Fourth, one new cosponsor – Representative Raul Ruiz (CA-36) – signed on to Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (H.R. 242), bringing the total up to forty-four. This bill, if adopted, would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate lower prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Under current law, CMS is prohibited from doing so. .In 2014 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the average tax payment of Social Security households equaled 6.7 percent of benefit income — an amount that is estimated to grow to 9 percent of benefits by 203"That growth is likely to occur much more rapidly due to changes in the tax law, which uses a more slowly growing consumer price index to adjust the tax code," Johnson says. .This unexpected policy adjustment is largely attributable to the 6 billion in cuts to Medicare that Obamacare calls for. More than one-fifth of the cuts – approximately 6 billion – are to the Medicare Advantage program, which insures more than one-quarter of all seniors over the age of sixty-five. It's important to note that the savings from the cuts are not going back into the Medicare Trust Fund; instead, the money is going to help pay for the health insurance of younger, working adults under Obamacare. .By Mike Watson, TSCL Legislative Assistant .While the U.S. Treasury predicts the government will run out of cash as early as March 31st, illegal immigrant workers may have pocketed billions in 2009 and 2010 in advance Making Work Pay tax credits for which they are not eligible. The Making Work Pay tax credit specifically banned people without valid Social Security numbers from receiving the credit. But because the tax credit was paid in advance in higher paychecks through lower tax withholdings, millions of illegal workers undoubtedly would have received the money, even though they may not have filed a tax return. .In addition, one new cosponsor signed on to the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (H.R. 2575), bringing the total up to eighteen. The new cosponsor is Representative Seth Moulton (MA-6). If signed into law, the BENES Act would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and better inform those approaching Medicare eligibility about their future benefits and the application process. .TSCL enthusiastically supports S. 2011, H.R. 2575, H.R. 991, and H.R. 1205, and we were pleased to see support grow for each one this week. For more information about these and other bills endorsed by TSCL, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .The new study found that consumer price data through March 2021 indicate that Social Security benefits have (once again) lost 30 percent of their buying power since 2000, and the loss of buying power looks as though it might grow deeper in 2021, should the current inflationary trends continue. The Senior Citizens League has been conducting this study for 12 years. The study typically looks at data from the 1month period of January of the previous year to January of the current year. But with recent aggressive inflation, TSCL felt it critical to include this data in our 2021 study findings. Doing so helps TSCL and the public to learn how this abrupt rise of inflation affects the buying power of Social Security benefits today. .TSCL originally made this proposal with the massive support of our members. It is designed to provide fair compensation for the lower benefits Notch Victims receive. It has now been introduced as Bills in Congress. If passed, it will provide a Settlement payment of ,000 to each living Notch Victim or their beneficiary spouse.