Page 3 - qt edition #16 April 17, 2025

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025 THE QUEENS TIMES PAGE 3

Gillibrand Presses Social Security Commissioner On New York Soldier Accounted For

Benefit Portal Malfunctions, Planned Firings Of From WWII
SSA Tech Workers Following the war, American
Graves Registration Service
Lawmakers Send Letter Amidst receiving payments” and losing The senators asked Dudek (AGRS) personnel exhumed those
Widespread Website Outages, access to their account histories. to provide clarity on the impact buried at the Cabanatuan cem-
Benefit Disruptions “It is unsurprising that weeks of cuts to OCIO, the so-called etery and relocated the remains
after you allowed DOGE to invade Department of Government Ef- to a temporary U.S. military
Senate Special Committee on SSA, improperly access SSA data, ficiency’s (DOGE) role in the mausoleum near Manila. In 1947,
Aging Ranking Member Kirsten and announce closures of Social firings, and the acting commis- the AGRS examined the remains
Gillibrand wrote to Acting Social Security offices, our constituents sioner’s plan to ensure technical in an attempt to identify them.
Security Commissioner Leland began having problems accessing knowledge of internal systems is Two of the sets of remains from
Dudek to demand that the Social their benefits…We are concerned not lost during workforce reduc- Common Grave 704 were identi-
Security Administration (SSA) that these recurring issues will tions. fied, while the remaining eight
address ongoing issues with the impact the benefits of our con- The letter is the latest in a series were declared unidentifiable. The
SSA website and reverse its re- stituents—many of whom rely of actions by Senator Gillibrand to unidentified remains were buried
ported plans to worsen the situa- on Social Security to pay rent or protect Social Security from the at the Manila American Cem-
tion by firing up to 50 percent of put food on the table,” wrote the Trump administration’s efforts etery and Memorial (MACM) as
employees from the Office of the lawmakers. to cut the program. Last week, Unknowns.
Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The cuts to the agency also expose Senator Gillibrand led a letter In 2018, as part of the Caba-
Gillibrand was joined on the let- SSA to system vulnerabilities, with Senator Ron Wyden call- natuan Project, DPAA exhumed
ter by Senate Banking Ranking risking Americans’ data to hack- ing on the Trump administration the remains associated with Com-
Member Elizabeth Warren and ers and foreign agents seeking to and DOGE to stop their attacks mon Grave 704 and sent them to
Senate Finance Ranking Member obtain private information. In ad- on Social Security, specifically the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
Ron Wyden. dition to the dozens of senior SSA calling out SSA’s staffing cuts, To identify Hennessey’s re-
OCIO is responsible for main- officials with centuries’ worth of plans for indiscriminate closures Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise mains, scientists from DPAA
taining the agency’s benefit claims experience who have resigned or of field offices around the nation, Soldier Accounted For From used dental and anthropological
processing systems, managing retired, SSA’s entire cybersecurity and attempts to limit phone ser- World War II analysis, as well as circumstantial
SSA.gov and SSA’s online benefits leadership was also part of the vices. Earlier this year, Gillibrand evidence. Additionally, scientists
portal, and protecting Social Secu- exodus. also demanded answers from the The Defense POW/MIA Ac- from the Armed Forces Medical
rity recipients’ sensitive informa- “Leaving Americans’ most administration about its plans to counting Agency announced to- Examiner System used mitochon-
tion. In February, the agency an- sensitive information unguarded close the Social Security office in day that U.S. Army Pvt. Harland drial DNA and mitochondrial
nounced plans to reduce its work- places immeasurable financial White Plains, NY; slammed the J. Hennessey, 24, of Boonville, genome sequence analysis.
force by over 12 percent. Hundreds and economic harm on our most Trump administration for its ef- New York, who was captured and Although interred as an Un-
more staff firings will happen at vulnerable…We ask that you im- forts to “buy out” SSA employees; died as a prisoner of war during known in MACM, Hennessey’s
OCIO, which has been directed mediately cease all OCIO firings and joined elected officials in New World War II, was accounted for grave was meticulously cared
to cut half of its staff. These cuts and act swiftly to restore SSA York to call on the administration Sept. 23, 2024. for over the past 70 years by the
are expected to worsen the ongo- system and website functionality to stop its repeated efforts to cut Hennessey’s family recently American Battle Monuments
ing issues with SSA’s website and to prevent any further disruption Social Security. received their full briefing on his Commission (ABMC). Today,
online portals, including recipients of…benefits,” concluded the law- The full text of the letter can be identification, therefore, addi- Hennessey is memorialized on
being incorrectly labeled as “not makers. found here. tional details on his identification the Walls of the Missing at the
can be shared. Manila American Cemetery and
QBP Richards On Agreement Allowing Forest Hills In summer 1942, Hennessey Memorial in the Philippines. A
rosette will be placed next to his
was a member of the 803rd En-
Stadium Concert Series To Continue As Planned gineer Battalion, Aviation, when name to indicate he has been ac-
Japanese forces invaded the Phil- counted for.
Queens Borough President for this year’s concert series. gether, negotiating in good faith ippine Islands in December. In- Hennessey will be buried in
Donovan Richards Jr. stated the “Forest Hills Stadium is a cul- and crafting an agreement that tense fighting continued until the Boonville, New York, in July
following in response to an agree- tural crown jewel of our borough, will benefit everyone in Central surrender of the Bataan peninsula 2025.
ment being reached today between bringing diverse crowds from all Queens and beyond.” on April 9, 1942, and of Corregi- For family and funeral infor-
Tiebreaker Productions, the West over the world to Queens every A staunch supporter of For- dor Island on May 6, 1942. mation, contact the Army Casu-
Side Tennis Club, the NYPD and summer through the unifying est Hills Stadium — which was Thousands of U.S. and Filipino alty Office at (800) 892-2490.
the Forest Hills Gardens Corpo- power of music. This historic named the best amphitheater service members were captured DPAA is grateful to the ABMC
ration to allow this year’s Forest venue is emblematic of all that on the East Coast by Billboard and interned at POW camps. and the United States Army for
Hills Stadium concert series to makes Queens great, and I’m earlier this year — Borough Hennessey was among those re- their partnership in this mission.
continue as planned. thrilled to say we’ve struck a President Richards has repeatedly ported captured when U.S. forces For additional information on the
As part of the deal — brokered deal to ensure the shows will partnered with and applauded the in Bataan surrendered to the Defense Department’s mission to
through Borough President Rich- go on in 2025 as planned,” said stadium’s promoters regarding Japanese. They were subjected to account for Americans who went
ards’ leadership — Tiebreaker Borough President RICHARDS. efforts like soundproofing the the 65-mile Bataan Death March missing while serving their coun-
Productions agreed to utilize “Beyond its cultural impact, the historic venue and examining and then held at the Cabanatuan try, visit the DPAA website at
private security teams to monitor annual concert series is a boost to the number of concerts it hosts. POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 www.dpaa.mil or on social media
conditions on the privately-owned Forest Hills’ economy, uplifting Two weeks ago, Borough Presi- POWs perished in this camp dur- at www.facebook.com/dodpaa,
streets surrounding Forest Hills small businesses and creating dent Richards issued a letter to ing the war. https://www.linkedin.com/com-
Stadium. Following a review of hundreds of jobs at the stadium in Mayor Adams, calling on his According to prison camp and pany/dodpaa, https://www.instagr
Tiebreaker Productions’ plans, the the process. I’m grateful to Mayor administration to do all it can to other historical records, Hen- am.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.
NYPD agreed to issue the sound Adams, Deputy Mayor Mastro ensure the 2025 series continues nessey died Nov. 1, 1942, and was com/dodpaa.
amplification permits necessary and all involved for coming to- uninterrupted. buried along with other deceased Hennessey’ personnel profile
prisoners in the local Cabanatuan can be viewed at https://dpaa- mil.
Congress Bill Spotlight: Smithsonian Camp Cemetery in Common sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id
=a0Jt0000000ccRwEAI.
Grave 704.
Italian American Museum CUNY Appoints Veteran CUNY

(Continued from page 2) Republicans, publicly argued The current bill has attracted 40 Educator Claudia Schrader as Eighth
their case on fiscal rather than bipartisan cosponsors: 32 Demo- President of York College
so votes on those individual provi- racial grounds. For years prior, crats and eight Republicans. It
sions weren’t taken. though, former Sen. Jesse Helms awaits a potential vote in either the ship and Faculty Posts on Four
In 2001, the African American (R-NC)—a former segregation- House Administration or Natural Campuses Including Five Years
History and Culture Museum ist—had blocked the museum for Resources Committee. as President of Kingsborough
commission was enacted by voice racial reasons. Even if this commission gets Community College
vote in the House and unanimous Odds of Passage: Rep. Suozzi enacted, though, things could take
consent in the Senate. In 2003, a previously introduced his Italian a while. The African American The City University of New
vote to greenlight the actual mu- American bill in 2024. It attracted History and Culture Museum York has appointed Claudia V.
seum itself was again enacted by nine bipartisan cosponsors, seven established a commission in 2001, Schrader as president of York Col-
unanimous consent in the Senate Democrats and two Republicans, Congress approved the museum in lege, making permanent the post
and a 409-9 House vote. but never received a committee 2003, but the building itself didn’t she has held on an interim basis
The House dissenters, all vote. open until 2016. since January 2024. A veteran
CUNY educator, Schrader has
brought energetic and innovative
Read Our Paper Online Visit Our Website Makes Permanent the Interim leadership to four of its campuses
QueensTimes.com Post She Has Held Since Janu- during her two-decade career with
ary 2024
Schrader Has Served in Leader- (Continued on page 4)