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TSCL will continue to monitor this debate, and will work to educate Members of Congress about the potential for problems in funding benefits that could result from extending the payroll tax holiday. In the meantime, TSCL is also asking seniors to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to oppose extending the Social Security payroll tax cut..This week, one new cosponsor Senator Dean Heller signed on to Senator David Vitter's Notch Fairness Act. Senator Heller is currently the bill's only cosponsor..If signed into law, the Improving Care for Vulnerable Older Citizens through Workforce Advancement Act would create six different demonstration projects that focus on the coordination of care and the delivery of medical services to elderly patients with chronic illnesses. The projects would design and test new models of care coordination, and direct-care workers would be granted opportunities to advance their careers through additional training, increased compensation, and expanded roles..In response to concerns over high prescription drug prices, I have introduced two bills in this Congress to lower the cost of prescription drugs. H.R. 448, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries. H.R. 447, the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, would allow qualifying prescription drugs manufactured at FDA-inspected facilities of licensed Canadian sellers to be imported into the United States. These solutions, along with other bills introduced by my colleagues in the House and Senate, will help to fundamentally change the playing field, helping to lower prices for patients while reining in excessive drug company profits..Representative Peter DeFazio.May 2007.In a rare holiday session, Members of the House and Senate voted to pass the American Taxpayer Relief Act in order to avert the Fiscal Cliff. With votes of 89-8 in the Senate and 257-167 in the House, the bill was approved in the first hours of the New Year, and it was signed into law by the President on Wednesday. The measure permanently extends the Bush-era tax rates for individuals making less than 0,000 and couples making less than 0,000, and it allows rates to increase for those making more. The law also temporarily prevents a 27 percent pay cut for physicians who treat Medicare patients, and it includes a two-month postponement of the automatic spending cuts that were scheduled to take effect on January 1st.."Even one year of high health costs, like being hospitalized for surgery, could force most seniors to spend through their savings faster, or go into debt," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates. "Most retirees are dealing with fragile fiscal safety nets," he says. "What makes this finding so significant is that most Medicare health plans have annual out-of-pocket maximums that exceed ,000," Cates adds..TSCL is also highly concerned that the candidates are not talking enough about protecting the annual COLA from cuts. During the recent 2011 debt limit talks with House Speaker John Boehner, President Obama floated a debt reduction plan that would have reduced government spending annual increase by using the chained Consumer Price Index to calculate the COLA.