No matter on what side of the political aisle you reside, here’s a bit of good news that should set well for all older Victorians:The Social Security Administration officeat 8208 NE Zac Lentz Parkway will not be closing its doors.
The Victoria Advocatelearned that piece of information this week through an email that was sent to Congressman Michael Cloud’s office by Texas Regional Communications Director Sarah Schultz-Lackey of the Social Security Administration who said, and I quote, “We do not have any plans to close the Victoria office.”
Last month,The Advocatepublished a storythat revealed the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE as it is so infamously known, announced the Victoria Social Security Administration office’s lease could potentially be terminated in the name of federal budget cuts and savings. Through local scuttlebutt and a rumor mill, many believed the office would officially cease to exist on May 25.
We weren’t so sure about this.
We continued to make inquiries and monitor this story until we were able to get confirmation from the Texas Social Security branch in Dallas and Congressman Cloud. That happened late Tuesday when we received the email from Congressman Cloud’s office.
Our headline in our March story read:“Will DOGE close Victoria’s Social Security office?”We knew that was a safe way to phrase it considering a decision had yet to be made.
Some of the other headlines I ran across concerning this in early March, however, read:
• “Victoria Social Security office to be shut down”
• “Social Security administration office in Victoria part of DOGE cuts”
• “DOGE to close two social security administration offices”
• “DOGE to close at least 26 social security offices this year. 2 Texas locations on the list.”
There were many, many more.
All of that aside, let’s focus on the good that comes from this. The fact the Victoria office will not be shutting down should be great news to everyone who either is receiving social security benefits or is approaching that age where they will begin to draw social security.
Shutting down the Victoria office would have been detrimental to many Victorians and other older citizens in the Crossroads. It’s understood that a lot of situations can be resolved simply by going online, and an office visit in many cases isn’t necessary.
But had the Victoria office been closed, it would have meant some social security recipients would have been forced to drive all the way to Corpus Christi, which is an 85-mile trip estimated at nearly an hour and a half. That’s the closest venue.
San Antonio would be another option at 117 miles or an estimated 2 hours and 11 minutes. Houston would make for a 2 ½-hour trip or 128 miles. In addition, it’s most likely that appointments would have to be made weeks in advance and then, knowing government agencies, the wait once you arrive would most likely be lengthy despite any appointment you might have made.
Some citizens I spoke with at the “Hands Off” rally in Victoria last Saturday were not armed with this information, but expressed their legitimate concerns about the possible office closing:
“If they were to close that facility, it would hurt a lot of people here in Victoria. Closing that facility would mean they would have to travel all the way to Corpus Christi or to San Antonio or Houston just to visit the Social Security office. We’re talking about elderly people having to make trips of up to two hours and back and that’s just not right,” Victorian William Gayle said.
“We had heard that the social security office here in Victoria is closing down May 25. Some people believe it and some people don’t believe it. You can call it an inconvenience, but it would really be a tragedy if they would shut this office down. It would require a lot of elderly people here in Victoria to drive a long distance, and they’re not going to be able to do that. Many of them can’t get online and do what they need to do. They’ll have to get family members to drive them or get online for them,” Victorian Rebecca Bootzin said.
Understood and noted. I wouldn’t want any of my relatives to have to deal with such a dilemma, nor would I ever wish to be faced with it. Let’s just say we should count our blessings that this office will remain open.
The future remains uncertain for all of us, but this is one piece of good news we can all rejoice in.
Shawn A. Akers is the managing editor of The Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at sakers@vicad.com.
