News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending January 25 2013

    In addition to congressional committee work in the 116th Congress, several new bills have been introduced that would reduce prescription drug costs. Several of them – including the following three – have already won bipartisan support in the new Congress. .Make no mistake: millions of American families and our entire economy depend on getting mature workers the right skills for today's jobs. We need them back at work, earning good salaries, investing in their retirement, mentoring young workers and driving our economy forward. .Most Americans contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to Social Security, but due to the taxable maximum wage cap, people earning more than 8,500 pay nothing over that amount. Do you support increasing or eliminating the taxable maximum wage limit to make the program more solvent? … Continued

  • Ask The Advisor August 2011 Advisor

    Recent healthcare cost data have the experts perplexed. According to a new analysis from actuaries of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, national healthcare spending in 2011 grew at just 3.9 percent. This is the third consecutive year it's grown so slowly, making it the slowest pace in the more than 50 years such data have been tracked. Federal officials don't know for sure if it's a temporary fluke due to prolonged recessionary effects, or part of a long-term trend. .The report adds that, "The pharmaceutical industry has already shattered records this year, spending an unprecedented million to lobby the federal government in the first three months of this year, according to the CSP, including .7 million from PhRMA. Stephen Ubl, the CEO of PhRMA, criticized H.R. 3 last month, claiming it would ‘destroy an estimated one million American jobs.' The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest lobbying spender this year, has also come out against the bill, comparing it to ‘government price controls' and claiming it would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. .If a COVID-19 vaccine yields a price of, say, 0 a course, vaccinating the entire population would bring a company over 0 billion, almost all of it profit. … Continued

Most working people pay Social Security taxes on every dollar earned and many pay more in Social Security taxes than in federal income taxes. Yet nearly one out of five workers — some 18% — pay no Social Security taxes on any earnings over the Social Security taxable maximum — which is 8,400 in 2018. .This week, two new cosponsors – Reps. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (NY-25) and Joyce Beatty (OH-3) – signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118), bringing the total up fifty-four. If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 3118 since it would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. We were pleased to see support grow for it this week. .Be wary of the information from this acquaintance, and any claim that she has obtained the ,000. While it may be a simple misunderstanding, be careful of scams. Make sure your mom knows she should never give out her Social Security number over the phone to anyone or to anyone you meet who says that it's required in order to receive the ,000 settlement. .The next twelve months is one of the most critical periods for the nation's seniors and disabled who receive Social Security and Medicare. The failure of a special Joint Committee of Congress known as the "super committee," means automatic budget cuts totaling billions of dollars that are scheduled to kick in by 2013 unless Congress enacts different plans. Although Social Security and Medicaid appear to have escaped the knife for now, billions in Medicare spending would be cut from payments to hospitals and other providers. .Source: Fiscal Year 2010 Inspector General Statement, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, November 2010. .In reality, no Social Security reduction is small, because the loss compounds over time. The problem is especially unacceptable when this problem can be prevented by Congress in the first place. Individuals who were born in 1949 and who retired at age 66 with average benefits have lost about ,915 through the end of 2021, due to the reduction in the AWI in 200Their benefits today are about per month lower than what they otherwise would have received had they been born one year earlier. Even worse is the loss over time. Assuming that an individual lives to age 90, retirees born in 1949 would lose an additional ,297 in lifetime Social Security benefits—or even more, if their benefits are higher than average. This type of benefit reduction is known as a "notch" in benefits, and those affected might be referred to as the "1949 notch babies." .Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod represents California's 35th Congressional District encompassing the communities of Bloomington, Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, and portions of Fontana and Rialto. .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. Rich Nugent (FL-11) – signed on to the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act (H.R. 1716). The cosponsor total is now up to thirty-two. .Senator Chuck Grassley (IA) introduced S. 61 on January 9, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.