News

  • Update For June 5 2021

    Finally, one new cosponsor – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-7) – signed on to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's (IL-9) Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (H.R. 1776). The cosponsor total is now up to seventeen in the House. If adopted, it would take several steps to reduce prescription drug costs. It would require the federal government to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries, allow individuals to import prescriptions from Canada, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," and cap monthly out-of-pocket drug expenses at 0, among other things. .People most at risk of owing taxes include: .For details, or to see if your Members of Congress will hold town hall meetings over the holiday recess, contact their offices. You can find contact information for all Members of Congress in the ACTION CENTER of our website. … Continued

  • Notch Bulletin Notch Reform Has Strong Support In New Congress

    The inspector general has recommended that the IRS should require ITIN filers claiming the Additional Child Tax Credits to provide documentation that their dependents meet the qualifications for the credit, including residency. The IRS disputes this, saying that it doesn't have the legal authority to verify and disallow the child tax credits. .First, one new cosponsor – Representative Conor Lamb (PA-18) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1902), bringing the total up to 17If adopted, H.R. 1902 would strengthen Social Security benefits by improving the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), increasing monthly benefits by 2 percent, creating a new Special Minimum Benefit equal to 125 percent of the poverty line, and providing a tax cut to millions of Social Security beneficiaries. To cover the cost of these changes and to extend the solvency of the program through the year 2100, it would apply the payroll tax to annual income over 0,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate by 0.25 percent. .Terry Newell currently teaches leadership, decision - making, and ethics courses for a variety of organizations. He is the former dean of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was the director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education. … Continued

If you have questions about your coverage, Medicare beneficiaries can get free one-on-one counseling from State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) counselors by contacting your local Area Agency on Aging or senior center. The programs go by different names depending on your location, but SHIP contact info can be found at https://www.shiptacenter.org. .Last week we wrote about a new bill that was expected to be introduced this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that would lower prescription drug prices on some of the most expensive drugs. The plan would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate the price of up to 250 drugs per year, and the lower prices would apply to people both with private insurance and those on Medicare. .As a result of the new rule, consumers will have to pay more for their prescriptions, as a growing number of people rely on the programs offered by drug makers to lower their copays. .New Co-Sponsors Added .Even Republicans who support changing the regulations are opposed to putting it in the NDAA and they may support an effort to pass it and try to override the President's veto, which would be the first of his presidency. .Finally, locality pay is subject to the approval of the President, and thus subject to politics. In 2019, the average locality pay adjustment was 0.5%. The annual COLA was 2.8%. The calculation has also been challenged by economists and the nonpartisan CBO as not being accurate. What do you think about using locality pay adjustment rates to adjust Social Security? To send a comment or take a poll on this topic visit . .TSCL supports several bills in the House that would strengthen your Social Security benefits by indexing the COLA using the CPI-E. Visit us at www.SeniorsLeague to learn the latest on this legislation and what you can do to help move this legislation in Congress! .If you feel that this site is not following its stated privacy policy, you may contact us by writing to The Senior Citizens League, 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 600, Alexandria, VA 22314, through e-mail at comments@ or call us at800-333-TSCL (8725). All received complaints will be investigated and responded to promptly. .How to Protect Yourself and Others