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  • Democrats In House Of Representatives Have Similar Legislation

    GOP offers Super-Committee concession while seniors see increased poverty levels. .This week, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 2011) from Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) gained one new cosponsor: Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT). If adopted, the bill would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Its cosponsor total is now up to seven in the Senate. .Progress Report: Getting Congress On Board For Key Senior Issues … Continued

  • Notch Bulletin Not Even A Lump Sum Death Benefit

    The Senior Citizens League strongly supports legislation in both the House and the Senate that would address this issue. H.R.576 Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) in the House would expand Medicare to provide routine dental care. In the Senate, S.22 Medicare Dental Benefit Act, introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (MD) would also provide coverage for dental care. .At the time of writing this week's update, neither chamber had voted on the omnibus spending bill, but its passage is expected before funding runs out on Tuesday, December 22nd. A vote in the House is scheduled for Friday morning, and lawmakers in the Senate will likely take it up shortly thereafter, potentially as early as Friday afternoon. President Obama signaled his support for the spending package on Wednesday, which means he plans to sign it into law if it is sent to his desk. .On Tuesday, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs released their annual reports on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. As expected, the Trustees found that both programs currently face manageable financial challenges. … Continued

As a result, experts have been saying that even people who have been vaccinated should continue to wear masks and keep their distance from others. .However, many lawmakers on Capitol Hill were satisfied with the court's ruling. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA-6) – Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee – said, "President Obama's executive overreach on immigration poses a clear and present danger to our constitution and I am pleased that the president's actions continue to be halted so that the states' lawsuit can continue to move forward." .However, one week ago a federal judge in California issued a ruling stopping the implementation of the rule because of the "government's failure to complete the notice and comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act." .On Thursday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a high-profile hearing on recent developments in the prescription drug market. According to the committee, thirty of the top-selling drugs in the United States experienced price increases of 76 percent between 2010 and 2014 – eight times the general inflation rate. .We had no way to tell how much worse these scams were about to become. As a result of this pandemic, our legislative efforts must evolve just as these scams have. .However, right now there is no guarantee Republicans would do that, and instead, it is probable they would blame the Medicare cuts on the Democrats. .Since the tax brackets and the standard deduction wouldn't grow as fast as in the past, more people will get pushed into higher tax brackets more quickly when their income rises. The legislation would use a more slowly growing measure of inflation, the Chained Consumer Price Index, to make adjustments. .According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater. .This week, one new cosponsor – Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1902), bringing the total up to 16The bill, which was introduced just a couple of months ago, has more support in Congress than any other comprehensive Social Security reform bill to date.