Congressman Cleaver Hosts Former Governor and Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley for Community Conversation with Local Seniors
(Kansas City, MO) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) hosted former Maryland Governor and Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley for a conversation with local seniors at John Knox Village. The discussion focused on key issues facing seniors under the Trump administration, like threats to Social Security and veteran’s benefits, as well as potential cuts to vital programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Social Security provides benefits to nearly 70 million Americans, including nearly 50 million seniors – and lifts more than 15 million seniors out of poverty each year.
“Today’s conversation with former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley and local seniors underscored the real-world consequences that come with the Trump administration’s push to dismantle the social safety net,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Whether it is backdoor cuts to Social Security by firing essential workers and ending critical services at the Social Security Administration, or the broader Congressional Republican agenda to gut pivotal programs like Medicaid and SNAP, we’re witnessing an unprecedented assault on programs that Americans have paid into and rely upon. The so-called ‘efficiency’ measures, led by an unelected and unaccountable billionaire in Elon Musk, in reality, are thinly veiled attempts to erode the foundational promises made to our seniors – and I stand committed to defending these essential programs against any ongoing efforts to undermine them.”
“I was honored to join Congressman Cleaver and hear the concerns of his fellow Missourians as he works tirelessly to protect their earned benefits,” said Former Maryland Governor and Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley. “Americans of every background are rising up to say ‘hands off’ our earned benefits, and with fighters like Congressman Cleaver, I know their voices will be heard.”
Trump, DOGE, and Congressional Republicans put Social Security at risk by:
- Attacking Social Security programs with repeated false claims of mass fraud, providing a pretext for actions that could undermine access to benefits
- Making deep cuts to frontline staff and SSA field offices while adding new restrictions to phone-based services that will result in millions more in-person visits to a field office
- Jeopardizing system reliability and benefit delivery by pushing sudden, substantial policy and procedure changes alongside a massive loss of technical expertise
- Threatening data security by providing untrained DOGE political appointees unprecedented access to sensitive SSA data
From proposals to cut Social Security and raise the retirement age, to efforts that would weaken Medicare and Medicaid through privatization and budget restrictions, the safety net our seniors rely on is under threat.
In Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, there are 141,832 Social Security recipients who receive $252 million in monthly benefits, including:
- 103,730 retirees
- 19,488 disabled workers
- 9,377 children
- 7,121 widows
- 2,116 spouses
Photos from the event can be found here.
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.