KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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Seniors at a town hall event Wednesday at John Knox Village in Lee’s Summit told U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D - 5th District) they want the federal government to protect Social Security benefits.
“The possibility that it would be cut, of course, concerns all of us, because I think everybody in this room is on Social Security,” Ann Frank, a senior resident, said.
Fears about cuts to the program came from President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
NBC News reports the agency cut thousands of employees and reorganized several offices. The agency reduced what services recipients can access via the phone and pledged to find and reduce fraud. There have been no proposals to cut benefits.
Cleaver, said he’s heard more concerns about Social Security than any other topic.
“I’ve never seen anything remotely like this. This is a nightmare compared to whatever we’ve dealt with in the past,” Cleaver said, who represents mostly Jackson County.
Earlier in the month, Congressman Mark Alford (R - 4th District) said the changes at the structural level are about strengthening Social Security.
“There are people crying and yelling and shouting because they don't want DOGE to find the waste, abuse, and fraud because they've been taking advantage of that,” Alford said. “We've got to secure that, so that we have the benefits for those who have signed up for it and paid into the system and are truly qualified for those.”
Cleaver brought former Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley to Wednesday’s town hall. He laid out how staffing reductions will make it harder for recipients to access benefits.
“I’ve never hoped so much to be so wrong about anything as I hope I’m wrong about the interruption of benefits,” O’Malley said. “But seeing what they’ve done, I can’t be quiet."
A memo from the White House in March said “The Trump Administration will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.”
“We need Social Security," senior resident Peter Roudebush said. "We paid into it and we couldn't survive without Social Security."
The seniors said their Social Security concerns come from those staff cuts and policy changes coming to the Social Security Administration.
Experts also told NBC News it would be impossible to meet Congress’s budget plan without cutting Medicaid.
“There are too many people in this country, including children, who depend on Medicaid,” another senior said.
The Commonwealth Fund is a nonpartisan organization focused on improving access to health care. Akeiisa Coleman is the organization’s senior program officer and leads their work on Medicaid.
“It's a lifeline for working families,” Coleman said. “So covering everything from prenatal care and childhood checkups to long-term care for aging parents.”
According to their reports, Coleman said Medicaid cuts would mean a loss of over $2 billion in economic activity in Missouri in 2026, and almost $500 million in Kansas in 2026.
“I'm hoping that Social Security remains as it is so that we, as baby boomers, can continue getting the money that we've already paid into it,” one senior resident said.
KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.