If you asked a Social Security recipient for a penny for their thoughts on next year's projected 0.2% cost of living adjustment, they could give it to you, but they'd only have .99 left. .Each state operates their own LIHEAP program and has different rules about when to apply, how to apply, and the criteria to be met in order to get help. Although income requirements vary by location household incomes must be less than: .Defense Department Shutting Military Families and Retirees out of Treatment Facilities .According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater. .As we begin a new year, we hope you had the best holiday season possible under the conditions we all continue to face because of the coronavirus pandemic. We know the past ten months have been extremely hard for many Americans, especially for senior citizens and their families. .Although no other generation has yet been affected by a similar Notch, that could change in the future. Congressional inaction on Social Security's long-term financing problems could give birth to a whole new generation of Notch Babies. During recent hearings on the need for making Social Security more sustainable as Baby Boomers near retirement, David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, confirmed this saying "Doing nothing means that we are going to head to a precipitous decline in benefits. Remember the Notch Baby problem?" he asked. "This would be a Notch Baby problem magnified multiple times and it should not be allowed to happen." (10) .Do you know what the poverty line is? It's ,880. Who could live on that? .2014 Annual Survey of Senior Costs, Mary Johnson, The Senior Citizens League, March 2014. .While very little of the President's budget blueprint for fiscal 2015 will be considered by those in the House and Senate, it does serve as an important benchmark for lawmakers. Members of the House Budget Committee are expected to unveil a proposal of their own in the coming weeks. In a statement made early this week, Speaker John Boehner (OH-8) said that it will "promote opportunity, reform our tax code, and save our critical safety net programs." TSCL will continue to monitor the budget negotiations as they evolve, and we will provide updates here in the Legislative News section of our website.