News
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Legislative Update Week Ending April 3 2015
Noncitizens who began receiving benefits before 1997, and who never received legal work authorization, can receive benefits. In addition, individuals who never obtained work authorization, but who received a SSN prior to 2004, and now live abroad, could potentially receive a benefit. .Sources: "Immigration Activists Urge Obama To Act Boldly", Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press, April 15, 201Letter to Senator Marco Rubio from Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration, June 28, 2013. .On Thursday evening, lawmakers in the House and Senate voted to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government until Friday, December 22nd. TSCL is pleased that lawmakers successfully averted a government shutdown since failing to do so could have impacted the timely delivery of Social Security benefits. Physicians and other medical providers also could have seen delays in their reimbursements from the Medicare program if the federal government had shut down. … Continued
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Where Are All The Medical Masks
Last Friday, lawmakers in the House and Senate adjourned for a week-long recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, May 9th. In the meantime, many Members of Congress will be attending local events and holding town hall meetings, presenting constituents with an excellent opportunity to have their most pressing questions answered. .By Mike Watson, TSCL Legislative Assistant, .Although Social Security and Medicare need some changes to enable the programs to continue paying scheduled benefits in a timely manner, TSCL believes that benefit reductions should not be imposed on people who have already retired, or are close to retirement. Other deficit reduction options exist, and Congress needs to allow time for the public to more fully learn about the proposals, consider the choices, and have an opportunity to provide input to elected lawmakers. … Continued
How much would delaying retirement benefits after my full retirement age be worth? I turn 66 in August. .Congressmember Karen Bass is serving her sixth term in Congress. She represents Culver City and parts of Los Angeles. .Use the Contact Congress feature on the Home page of this site to obtain the names, addresses and other information on your Congressional delegation. You can even e-mail directly and sign our on-line petition in this full featured legislative action center. Click Guide to Contacting Congress to go to this section now. .We want to emphasize that these are all projections based on the economic situation at the time they were developed. As we have seen in the past year, things can change dramatically and clearly, we still don't know how things will be in the coming months and year with regard to the pandemic. .The Senate was not in session and is scheduled to return on January 25th. .The additional coronavirus emergency legislation is likely to crowd out many other items that were once on the Congressional priority lists for the summer. As a result, the list of other "must pass" legislation is increasingly small, with priority being given to bills to fund the federal government and renew Pentagon programs. .Part B premiums are only part of what Medicare recipients pay. People also have premiums for a Medigap supplement and Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan and those premiums are rising as well. Hold harmless protection does not apply to premium increases in these private plans, and any increase would leave retirees .For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. .In addition to a growing number of people affected by the tax, those who are affected pay a growing share of their benefits in taxes as well. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 52 million Social Security beneficiaries paid 6.7% of their Social Security benefits as income tax in 2014, and projects that will rise in the future to 10% or more.