News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending May 27 2016

    The issue is of huge importance. Feds Shut Down .2 Billion Medicare Scheme — Finally , editor .I understand there is a large problem with illegal workers obtaining Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Suplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits using fraudulent Social Security numbers. Do we have some data verification? .In addition, the AHCA would repeal a tax created by the ACA that serves as a critical funding stream for Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Cutting the tax would accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, and in a matter of a few years, it would become exhausted. In a Washington Post opinion piece, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Andy Slavitt wrote, "That's clearly no accident: The program would wind up right where ‘entitlement hawks' such as House Speaker Paul D Ryan (R-Wis.) want it – in crisis. If this bill became law, the speaker would finally be positioned to change Medicare to a voucher program." … Continued

  • Category Legislative News Page 62

    The bill would reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to just four — 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent — and would keep the highest bracket at 39.6 percent. It also increases the standard deduction from ,350 (individuals)/,700 (married couples) to ,000 (individuals)/,000 (married couples). While the standard deduction would increase, taxpayers on the other hand would lose personal exemptions — the ones for themselves, a spouse and/or dependents, which currently are ,050 per person. Exemptions would be replaced with a 0 credit through 2022, and eliminated thereafter. .I'm a divorced retiree and I file taxes as a single household. Can you tell me why my benefits are taxed and how the income threshold that subjects Social Security benefits to tax is set? People who have adjusted gross incomes of ,000 (individual) can barely cover living expenses, let alone taxes too. Is there anything I can do to reduce this tax? .On Tuesday – three months later – a panel of three judges rejected the Obama administration's request in a 2-1 decision. They ruled that the state of Texas does have the legal standing to challenge President Obama's executive orders since implementing them will be costly to the state. … Continued

In new versions of this scam, scammers are impersonating the Social Security Administration using the Social Security Administration's own phone number as the incoming number on your caller ID. This is called "spoofing." Should you receive a call from someone alleging to be from the Social Security Administration you may report that information to the Social Security Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271, or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report. .Over the past nine years, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%, so it comes as a frustrating surprise to retirees to learn that, in the decade prior to 2000, COLAs averaged 3% per year, more than twice the average today. Because COLAs compound, and the monthly benefit grows over time, lower COLAs mean less Social Security income than retirees might have planned for. That in turn means spending through retirement savings more quickly than planned. .In addition to delivering petitions to Congressional offices, TSCL's Board of Trustees and legislative team – which is led by former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk – have met personally with more than fifty lawmakers and their top aides. Some highlights include meeting with the following Members of Congress: Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16), sponsor of the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act (H.R. 1585); Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4), sponsor of the CPI-E Act (H.R. 1030); Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Co-Chair of the Seniors Task Force; Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), sponsor of the Notch Fairness Act (H.R. 155); and Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), member of the Senate's "Gang of Eight" and sponsor of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. .In addition, U.S. Customs may be trying to clamp down on prescription drugs being shipped to American consumers from Canadian pharmacies. Although "reimportation" of prescription drugs from abroad continues to be illegal, Customs and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have only intermittently seized shipments of Canadian drugs in the past. Canadian mail order pharmacies and drug-buying programs run by senior advocates reported earlier this year that the number of seizures has more than quadrupled recently. .The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the agency within the Department of Labor that gathers information about prices that consumers pay in order to determine the inflation rate, and therefore the COLA for next year, has let it be known that because of the virus they are going to have to estimate some of the costs of goods and services instead of finding out what they actually are. .Cut back spending. Given that housing represents more than one-third of their expenses, older Americans might look for ways to free up the equity in their homes by downsizing or taking out a reverse mortgage, or find ways to cut their costs by exploring options such as home-sharing. .The CPI-E Act of 2017 (H.R.1251) gained two new cosponsors in Representative Peter Welch (VT-01) and Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08), bringing the new cosponsor total up to 4If signed into law, H.R. 1251 will base cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security benefits on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). .Click here for more information about our legislative agenda. There you can also sign a petition to your Members of Congress, view bills that have been recently introduced in the House and Senate, and stay updated with the latest news on Capitol Hill. .A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Obama's immigration program that defers deportation for almost 5 million illegal immigrants. Responding to a lawsuit filed by 26 states, the judge did not rule on the legality of immigration orders, but said there was sufficient merit to warrant a suspension of the new program while the case goes forward.