[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 208 (Monday, December 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6018-S6020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Martin O'Malley

  Madam President, in a few minutes, the Senate is going to vote on the 
nomination of Martin O'Malley to be the Commissioner of the Social 
Security Administration.

[[Page S6019]]

  As the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, I led, with several of 
my colleagues here, consideration of Martin O'Malley's candidacy for 
this position. I want to recommend him to the U.S. Senate in the 
strongest possible terms.
  Now, Americans may see the title of Social Security Commissioner and 
ask: What in the world does that person do? I worked hard--that typical 
working-class person will say--to earn my Social Security. Now, I am 
looking forward to getting it. So what else is there to do?
  Well, the job of the Social Security Commissioner is pretty important 
because the job is to do right by the more than 60 million Americans 
who count on Social Security every month.
  And those 60 million Americans, who are counting on those benefits, 
have, within their group, millions who are walking an economic 
tightrope every month. They balance the food bill against the fuel bill 
and the fuel bill against the rent bill.
  The average amount for Social Security retirement benefits is $1,847. 
And often in our house, we would ask: Who is counting? I am telling 
you, those folks I just described are, because $1,847 is less than the 
median monthly rent nationwide.
  What this means is, no matter who you are, what job you did for a 
living, you earned benefits. And you want to make sure that the 
Commissioner, working closely with their colleagues, delivers them on 
time, accurately, and with speedy customer service to resolve any 
errors. My colleagues on the Finance Committee know from our hearings, 
that, unfortunately, this has not always been the case. There have been 
way too many instances of overpayments and clawbacks, customer service 
shortfalls, technology woes, other problems that make it harder for 
Americans to get their earned benefits.

  Throughout his nomination process, Martin O'Malley has made it clear 
that his No. 1 priority--his priority above all else--will be improving 
customer service. We asked him repeatedly how he views this position 
and he gave the same answer each time: This position is not about 
politics; it is about service. Martin O'Malley made it clear that he 
would focus on modernization and improving transparency, just as he did 
in his previous position helping Marylanders get the services they 
count on.
  I believe and I say to the Senate--and we have Senator Cardin here 
who has known the nominee for decades--that Martin O'Malley understands 
that there is no Republican or no Democratic way to make sure that we 
deal with overpayments. We have to get this fixed, and the Senate 
Finance Committee will work with the Social Security Commissioner to 
get it done. I talked with Senator Crapo, the ranking member, about it 
and we are going to insist that Martin O'Malley, who I believe will be 
confirmed, brief us every month--every single month--until overpayments 
are fixed. We heard from Senator Cardin and Senator Mikulski, our 
former colleague, that this kind of accountability is in Martin 
O'Malley's DNA.
  Martin O'Malley's leadership is going to be needed in the days ahead. 
All those Americans who paid into Social Security want to know without 
any ifs, ands, or buts that these issues of clawbacks and delayed 
services are going to be fixed.
  If you get a letter from Social Security--as the Finance Committee 
has heard about in our Committee hearings--saying you owe tens of 
thousands of dollars through no fault of your own, that is life-
altering and it is wrong. Those mistaken overpayments can be the 
difference between paying for groceries, having electricity during a 
cold winter, and paying for essentials. And we have to get this fixed.
  As I made clear at the Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan vote 
supporting Martin O'Malley, having had the honor to serve on this 
committee for a number of years like my colleagues, this program, which 
is as important as any for millions of Americans, deserves to be one 
that delivers to the American people without the problems with service 
and clawbacks and delays that we were told about in our hearings.
  I believe Martin O'Malley will deliver that. I believe he is the 
right person for the job at the right time. We are going to vote in 
about 10 minutes. I urge all my colleagues to support him as well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I would like to be recognized for maybe 
5 minutes to speak on behalf of the nomination of former Governor 
Martin O'Malley. Senator Cardin and others have known Martin for a long 
time; I have as well.
  I think I met him when he was 18. He was part of an Irish folk group 
that was performing not just around Maryland or around Baltimore but as 
far away as Delaware--great places where people would come for great 
music, Irish music, and maybe a drink or two. Martin, I think, was too 
young to get in as a customer, but he could come in, apparently, as a 
part of a troupe and provide entertainment.
  I knew at that time he was a future Commissioner for Social 
Security--not really.
  Seriously, what I did know was he does pretty good harmony. In the 
jobs he has had since then, he has demonstrated that again and again. 
He and I both served as Governors of respective States part of 
Delmarva. We were not Governors at the same time, but very close 
together. He provided great leadership for our neighboring State of 
Maryland as Governor for many years, and I was pleased to be not just 
his colleague but just a friend.
  The day I was sworn into the House of Representatives a million years 
ago in 1983, we were told as freshmen at our orientation that Social 
Security was running out of money and if somebody didn't do something 
about it, eventually, there would be a haircut, benefits would be 
reduced. And, ultimately, if we didn't take some strong action, there 
would be a lot more than a haircut and we might even see those benefits 
go away.
  With strong bipartisan leadership from our President Ronald Reagan 
and strong bipartisan leadership from the House Speaker with whom 
Senator Wyden and I served, Tip O'Neill, we worked together to enact to 
reform--a whole host of reforms, as you recall--that ended up saving 
the Social Security Trust Fund.

  Today, the Social Security Administration programs are an important 
safety net that provide financial support for not just a couple of 
million people but tens of millions of people in this country--mostly 
people in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, but also 
people who are disabled and not able to work, and in some cases, 
children lose a parent in a tough situation.
  I have known Martin forever and respect him in his leadership, not 
only as a Governor but also as mayor of Baltimore and other State and 
local jurisdictions. I think they make him exceptionally well-suited to 
lead the administration in its efforts. As a Governor, you get to be 
involved with a lot of retirement issues, a lot of pension issues for 
not just the State employees in Delaware but with county and local 
folks, educators, all kinds of people. In the State of Delaware, you 
have to be conversant with health insurance benefits for people with 
wide ranges of ages and needs. When you are Governor, you are trained 
on the job. He has had excellent experience to help him prepare him for 
this responsibility.
  The other thing I want to mention is it is an interesting lineup of 
organizations that have endorsed him and are supporting his nomination. 
Some we would expect, but others come as sort of a surprise. This is 
part of a large group. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is 
among them. Social Security Works is among them. The National Committee 
to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is among them. But the list 
goes on and on and on.
  So from one recovering Governor--that is me--to another--that is 
Martin--I want to thank Governor O'Malley for really extraordinary 
service to our country and for doing it in a way that doesn't rub 
people the wrong way--it doesn't create animosity--but in a way that 
really fosters harmony, the kind of harmony his singing group used to 
excel at all those years ago.
  He will do a great job. He will make us proud. I know from my 
colleagues in Maryland and others who served with him as Governor and 
other capacities, we have already seen him in action, and we would be 
hard-pressed to do better than Martin O'Malley.

[[Page S6020]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I had a chance a little bit earlier this 
evening to talk about Governor O'Malley. I just really want to 
compliment Senators Wyden and Carper for their comments.
  I really want to underscore this one point about Governor O'Malley. 
There are a lot of things we can really harp upon, but he is going to 
have two people in mind as the administrator of Social Security 
Administration. One will be that individual who depends upon the 
benefits, receiving those benefits that they are eligible for in a 
timely way through determinations and receiving their checks on time 
and getting the customer information they need in regard to these 
benefits. That is called consumer service; that is called serving the 
public. He is going to be laser-focused to make sure they don't have to 
wait on a call line for minutes--tens of minutes, as it is today--but 
that it can be done in a timely way; that determinations can be made in 
a timely way; and that checks are received.
  But the second group he will be equally focused on is the workforce 
of the Social Security Administration. They have been asked to do more 
with less over time. Governor O'Malley knows how to bring out the 
strength of the workforce, supporting the workforce in their mission, 
rewarding the good service that they perform.
  So I think we are going to have a leader at the Social Security 
Administration who will understand the responsibilities to the 
recipients as well as those performing a public service on behalf of 
the Social Security Administration.
  I am excited about his willingness to take on this responsibility. I 
have seen him take on incredible challenges from being a mayor of 
Baltimore and dealing with the challenges we have in our urban centers 
to taking on the responsibilities of a Governor and having to deal with 
188 state legislators. That is not an easy task.
  He will find this challenge one he is ready for, and I am very 
excited about the fact we are about ready to vote for his nomination.
  I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the 5:30 time for 
voting, the vote begin immediately.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.