The Senior Citizens League's Legislative Liaison Joe Kluck visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. .This week, Members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill from the month-long summer recess to begin working on legislation that would avert a government shutdown on October 1st – the start of the 2014 fiscal year. Lawmakers have agreed that they would like to pass a stopgap bill to extend funding for federal programs through December 15th. They feel that a temporary measure will grant them the time needed to work out a more substantial fiscal package before the end of this year. .The Neal bill was passed by the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday of this week. It would ban surprise billing using an arbitration process favored by hospitals and specialty physician groups but opposed by insurers, employers and labor unions. Neal's legislation would send all the disputes that can't be settled between the parties to arbitration but require mediators to consider median contracted rates used by health plans, with the mediators prohibited from considering "usual and customary charges," also known as "billed charges." .As of yet the White House has not put out President Biden's plans for drug pricing legislation, or how strongly they will push for it. .Budget Chair Revives Fiscal Commission Plan .The new guidance is as follows: .No change to 401(k)s or IRAs: Prior to enactment, concerns were high that tax reform would restrict the amount of pretax contributions working people could make to workplace retirement accounts. Congress did not do this, and the tax rules affecting these accounts, for the most part, remain the same. .Do you have a plan for changing health and lifestyle that may affect your income? How would you cope if you developed a chronic health condition that required expensive drugs? How would you know if you start having memory problems? Have you looked into the various types of senior housing, including those with plans that provide greater continuing long term care as you age? Have you discussed your plan or desires with family or other caregivers? .One of the options to address Social Security that appears to have widespread support is increasing the Social Security retirement age. Raising the age at which people would be eligible for unreduced Social Security benefits has been discussed by policy "wonks" for years, but has largely remained out of the discussion with the general public. However, this summer two high-ranking Members of Congress spotlighted the topic in a rare public airing that was discussed in the media and the general public. Within a week of each other, Rep. John Boehner (OH-8), the House Minority Leader, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5), the House Majority Leader, both advocated raising the Social Security retirement age.