration and people will die. And that could happen in Florida, that could happen in Texas, that could happen in South Carolina,’ said Susan Cutter, the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.” [Associated Press, 5/31/25]