News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending July 6 2012

    By using reconciliation, it would mean there would have to billions of dollars cut from current spending programs, including Medicare. .This week, House and Senate lawmakers remained in their home states and districts for a week-long spring break. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, March 25th. Until then, many Members of Congress will be hosting town hall meetings and attending events in their home states and districts. .Do you have a low benefit and think you may be affected by hold harmless? TSCL would like to hear from you! Contact us at . … Continued

  • Best Ways To Save April May 2020

    Nine prominent physician groups recently released lists of 45 common tests and treatments they say are often unnecessary. The problem is costing you dearly — as much as one third of every healthcare dollar, researchers say. As someone supposed to be giving you tips on how to save money, I'm embarrassed to admit that earlier this year I was a victim of overzealous medical testing. I'm not on Medicare yet, but what happened to me is happening to millions of those of you who are. .What would you say are the three most important decisions to maximize Social Security? .This is no rumor — it's a fact. In 2010 the IRS paid illegal immigrants .2 billion in the child tax refunds. The original version of the video you saw, from WTHR TV in Indiana, appears to be based on a report issued over a year ago by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The report says that the number of tax returns filed by illegal immigrants, as well as the amount claimed in Additional Child Tax Credits, has been growing rapidly and warns "the risk of fraud for these types of claims is significant." The video featured a whistleblower tax consultant who says that in many of the returns he has seen, undocumented workers are claiming the tax credit for kids who live in Mexico. … Continued

First, the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act (S. 521, H.R. 141) gained eight new cosponsors in the Senate and the House, bringing the cosponsor totals up to thirty and 165, respectively. The new cosponsors are: Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Representative Sean Casten (IL-6), Representative Susan Davis (CA-53), Representative Elaine Luria (VA-2), Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Ed Case (HI-1), and Representative Filemon Vela (TX-34). .Unfortunately, a long-time TSCL goal of reducing prescription drug prices did not make it into the newly introduced House bill. It appears that, as we have written before, legislation to reduce drug prices will not be dealt with until sometime in the fall. .As a nonpartisan grassroots organization, we make our policy decisions based on only one thing: what is best for senior citizens. .Last year, I introduced bipartisan legislation to halt this obscure tax increase on seniors. Since then, we've worked hard to build broad support inside of Congress and out. The bill has the endorsement of a list of taxpayer and seniors advocacy groups and passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote on September 13, 2016. .Here is an example from the SSA's Inspector General audit report: A beneficiary had been entitled to spousal benefits since February 200The beneficiary had not received retirement benefits (based on her own earnings) and earned delayed retirement credits between full retirement age and age 70. In January 2010, the beneficiary attained age 70, was eligible for a 5 monthly retirement benefit and was receiving a 9 monthly spousal benefit. Had SSA notified the beneficiary she was eligible for the higher retirement benefit, once she applied for those benefits, she could have received an additional ,345 from January 2010 through July 2013. .However, right now there is no guarantee Republicans would do that, and instead, it is probable they would blame the Medicare cuts on the Democrats. .Will there be a COLA in 2021? Maybe not. .CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide. Since the virus spreads more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high. It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises. .If adopted, it would provide beneficiaries with a 2 percent benefit boost, base cost-of-living adjustments on the more accurate Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, create a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits for millions of seniors. It would also extend the solvency of the program through the year 2100 without cutting benefits for current or future retirees.