Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee Means Committee approved the largest expansion of Medicare since the addition of drug benefits two decades ago. .In response to the proposed changes, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) said, "With their latest budget proposal, House Republicans have made their values very clear: strengthen the special interests, abandon seniors and hard-working families." TSCL agrees that adopting a premium-support model for the Medicare program would be a step in the wrong direction, and we oppose the Budget Committee's efforts to include it in next year's resolution. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to advocate against plans to privatize the Medicare program. .Second, six new cosponsors signed on to the Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for Safe Prescribing Act (H.R. 4841), bringing the total up to twenty-six cosponsors. The new cosponsors are: Representative Adam Schiff (CA-28), Representative Joe Kennedy (MA-4), Representative Greg Walden (OR-2), Representative Kevin Kramer (ND-1), Representative Dan Webster (FL-11), and Representative Don Bacon (NE-2). If adopted, H.R. 4841 would allow for and standardize electronic prior authorization for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. .In addition to delivering petitions to Congressional offices, TSCL's Board of Trustees and legislative team – which is led by former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk – have met personally with more than fifty lawmakers and their top aides. Some highlights include meeting with the following Members of Congress: Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16), sponsor of the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act (H.R. 1585); Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4), sponsor of the CPI-E Act (H.R. 1030); Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Co-Chair of the Seniors Task Force; Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), sponsor of the Notch Fairness Act (H.R. 155); and Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), member of the Senate's "Gang of Eight" and sponsor of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. .Medicaid already uses this strategy to lower drug costs, and pays much lower prices than Medicare for the same drug. In June we reported that Medicare spending on the highest price category of prescription drugs, called "specialty drugs," increased from .7 billion in 2010 to .8 billion in 201Spending on the same drugs under Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans, grew much more slowly over the same period, rising from .8 billion to .9 billion. .In the meantime, TSCL is advocating on Capitol Hill for legislation that would provide immediate assistance to those who fall into the coverage gap. Older Americans living on fixed incomes cannot wait until 2020 for coinsurance in the doughnut hole to drop to 25%. We enthusiastically support the Prescription Drug Affordability Act (S. 2023, H.R. 3513), a bill that would drop the coinsurance to 25% by 2017, three years earlier than current law would. In the months ahead, we will continue to work with its sponsors in the House and Senate to build support for it, and we hope to see it passed into law by the end of this year. .But one thing is clear: Congress and the President, whoever his is, will have massive issues to deal with, not the least of which will be the future solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Our political leaders have to stop avoiding dealing with these tough issues. They can't continue to "kick the can down the road." .72% support applying the Social Security payroll tax to all earnings (instead of capping the amount of wages to be taxed at 2,800), a move that would reduce Social Security's long - term deficit by as much as 73%. .Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) have languished at exceptionally low levels in recent years. Administration officials and economists point to the sluggish economy and recent economic recession as the reason. But government tinkering with the consumer price index (CPI) is playing an enormous role in reducing the measured rate of inflation, in turn cutting the growth in Social Security benefits.