Help with a Federal Agency

One of the most important services my office offers is to help constituents with problems they are having with a federal agency. If you can't get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, or if you feel you have been treated unfairly, our office may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need. While we cannot guarantee you a favorable outcome, we will do our best to help you receive a fair and timely response to your problem.

My office can work with federal agencies on your behalf. This includes issues you may be having with:

• IRS
• Medicare
• Social Security
• Office of Personnel Management
• State Department
• Veterans’ Affairs
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

If you are a constituent of Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District and would like assistance with your federal agency inquiry, please submit the casework request form below. 

Please Note: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires that Members of Congress or their staff have written authorization before they can obtain information about an individual's case. We must have your signature to proceed with this type of request.

Submit your casework request online here or download the privacy release form here.

To streamline your inquiry, please be prepared to provide information such as:

• Your Social Security number for a case involving Social Security
• VA claim number for a case with Department of Veterans Affairs
• Taxpayer identification number (Social Security number, if individual) for an Internal Revenue Service problem, etc.
• Your address, home phone number and daytime phone number (if different than home) so that we can obtain any additional information from you that might be necessary
• Copies of any related documents or correspondence that you may have from the agency involved

Passport Inquiries

• For assistance, complete the above privacy release form, and include the application number, date of travel and destination.
• For passport assistance, our office must have:
  • Your date of travel,
  • Your name as it appears on the passport application,
  • The nine-digit code you received when they acknowledged your application,
  • and if you paid for expedited processing and shipping.

Receiving Social Security Benefits:

• SSA will withhold the full amount of your benefits each month unless you request a lesser withholding amount and SSA approves the request.
• Full withholding will start 30 days after SSA notifies you of the overpayment.

Receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

• SSA will generally withhold 10% of the maximum federal benefit rate each month.
• If you cannot afford this,you may ask SSA to take less from your benefit each month.
• You also have the option of paying back the overpayment at a rate greater than 10%
• SSA does not start deducting money from your SSI payments until at least 60 days after they notify you of the overpayment.
• If you no longer receive SSI but still receive Social Security benefits, you can pay back your SSI overpayment by having up to 10% of your monthly benefit withheld. 

If you aren’t receiving benefits, you should do one of the following: 

• Visit www.pay.gov and search for “Social Security” to pay by credit card, debit card, or bank account.
• Using your bank’s online bill pay feature, make a payment to “Social Security Administration.”
• Send SSA a check for the entire amount of the overpayment within 30 days.
• Contact SSA to set up a plan to pay back the amount in monthly installments.

If you are not receiving benefits or become delinquent in your repayment agreement, we can recover the overpayment from your federal income tax refund or from your wages if you’re working. Be aware that we’ll also report the delinquency to credit bureaus. We can also recover overpayments from future Social Security benefits or SSI payments. For more information about your repayment options, visit ssa.gov/overpayments. 

Appeal Process

• If you do not agree that you have been overpaid, or believe the overpayment amount is incorrect, you can appeal by filing form SSA-561 (online or calling SSA).
• The appeal must be in writing and explains why you think you have not been overpaid or why you think the amount is incorrect.
• You have 60 days from the date they receive the original overpayment notice to file an appeal.
• If you believe you should not have to pay the money back, you can request that SSA waive collection of the overpayment by submitting form SSA-632 (online or calling SSA).
• There is no time limit for filing a waiver as long as a you prove that both:
  • The overpayment was not your fault.
  • Paying it back would cause you financial hardship or would be unfair for some other reason.
• Collections will be stopped of the overpayment until SSA makes a decision on your request for an appeal or waiver. 

For additional information and support, visit www.ssa.gov or call the SSA toll-free line at 1-800-772-1213.

For additional questions, please contact the District Office closest to you.