Last week, the Ironton City Council voted to approve a resolution in support of the Social Security Administration Accountability Act of 2014, H.R. 3997 and the Seniors Access to Social Security Act of 2014, H.R. 4964.

Endorsing this measure was the right decision, as Lawrence County residents only have one option — that being in Ironton — within the county for SSA-related needs unless they travel to West Virginia or Kentucky offices.

H.R. 3997 would disallow the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to close or combine offices without submitting a request and justification at least 180 days prior to legislators.

It is important for our government and agencies to operate efficiently, and one of the aspects that promote this are proper policies and protocols.

The decision and ability to close and consolidate offices of the SSA should not fall to one person, and H.R. 3997 provides that protection.

If the office in Lawrence County were to be closed, this would have a large effect on both our residents but those who work in the office as well.

We feel that if an office is running inefficiently, we agree that restructuring, consolidating, or closing an office makes sense. However, this should not happen without following a protocol and ensuring all necessary information has been gathered to make the decision.

Ultimately, using common sense in these types of issues is all someone needs although that doesn’t seem to be the case with some legislators in Congress today.