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Upon introducing the bill back in 2015, Congressman John Larson said: "Social Security remains the nation's bedrock retirement program and provides vital protection … Many Americans, however, do not believe it will be there for them when they retire. I am proud to announce a common sense path forward today that not only strengthens benefits now, but ensures Social Security will be here through the next century.".Virtually all low-income programs such as food stamps, rental assistance and Medicare Extra Help, come with complex eligibility rules and income restrictions that are tied to a percentage of the federal poverty level, such as 100%, 135% or 150%. If your income is right on the borderline, and you get a high COLA boost, that could potentially cause you to see trims to benefits from programs that have income restrictions. Some individuals might lose access to certain low-income benefits altogether because the COLA boosts their income over the limit..High-income beneficiaries who pay an income-related surcharge in addition to the basic premium..How do they claim benefits if the law prohibits illegals from collecting?.This week, President Obama sent his fiscal 2016 budget blueprint to Congress, and The Senior Citizens League saw one new cosponsor sign on to the Notch Fairness Act..The Obama administration will decide soon whether to appeal Monday's injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In the meantime, TSCL will keep a close eye on the immigration discussions since the President's recent orders could result in permanent and significant obligations for the Social Security and Medicare programs down the road. We will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..Third, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 gained two new cosponsors in Representative Bill Posey and Suzanne Bonamici, bringing the cosponsor total to 17If signed into law, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other public servants each year..Roughly one - half of all retiree households report that a portion of their Social Security benefits are subject to taxation, according to recent survey results from The Senior Citizens League. "This is a tax that was estimated to affect just 10 percent of Social Security beneficiaries when it was first enacted in 1983," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..New eligibility rules make it considerably easier for millions of applicants, including seniors under the age of 65, who are too young for Medicare, to qualify for the program. But older seniors continue to have much more restrictive and stringent asset and savings tests to satisfy before they qualify for Medicaid, because the new rules don't apply to seniors age 65 and older. This sets up inequities in benefits between seniors like Notch Babies who are in their late 80s and 90s and who are more likely to be receiving long-term care, and other people younger than 65 who will benefit from the less stringent Medicaid qualification rules.