Finally, one new cosponsor – Rep. Ted Yoho (FL-3) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795), bringing the total up to one hundred and seventeen. If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for four key bills that would improve the Social Security and Medicare programs if adopted. .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 Social Security COLA is provided to help protect the buying power of benefits when costs rise due to inflation. Yet even under the current method of adjusting benefits, Social Security benefits have lost 30 percent of buying power since 2000, according to a recent report released by TSCL. "Switching to the chained CPI would mean the erosion in the buying power of Social Security benefits would occur at faster rates than is already occurring today," says Johnson. "That puts retirees at higher risk of depleting retirement savings more quickly than expected, going into debt, and going without." According to Johnson's analysis, if the proposal were to take effect this year, average benefits would be about per month lower by 2026, and about per month lower in 20 years. ."The question becomes how we can strengthen the retirement security of today's retirees, while strengthening funding for both Medicare and Social Security at the same time," Johnson says. .This unexpected policy adjustment is largely attributable to the 6 billion in cuts to Medicare that Obamacare calls for. More than one-fifth of the cuts – approximately 6 billion – are to the Medicare Advantage program, which insures more than one-quarter of all seniors over the age of sixty-five. It's important to note that the savings from the cuts are not going back into the Medicare Trust Fund; instead, the money is going to help pay for the health insurance of younger, working adults under Obamacare. .This week, key legislators revealed that they will not pass a permanent repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula before the March 31st deadline. .This week, lawmakers in both chambers voted to approve a temporary spending bill to fund the government past September 30th. In addition, The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL's) legislative team met with several Members of Congress and their aides, and two key bills gained support. .Until we know more about those questions, everyone — even people who've had their vaccines — should continue taking basic prevention steps when recommended.