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  • Coronavirus Throws Monkey Wrench Into Cola Calculations

    Obama's controversial executive action would defer the deportation of up to five million illegal immigrants, including older adults who have children who were born in the U.S. (and thus U.S. citizens). In addition, his executive actions provide the work authorization required to receive Social Security and Medicare, once other qualifications are met. Texas and 25 other states are challenging the legality of Obama's actions. They are being supported by TSCL, 12 other groups, and 113 Members of Congress who argue in an amicus brief, that "the President acted contrary to both the express and implied will of Congress." .On Wednesday, Senate Budget Chair Kent Conrad laid out a long-term plan to reduce the deficit. His proposal, called the Fiscal Commission Budget Plan, nearly mirrors the recommendations made in 2010 by President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. According to Sen. Conrad, it would reduce the deficit by .4 trillion over ten years. .What do you think? Seniors are invited to participate in TSCL's annual 2014 Senior Survey. For a free 8-page special issue of TSCL's Best Ways to Save, send to cover postage and handling with your name and address to The Senior Citizens League, 1001 N. Fairfax St. 101, Alexandria, VA 22314. … Continued

  • Seniors Lose 34 Buying Power Since 2000

    More Veterans Could Get Covid-19 Vaccinations .The move is a long time coming. Legislation passed in 1996 made illegal immigrants ineligible to receive federal benefits. But according to an audit performed by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 29,185 illegal immigrants had improperly received Medicare benefits from 2009 through 201A review of 133,541 claims revealed that Medicare had paid more than .6 million in claims on behalf of 2,575 unlawfully present individuals. .Moreover, U.S. dependence on China for drugs and drug products is growing. Its imports of Chinese medical equipment increased 78 percent between 2010 and 2018. … Continued

That represents a huge liability to the Social Security Trust Fund, should there be an amnesty. Every year the SSA processes millions of W2s. When a name or SSN on a W2 doesn't match the SSA's records, the wage report goes into an "Earnings Suspense File" (ESF) until the discrepancy can be reconciled. The ESF file today contains more than 312.7 million wage items representing 5 trillion in wages. Wages are what the Social Security Administration uses to determine entitlement to Social Security, rather than the amount of taxes paid. Immigration reform advocates say that although payroll taxes are withheld from the checks of illegal workers, they have little chance of collecting benefits. .Other members, including Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), backed proposals that would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. The cap currently sits at 8,500, which means that no earnings above that amount are subject to the 6.2 percent payroll tax. Senator Sanders said on Wednesday, "That is patently unfair. If we apply the Social Security payroll tax to income above 0,000, we could immediately bring in enough revenue to the Social Security trust fund to extend it for decades and also be able to increase benefits." .How can I get involved/help out? .SSA Announces 2019 Social Security COLA of 2.8 Percent .Drug companies and some patient groups have long criticized proposals like this last rule, saying it would reduce innovation and access to certain medications. In addition, drug makers are particularly leery of the approach since Democrats want to use it more broadly to allow Medicare to directly negotiate prices. .We urge you to contact Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act." Suggest that by cutting the rate of improper payments due to waste, fraud and abuse, your elected lawmakers can correct the most improper payment of all, the disparity in benefits caused by the Notch and erroneous government assumptions. .(Washington, DC) – The Social Security Administration has announced that the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will increase benefits by 2.0 percent for 201While the increase is the highest in five years, it won't be enough to offset dramatically higher Medicare Part B premium increases for millions of beneficiaries, warns The Senior Citizens League. .Congress was out of session this week because of the Presidents' Day holiday. Nearly all of those up for re-election (all of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate) were back in their home states and districts, most likely meeting with constituents and/or raising money for their campaigns. So although there was not a lot of news coming out of Congress, news was being made by the Trump administration. .It is believed that Trump issued the executive orders because a drive to enact major legislation this year stalled in Congress. Although Trump has told Republican senators that lowering prescription prices is 'something you have to do,' many remain reluctant to use federal authority to force drug makers to charge less.