In coming years, growing program cost pressures could mean that some illegals may benefit from the use of invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers at the expense of others who worked and paid into the system legally. TSCL's new 2014 Senior Survey found that 87 percent of respondents favor prohibiting payment of Social Security benefits calculated on earnings from unauthorized work by illegal immigrants. TSCL supports legislation that would prohibit earnings under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers from use in determining entitlement to Social Security benefits. .Employment and average earnings information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate that average wages were down about 4.4% in 2020. But BLS wage data can vary from the final wage data that employers report to the Social Security Administration. Adjusting for the difference, the AWI for 2020 may drop only slightly, by roughly 0.65 percentage point. We are closely watching for the new AWI for 2020 from the Social Security Administration, but that final number won't be known until the end of the year. .After being suspended since November 2, 2015, the debt cap was reinstated last week. "Although the Treasury secretary is using ‘extraordinary measures' to fund the budget for now, a failure to lift the debt limit in time would affect all Americans, including the timely payment of Social Security benefits," says TSCL Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. .Finally, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act (H.R. 711) also gained one new cosponsor this week. Rep. Jared Nadler (NY-10) signed on to it, bringing the cosponsor total up to 10That bill, if signed into law, would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) while establishing a new formula for the non-covered earnings of future retirees. It would also create a separate formula for retirees who are currently affected by the WEP. TSCL believes H.R. 711 is a sensible step forward, and we hope it continues to gain strong support in the months ahead. .The credit for qualifying children is fully refundable, which means that taxpayers can benefit from the credit even if they don't have earned income or don't owe any income taxes. .With the Senate being so sharply divided, achieving that result is very questionable. .To fix the program, TSCL also supports an increase in Continuing Disability Reviews, which are conducted to determine whether an enrollee still qualifies for benefits, and an increase in the payroll tax cap, which currently sits at 8,500. We will continue to advocate for these and other long-term solutions that we believe would return the program to solvency responsibly. .TSCL agrees with Congressman Doggett, and we were pleased to lend our support to both bills this week. For more information or to track the progress of the bills through the House, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .Rep. DeFazio's No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act (H.R. 1029) also gained new cosponsors this week. Five Members of Congress signed on, bringing the total up to twenty-five. The new cosponsors are: Reps. Robert Scott (VA-3), Collin Peterson (MN-7), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), William Enyart (IL-12), and Barbara Lee (CA-13). The bill, if signed into law, would subject all income over 0,000 to the Social Security payroll tax. Currently, the payroll tax is capped at 3,700 and no income over that amount is taxed. Rep. DeFazio's bill would reportedly add at least fifty years to the solvency of the Trust Fund responsibly, without reducing benefits for seniors.