Whether increased Social Security funding is needed was the focus of discussion at a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Suggestions of cutting Social Security funding and benefits are “outlandish,” Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), the committee’s chair, said in a press release.

“Let me be clear — I will never support cuts to Social Security,” he said. “Social Security is a lifeline for Americans of all walks of life. We have made a promise to deliver benefits to Americans, and I will not go back on that promise.”

In prepared remarks, Casey said that the agency is “drastically underfunded,” a state that is “creating some real challenges for the agency: from increased wait times for service and approval for disability benefits to overpayments and underpayments.”

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), the committee’s ranking member, however, countered that the issue is “basic customer service,” not funding.

“We can’t fix a customer service crisis by throwing more money at it and expecting different results,” he said.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley, sworn in exactly three months before the hearing date, testified that he has pledged to make customer service his top priority. Increased funding to hire more people is needed to help solve issues, he added.

By the end of the current fiscal year, the SSA will provide services for approximately 7 million more beneficiaries with about 7,000 fewer full-time permanent staff members than it did in fiscal year 2015, O’Malley said. “While modernization and other efficiencies have helped for some things, there is no way around the fact that the agency cannot keep doing more with less,” he added.

The agency currently is operating on less than 1% of its annual benefit payments, O’Malley added. “This is extremely low – much lower than private insurance companies. For instance, Allstate operates on 19% of its annual benefit payments, and Liberty Mutual operates on nearly 24% of its annual benefit payments,” he said.

Watch the hearing and read prepared remarks from Casey, Braun and O’Malley here.