Some of you may not know that on July 1st the SS Administration is increasing its fees for obtaining SS applications, going from $7 to $27. May I suggest that people interested in this matter write to Larry G. Massanari, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, and tell him that they are opposed to the increase in the cost of obtaining copies of SS applications. Here's his address: Larry G. Massanari Acting Commissioner of Social Security Social Security Administration Headquarters 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235-0001 800-772-1213 May I also suggest that they write to their U.S. Congressional Representatives. Here's how to find their contact info: U.S. Senate: <<http://www.loc.gov/global/legislative/senators.html>> U.S. House: <<http://www.loc.gov/global/legislative/house.html>> Because many politicians seem to be out of touch with the average taxpayer, I intend to emphasize the jump in cost from $7 to $27 --- 400%!!! I will do this by mail, sending them a print-out of this page <<http://www.ssa.gov/foia/foia_guide.htm>>, using a highlighting pen to draw attention to the new fees. Who knows if it will do any good? But I just can't let this pass without telling my elected representatives how I feel about our government finding yet another way to gouge American taxpayers. Here are four (of many) reasons why: 1. People were/are required by law to make these applications. They had/have no choice in the matter. 2. People paid/pay vast sums of money into SS for their entire working lives. The government now has a *nerve* to charge exorbitant fees for what amounts to public records that have already been paid for many millions of times over. 3. Many, if not most, of the people doing genealogical research happen to be SS recipients themselves. They can't afford to pay $27 for each search. This could seriously curtail their ability to use their time in this productive endeavor, which is so beneficial to our society as a whole. 4. These records are supposed to be readily available to the public. Aside from lack of imagination and will, there's no reason why the SS Administration couldn't make these documents available over the Internet for free, as has been done with the Ellis Island passenger manifests. One of the reasons the current cost of providing these records is so high is because the SS Administration insists on using outdated technology --- hard copies by mail. I plan to post this message to all the genealogy sites I can find. And I give permission to anyone who reads this message to forward it to their friends, family, and favorite genealogy sites as well. Perhaps if people can demonstrate a ground swell of opposition to this increase, by flooding these people with letters, the SSA will reconsider the amount of the increase. It's probably true that $7 is too low to cover the costs. That being the case, most people probably would not object to a $12 or $14 charge. But 400%??? Really!!! This is outrageous!!!