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  • Issue Test

    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. .Despite tightening the law, Congress did not fix a policy loophole that would be inadvertently triggered with the passage of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. When determining entitlement for insured status (10 years), and in calculating the initial retirement benefit amount, the Social Security Administration uses all reported earnings from covered employment in the United States, even if the earnings were from illegal or "unauthorized" work. .After a much-anticipated election and an action-packed lame-duck session, the 113th Congress has officially begun and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is gearing up for a busy year. Although the November election did not drastically alter the makeup on Capitol Hill, TSCL is expecting many new successes and challenges to arise. With the election finally behind them, lawmakers are able to focus on some of the complex policy issues that sit high on their agendas, like deficit reduction, immigration reform, and comprehensive tax reform. … Continued

  • Chained Cpi Affects More Than Just Colas 2

    TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to ask questions of their elected officials about important Social Security and Medicare issues, like the following four… .According to TSCL estimates, benefits are now 13% lower this year than if inflation had remained the more typical 3% for retirees who have been receiving Social Security since 2009 when the low COLAs started. A Social Security benefit of ,000 in 2009 is about 2 per month lower today than if COLA had been the more typical 3%, with a total loss of about ,697 in Social Security benefit growth over the past seven years. Over the same period, however, actual senior costs have continued to climb. Some 72% of retirees who participated in TSCL's 2016 Senior Survey reported that their monthly expenses had gone up by more than in 2015, despite the lack of growth in inflation. .In his opening statement, Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (KY-3) said: "[Social Security] is facing serious long-term funding shortfalls, with promised benefits facing cuts as high as 20 percent as soon as 2035 if Congress does not act. Cuts of this level would be devastating for the individuals who rely on Social Security … Congress has a responsibility to act and honor the promise of retirement security." … Continued

Nevertheless, Congress is considering ways to "redesign" Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that changing the cost-sharing rules for Medicare and restricting Medigap coverage would save the federal government 4 billion over the next ten years.[1] Medicare supplements, better known as Medigap, cover Medicare's deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. The plans are popular with seniors because they provide financial certainty by reducing unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. .One of our purposes in visiting with those offices was to find out why they do not support the bill and to see if there is any hope that some compromise to the bill could be reached. The main reason they do not support the Grassley-Wyden bill is because it has a provision that they believe would, in essence, result in government price-setting of drug prices and would be a first step toward a one-payer (meaning government) health care system. Each office mentioned other bills that they might support but there is not one bill that the Republican majority is currently in favor of and that might have a chance to pass. It was also stated that because this is an election year there is a very short timeline for action to be taken. .So far, 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed, and Members of the House have begun taking a piecemeal approach that would send some of them back to work by providing funding for certain agencies. However, the Senate has rejected each bill. Leaders in that chamber believe a piecemeal approach will set a bad precedent and give the opposing political party "veto power over what is funded and what isn't," according to Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY). .Have you had a similar experience? Share your experience with TSCL. .Once again, the question among some is whether it is allergies or Covid or something else. .Similarly, Sen. Mike Lee (UT) wrote in a statement: "The Fifth Circuit should be commended for its well-reasoned decision to prevent President Obama from implementing his lawless executive amnesty program. Our immigration system is in desperate need of reform. But that reform must be agreed to and passed by Congress, not unilaterally imposed on the American people by the executive branch." .TSCL Supports Bills to Prevent Premium Hike .TSCL would like to thank Reps. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), G.K. Butterfield (NC-1), and Charles Gonzalez (TX-20) for taking the time to discuss the issues that are most important to our members and supporters. TSCL also met with Jeremy House, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Butterfield, Conrad Risher, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Gonzalez, Tommy Walker, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1), Rebecca Shaw, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-20), and Nathaniel Ferguson, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Scott Rigell (VA-2). .On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees – along with Shannon Benton (Executive Director), former Congressman Van Hilleary (Legislative Consultant), and TSCL's staff – spent the day meeting with four Congressional offices. Support was expressed for a number of bills that would strengthen Social Security benefits for older Americans, including the CPI-E Act (H.R. 3961), the CPI for Seniors Act (H.R. 3074), and the Honesty in CPI Reporting Act (H.R. 3500).