The following four bills were the focus of Legislative Liaison Kluck's meetings on Capitol Hill in December… .As opposed to previous years, the Senate leaders want any legislation they have to pass out of the way by the end of May. That means any bill has to pass the Senate, then the Senate and House would have to negotiate and reach agreement on one bill before it could be sent to the President for his signature. .Should Congress hand over accountability for decisions about Medicare cuts to an unelected board? That's what lawmakers did in 2010 when they passed the Affordable Care Act. The law included a controversial provision to create a Medicare cost-cutting board, known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). .Current policy benefits undocumented immigrants who have committed document fraud by using stolen, fraudulent, or invalid Social Security numbers (SSNs) to work. Rather than penalizing individuals for the use of fake or invalid SSNs, the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses all reported earnings from covered employment when determining entitlement and benefits—even when earnings are from unauthorized work performed while in the country illegally, and using fraudulent SSNs, according to the CBO. .The so-called "Buy American" order could represent a seismic shakeup of the drug industry: No one knows exactly how much of the American drug supply chain is produced abroad, but some experts say that up to 90% of critical generic drugs are made at least partially abroad. .The bad news: there's still plenty of age discrimination in the workplace. When workers over age 50 lose their jobs, it takes them much longer to find new jobs. And the impact of a layoff is bigger for older workers. These folks face the reality that they may not work again full time, which can wreck a retirement plan. Studies show that household wealth typically takes a hit as high as 23 percent for single people and 19 percent for married couples. .Though these scam attempts can be daunting, we can defeat them with vigilance, education, accountability and protection. And the burden is not just on our seniors – it's on each of us to stand together as a community against these attacks. .With only six weeks to go before the December 13th deadline, it remains to be seen which path the budget conference will take. Leaders of the conference announced on Wednesday that the next public meeting will be held on November 13th, but most of the work will likely occur behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Regardless, TSCL will continue to monitor the evolving budget negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .Low-income "dual eligibles" — Medicare beneficiaries whose incomes are so low that they are also eligible for Medicaid. Part B premiums are paid on their behalf by their state Medicaid program (about 19% of beneficiaries).[4]