For example, those living in North Carolina's 3rd congressional district received emails introducing them to Congressman Walter Jones, sponsor of the Social Security Guarantee Act, and consistent supporter of important bills like the Notch Fairness Act and the Social Security Fairness Act. Those living in Oregon's 4th district received emails introducing Congressman Peter DeFazio, sponsor of three critical bills: the CPI-E Act, the Social Security Protection and Truth in Budgeting Act, and the No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act. These and other campaign efforts proved to be successful, as many critical lawmakers won their re-election bids and will continue to advocate for seniors in the next session of Congress. .But New Co-Pay "Tiers" May Raise Some Costs .Both chambers of Congress adjourned for the President's Day Holiday this week and are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, February 25th. Meanwhile, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, former co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released a new proposal that would avert the looming sequester and trim .4 trillion from the deficit. In addition, two Members of Congress re-introduced a critical bill that would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund without cutting benefits. .Just how bad is it? We were stunned to learn just how big the disparity in drug prices can be. Recently I compared the highest and lowest prices of the top ten most-prescribed drugs in the U.S. using the Medicare drug plan finder. In my area, a monthly supply of diabetes drug Lantus Solostar for example, ranges from a high of 2.00 from the mail order pharmacy of First Health Part D Value Plus plan to a low of .75 from the network retail pharmacies for SilverScript Choice. In fact, the cost difference between the highest and lowest-cost plans for the ten drugs compared averaged 3 per month! .The Senior Citizens League enthusiastically supports S. 2554, H.R. 1251, and H.R. 4704, and we will continue to advocate for their passage in the months ahead. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .As a member of Congress, I have sought to protect Social Security and have advocated for seniors. From writing to President Obama urging him to exclude chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) from his 2015 budget to drafting legislation to help seniors save on tax deductions for medical expenses — I have fought to ensure Congress does not try to balance the budget on the backs of seniors. .Lawmakers returned to their home states and districts this week to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Members of the Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday, while Members of the House are expected to return on Sunday, just one day before the Fiscal Cliff is scheduled to hit. .Medicare open enrollment: It pays to get it right .Third, one new cosponsor, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-8), signed on to the bipartisan Fair COLA for Seniors Act (H.R. 1553), bringing the total up to twenty-seven. If adopted, this bill would better protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits by adopting a more adequate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Under current law, COLAs underestimate the inflation seniors experience because they are based on the way young, working Americans spend their money. As a result, Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 according to our research.