You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are: .This year's Trustees Reports show that both programs face modest financial challenges that can be addressed by Congress with minor changes. The Senior Citizens League supports the passage of legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act or the Social Security Expansion Act, both of which would strengthen the Social Security program's finances responsibly, without cutting benefits for current or future retirees. In addition, we hope Congress will pass legislation to bring down prescription drug costs in the Medicare program. Requiring Part D drug price negotiation would save billions of dollars for both the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries. .Consequently, Medicare spent billion in 2013 but paid out billion by 2017 for these treatments. In addition, neurology medicines, mostly those used to combat multiple sclerosis, accounted for more than 50% of total Medicare payments, despite representing just 4% of all claims filed. .Both bills are now awaiting the signature of President Donald Trump. He is expected to sign them into law in the very near future. The Senior Citizens League is pleased that lawmakers successfully advanced legislation that will protect the American public from "gag clauses" that result in higher out-of-pocket costs at pharmacies. .Economic Conditions Compounded Problem .Our seniors worked hard all their lives and paid into the system – they've earned the right to true peace of mind. But the COLA formula in place right now just isn't providing that peace of mind. It's imbalanced and creating uncertainly for millions of Americans. .Discussion of these meetings centered around the Social Security issues of Notch Fairness and Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) bills. The goal of these meetings was to secure support, or sponsorship, for these pre-existing pieces of legislation. As a result of our meetings, two Representatives to date have pledged their support for the Notch Fairness Act (H.R. 1001): Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2), and Christopher Smith (NJ-4). .In addition, your Social Security benefit is likely to be small anyway. When Social Security calculates the initial benefit, the amount of total earnings would be averaged over a 35-year (420 month) period to determine your average monthly earnings. While you become eligible with a little as ten years of earnings total, the SSA will still average your earnings over the 420-month period. This would produce a low average initial benefit amount. Then the WEP adjustment would reduce your initial benefit formula by scaling back the amount of average monthly earnings that would be credited toward your benefit. .Second, one new cosponsor – Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) – signed on to the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1251), bringing the total up to fifty-two. If adopted, the CPI-E Act would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) on the more fair and adequate CPI-E. Currently, COLAs are based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W), and they fail to keep pace with the inflation experienced by older Americans.