Ways and Means Subcommittees Consider Entitlement Reform.Alexandria, VMore than 90 percent of older Americans are likely to be making a secret Christmas wish for the New Year, says The Senior Citizens League. "That's to make ends meet," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates. A national survey conducted by TSCL earlier this year found that 98 percent of Social Security recipients participating reported the annual cost-of-living adjustment had increased their Social Security benefits by less than a month in 2014, but 92 percent said their monthly expenses had increased by more than "That disparity between COLAs and rising costs is the 'Grinch that's stealing Christmas' for millions of older Americans this year," Cates says..The Senior Citizens League enthusiastically supports S. 974, and we will continue to advocate for its passage on Capitol Hill in the months ahead. For more information about this bill and others that have been backed by The Senior Citizens League, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. For frequent progress updates, follow TSCL on Twitter..The President's order halts the collection of Payroll taxes from Sept. 1 through the end of the year. In addition, he instructed the Treasury Department to look into how the government can forgive the deferred tax payment permanently because as things stand right now the taxes must be repaid after the first of the year..It makes no difference if a Member of Congress has broken the law. This newsletter recently reported that former Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was sentenced to eight years in jail for bribery charges, is entitled to an annual pension of about ,000. Currently, it takes an act of treason for a Member of the House or Senate to lose a pension..With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors' groups. 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..In September, federal agents announced the arrests of 35 people linked to a huge genetic testing scam. Individuals charged are accused of billing Medicare for more than .1 billion worth of phony genetic tests. The crackdown included telemedicine companies, doctors, and labs which worked in an elaborate scheme that preyed on people's fears of having genetic markers for cancer..Representative Dan Lipinski introduced H.R. 2787 on May 16, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.."But all bets would be off if the current payroll tax system is eliminated, or changed to something else," Johnson says. Getting rid of the payroll tax raises a great many questions as to how benefits would be calculated. Currently, retirement benefits are calculated on the 35 years of highest earnings. "Because wages tend to grow over time, replacing the current system with something else could mean lower benefits," Johnson points out.
