WASHINGTON, D.C.—During his first year in Congress, Rep. Greg Stanton’s office returned $1,662,940 in federal benefits owed to residents of Arizona’s ninth congressional district. That figure was the third highest among all freshman democrats according to data collected by Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lujan.
“Providing exceptional service to our residents and delivering real results is our goal—always,” said Stanton. “It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to help people navigate federal agencies and get to a solution, especially when the outcome is money they are rightfully owed. When we talk about getting our government working better for people, this is what it looks like.”
Already in the first full week of this year, Stanton’s team helped recover an additional $249,680 back to residents—an early sign that they could outpace last year’s high figure.
Stanton’s casework team had a busy 2019, working with more than 200 constituents on a wide range of issues, from immigration status to veterans benefits to Social Security payments. Helping residents receive their Social Security payments is one of the most common types of cases Stanton’s office handles.
One such case over the summer was Ms. Jacobs from Phoenix. Jacobs hadn’t received her monthly Social Security benefits since 2016 and wasn’t getting through to the agency for help. Stanton’s constituent services team contacted the Social Security Administration to request a review of Jacobs’ pending back pay and a timeline for when she could expect to receive payments—and asked that her case be expedited.
By July, Jacobs was awarded a back-pay lump sum of $53,458 and starting that month, she began receiving a monthly benefit of $2,145—critical income owed to her that prevented her from losing her apartment.
Also according to Assistant Speaker Lujan’s report, Stanton’s office ranked second among the freshman members for responding to the most constituents by phone, mail and email. Stanton and his team produced 85,358 responses last year.
For residents who aren’t getting the information they need from a federal agency, or feel they have been treated unfairly, Stanton’s office is available to help.
Online: https://stanton.house.gov/services/help-federal-agency
Phone: (602) 956-246