In the days and weeks ahead, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will closely monitor the movement of S. Con. Res. 3 since a repeal of the Affordable Care Act will impact older Americans in several ways. For instance, progress that has been made to close the Medicare Part D prescription drug "doughnut hole" will be reversed, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that finances Medicare Part A will lose a critical stream of funding created by the law. Throughout the 115th Congress, TSCL's legislative team will continue to advocate on Capitol Hill for legislation that would reduce any negative impacts on the Medicare program. .With about 1 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. .As our nation goes through the process of getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and getting our lives back on track, TSCL is working on a number of long-term issues that await Congressional attention. We expect policy makers in Congress will be turning their attention to the question of boosting benefits and restoring the long-term solvency of the Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds. .Since 1980, the BLS has manipulated the CPI several times so that it no longer measures price inflation. Rather, it measures an ever-changing "market basket" of goods that is adjusted as prices drop and increase. It assumes that shoppers will purchase chicken when steak becomes too expensive, or apples instead of oranges when their prices drop. This has resulted in a more slowly growing COLA for Social Security beneficiaries. Instead of allowing seniors to keep up with rising costs, today's COLA requires them to constantly adjust to lower standards of living. .Payments for neurologist-prescribed brand name, but not generic, drugs in Medicare Part D increased consistently and well above inflation from 2013-2017. .You can apply for widow benefits as early as age 60, but if you start prior to your full retirement age, your benefits will be reduced. In addition, your benefits would be further reduced if you earn more than the annual earnings limit, which is ,640 in 2012 (,220 per month). More on this in a moment. .According to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) recent baseline data for the Social Security Trust Funds, Social Security is expected to receive about 7 billion in payroll tax revenues in 202The CBO further estimates that the Trust Fund would receive billion in revenues in 2021 from the taxation of Social Security benefits. .On halting evictions, the President has said many times in recent days he wants to prevent them. The President called for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield to "consider" whether an eviction ban is needed. .The SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act (H.R. 4521) gained one new cosponsor in Representative Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), bringing the new cosponsor total up to 20. If enacted, H.R. 4521 would streamline the application process for senior citizens to receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill would also encourage collaboration between local Social Security offices and the SNAP programs to help seniors at risk of hunger enroll in both benefits simultaneously.