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We must ensure benefits earned are benefits maintained. That's why I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 141, bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in our last Congress. The WEP and GPO unfairly penalize workers who paid into Social Security and earned benefits in addition to receiving a public pension through other work..Because Medicare is such a crucial program, most members of Congress usually stumble over themselves to protect it. However, if the situation ever presents itself, they will use threats to Medicare to bash the other party..This week, TSCL's Board of Trustees traveled to Washington, D.C. for their second meeting of 201TSCL's Board of Trustees includes the following members: Larry Hyland, Chairman; Tom O'Connell, Vice-Chairman; Charlie Flowers, Secretary; Edward Cates, Treasurer ; Michael Gales, PAC Treasurer; and Richard Delaney, President of TREThe Enlisted Association..The effect tends to be tempered by the fact that the federal poverty level itself is adjusted for inflation every year, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers. In most years the CPI-U grows slightly faster than the index used to adjust Social Security benefits, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Thus, it tends to keep pace with the COLA. But in 2020, the CPI-U grew more slowly than the COLA, growing just 1% instead of the CPI-W's 1.3%. Thus, SNAP benefits and many other types of benefits were reduced or even eliminated this year for some beneficiaries..An estimated 39 million Medicare beneficiaries spend up to 29 percent of their Social Security benefits on healthcare costs, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. "That's a huge chunk of one's household budget, and chances are that many of those people are paying too much for premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket costs," says Mary Johnson a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "One of the best financial moves that Medicare beneficiaries can make is to review health and drug plan coverage and compare options during Medicare's Fall Open Enrollment Period, which starts October 15 and runs through December 7, 2021," Johnson says. "For many people, it could potentially save hundreds of dollars, making the difference between having to split pills or going without, versus to covering all prescriptions and still winding up with a little cash left over," says Johnson, who helps her friends and family with the task..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. Visit for more information..Republicans, so far, have been unwilling to go along with any Democratic proposals although there is still bi-partisan work going on in the Senate to try and come up with legislation to lower drug prices..A major factor in delaying Social Security is your life expectancy, and the age at which you would come out ahead. Chances are you would be ahead by your early 80s. Average life expectancy for men is 84 and nearly 87 for women, and more people these days are living well into their 90s..More Means Testing For Medicare: Higher income seniors with incomes of more than ,000 already pay more for their Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. More seniors will pay the higher costs in the future because the income threshold is not adjusted for inflation. President Obama has proposed raising the amounts that higher-income seniors would pay, and proposes new income thresholds that would push seniors into higher premium brackets more quickly.