With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors' groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit for more information. .If you are interested in helping TSCL make the most of the 113th Congress, give us a call at 800-333-TSCL to help us start a local chapter or plan a town hall meeting in your area. .The Board of Trustees for Social Security and Medicare recently released a bombshell of a report that shows this essential health safety net is coming apart at the seams. The report estimates the Medicare trust fund will run dry in 2024, five years earlier than last year's estimate, and went on to explain, "The fund is not adequately financed over the next ten years." In an alternate estimate also released, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chief Actuary Rick Foster painted an even more dire picture, reporting that Medicare's unfunded obligations could be significantly higher, and long-term costs could dramatically increase from the numbers provided in the Board of Trustee's report. .Notch Reform continues to be a major priority of seniors who turn 85 to 94 this year. After so many years of receiving lower Social Security benefits than other seniors having similar work and earnings histories, is it any wonder that the majority of "Notch Babies" believe Congress is waiting for the issue to quietly die away? .And, given the unfunded mandates and billions of dollars in regulatory costs from Obamacare – the last attempt at government-controlled healthcare, Medicare-for-all would undoubtedly break the back of at least half of our rural health care providers. .Members of Congress adjourned for the holiday recess this week, with the Senate returning on Thursday to resume Fiscal Cliff negotiations. .TSCL recently asked their members and supporters how no COLA in 2016 would impact their budgets. "They told us they will struggle to cover the costs of prescription drugs, car repairs, property taxes, rising food costs, and even their most basic needs next year," Cates says. "Simply put, Americans living on a fixed income cannot afford to go without a COLA, and we are concerned about the impact recent years of record - low COLAs will have on the long-term adequacy of benefits for millions of people who depend on COLAs," Cates explains. .So far, 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed, and Members of the House have begun taking a piecemeal approach that would send some of them back to work by providing funding for certain agencies. However, the Senate has rejected each bill. Leaders in that chamber believe a piecemeal approach will set a bad precedent and give the opposing political party "veto power over what is funded and what isn't," according to Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY). .The CBO recommended substantial changes in tax and/or spending policies in the near future in order to put the federal budget on a sustainable path forward. Acting sooner rather than later is important, the authors noted, so that those affected by any changes have plenty of time to prepare, so that uncertainty can be reduced, and so that long-term interest rates can be held down. Members of the House Budget Committee seemed to agree during Wednesday's hearing, and Chairman Paul Ryan (WI-1) stated: "If this report tells us anything, it's that the status quo isn't working."