News

Besides heart attack and stroke, heightened risk for heart failure and coronary artery disease was linked to fried food consumption, too..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..Improve work incentives and encourage disabled beneficiaries who improve to return to work. Current disability rules restrict what disabled beneficiaries can earn, which serves as a disincentive to those who are capable of re-entering the workforce. TSCL favors adopting rules that are consistent with those of the retirement and survivors program, which allows people to earn ,310 per month before benefits are reduced..The bills aren't paid..Finally, Rep. Rodney Davis's Social Security Fairness Act gained eight new cosponsors this week, bringing the total up to forty-six. They are: Reps. John Tierney, Joe Courtney, Julia Brownley, Aaron Schock, Peter Welch, James McGovern, Lois Capps, and Elijah Cummings. If signed into law, H.R. 1795 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year..Social Security beneficiaries receive a small automatic increase in their Social Security checks most years, intended to help their benefits keep up with rising costs. But since 2000, COLAs increased benefits a total of just 43 percent while typical senior expenses have jumped 86%. When costs climb more rapidly than benefits, retirees must spend down retirement savings more quickly than expected, and those without savings or other retirement income are either going into debt, or going without..You should know that there are some groups who call themselves senior groups but are funded mostly by the drug makers and other corporate interests. Whereas TSCL is beholden only to you, those groups dare not oppose the corporations that fund them, whether it is in the interests of seniors or not..The primary means of financing the benefits of the nation's 61 million Social Security recipients is a 6.2% payroll tax that is paid by employees and matched by employers - a total of 12.4%. Current law, however, imposes a limit on the amount of wages that are taxed for Social Security purposes, which is 7,200 in 201"Because Social Security benefits are based on wages, the Social Security cap on earnings also limits the initial retirement benefit that higher earners receive when they retire," Johnson explains. "In fact, all Social Security recipients are wrestling with growing income inadequacy as benefits replace a shrinking portion of wages, and this is especially true for those who earn more than the taxable maximum," Johnson says..Congress Should Work Together to Strengthen Social Security