Inside of Gainesville’s Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) building on Monday, people could be seen bustling in and out to get benefits, new cards, and other services.
The looming question facing the office is if the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will shut its operations down and force senior citizens and others seeking service to go to offices farther away.
One lady walking out told AccessWDUN that she had heard of the closure and called it “a bummer.”
An elderly man waiting for service said he had not heard of what DOGE is planning to do but said he hopes it is “not immediate.”
Republican State Senator for District 49 Drew Echols said he heard about the closure along with everyone else.
“Not 100-percent sure what that means as far as timeline,” Echols said. “We’re in contact with Congressman [Andrew] Clyde’s office and gonna be reaching out to a senator’s office and see if we can nail down some details on that.”
DOGE’s website lists that closing the Gainesville location could save roughly $1.7-million although it lists the annual lease cost at $506,527.
The closure was listed under the “Wall of Receipts” section under real estate.
“We’ll let the federal government do what they gotta do, but I really don’t want to inconvenience folks in the 49th at all,” Echols said. “We need an office. It may not have to be in that particular location, but we need an office in our part of the world.”
Four other locations may be getting shut down in the state including Columbus, Vidalia, Brunswick, and Thomasville according to DOGE.
The closest SSA offices in the northeast Georgia area are as follows:
- Athens - 1650 Prince Ave., Athens
- Gwinnett - 4365 Shackleford Rd., Norcross
- Toccoa - 155 Big A Rd., Toccoa
- Winder - 389 E. Broad St., Winder
The closest to the Gainesville location is the Winder location, which is roughly 28 miles away.
Democrat Congressman Hank Johnson for Georgia’s 4th District held a pop-up rally on Saturday at an SSA office in DeKalb County according to WSB-TV.
