When a Senate vote is tied, the Vice President, who the Constitution designates as the President of the Senate, can cast the tie-breaking vote, which is exactly what happened. .Last year, I co-founded the bipartisan House Retirement Security Caucus in order to raise awareness about the importance of properly planning for retirement (and the pitfalls of not doing so). As co-chairman of the caucus, I am committed to making sure the federal government does not make retirement planning more complicated than it should be. Just recently, in response to the Department of Labor's proposed "fiduciary rule" that could restrict Americans' access to financial advice, I voted for the SAVERS Act (H.R. 4294), which would protect such access while also helping to ensure that financial advisors act in the best interest of the retirees and families they serve. .Before the New Year even started, TSCL had been working to convince Members of our new Congress of the immediate need to replace 2021's meager 1.3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) with a 3% emergency inflation adjustment. We strongly support "The 3% Emergency COLA Act," introduced by Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and John Larson (CT-1) and efforts to include provisions of this bill in emergency stimulus funding legislation. .With only six weeks to go before the December 13th deadline, it remains to be seen which path the budget conference will take. Leaders of the conference announced on Wednesday that the next public meeting will be held on November 13th, but most of the work will likely occur behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Regardless, TSCL will continue to monitor the evolving budget negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .Congress should restrict price increases of prescription drugs to no more than the rate of inflation. — 83 percent support, 13 percent not sure, and only 5 percent opposed. .TSCL is disappointed in the repeated attempts of lawmakers to reduce funding for the healthcare of their sickest and poorest constituents in 201TSCL urges all of you to get ready to vote this election year. Start now by checking that your voter registration is up to date, particularly if you have moved recently. .The annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period starts January 1 –March 3During this time, you will be allowed to switch to another MA plan or return to Medicare and a stand alone plan. However, if you give up your MA plan in favor of returning to original Medicare, that does not necessarily mean you would be able to buy a Medigap supplement. Medicare supplement insurers are not required by law to cover pre-existing conditions, other than during certain periods (when you first sign up for Part B or if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.) .In addition, one new cosponsor signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118), bringing the total up fifty-two. The new cosponsor is Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5). If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. The bill would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. .This week, Congressman Walter Jones (NC-3) introduced the Honesty in Consumer Price Index (CPI) Reporting Act (H.R. 3500), a bill that aims to make Social Security COLAs more fair and accurate for beneficiaries. It would accomplish this by requiring the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to report the CPI using the methodology that was employed back in 1980, around the time when COLAs first became automatic.