WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, proudly introduced Marylander Carolyn Watts Colvin today to his committee colleagues at her hearing to be the next Social Security Administrator. Colvin has been serving as Acting SSA Commissioner since February 2013. The Social Security Administration is headquartered in Woodlawn, Maryland.

“Carolyn Colvin is dedicated to public service and committed to bettering the lives of others. As Acting Commissioner, she has brought the integrity needed to ensure that beneficiaries, applicants, and the SSA workforce are treated fairly, and that benefits are administered according to the law. I am proud to call her a friend and to introduce her for her confirmation to this critically important position.

“Colvin’s tenure at Social Security actually began in August 1963, when she was hired as a clerk stenographer at the agency. She held a series of clerical jobs while working her way through college at Morgan State, eventually earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business Administration. She returned to SSA from 1994 until 2001 as Deputy Commissioner, first of Policy and External Affairs, then of Policy and Programs, and finally of Operations. The Maryland Delegation is quite proud of her service as Director of Field Operations for my predecessor, Senator Paul Sarbanes. She knows her way around the Social Security Administration and we know her well.    

“Colvin has also made her mark in state and local government, including serving as Maryland’s Secretary of Human Resources, Special Assistant to the Maryland Secretary of Transportation, and Deputy Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department.  She has experience in the private sector as well. 

“Colvin has vast executive management experience and a steely resolve to complete successfully whatever mission she is assigned. Whether it is the budget challenges facing Social Security, modernizing the disability claims system, or restoring a constructive, positive relationship between labor and management at SSA, there is one thing I know:  Carolyn Colvin has never shied away from a challenge.  For those reasons, I believe the President has made a wise choice in nominating Acting Director Colvin to take the helm as the next Commissioner of Social Security. 

“This is a job of enormous responsibility. Carolyn Colvin is an extraordinary person and I know she will give it her best.”

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