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This Congress, I introduced the Fair COLA for Seniors Act, to ensure that your Social Security payment keeps pace with your cost of living. This bill would change the current ineffective price index used to calculate Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment to one tailored around the lives and needs of seniors. This index, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, accurately reflects how seniors spend their money, with a focus on healthcare and housing. It is a common-sense proposal that will allow for benefits to keep up with costs..This week, TSCL was pleased to lend its support to Rep. Scott Rigell's H.Res. 66The resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any changes made to Medicare should not affect those over the age of fifty-five. It also states that any Medicare reform package should provide a detailed plan to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the program..TSCL's Board of Trustees on Capitol Hill.Between July 2013 and July 2014, the prices of more than 1,200 generic drugs increased an average of 448%. What do you believe should be done to manage the extreme cost increases of prescription drugs?.There were certain federal health programs set to expire at the end of May, but the expiration date was extended to Nov. 30 in one of the recently passed bills to deal with the coronavirus situation..A common debate is re-emerging this year over Social Security's "deficit, " as the federal borrowing limit looms. The debt limit, which was suspended since late 2015, was re-instated on March 16th. That debt limit sets the money the Treasury can borrow to pay for federal obligations, including money owed to the Social Security Trust Fund..The chances are high that the next president of the United States will sign into law legislation that reforms the Social Security program and extends the solvency of the trust fund beyond 2034, its projected year of exhaustion. For years leaders in Washington have been authoring sweeping plans that would enact major benefit cuts like reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased eligibility ages in order to strengthen the financing of the program. But the unpopularity of those plans with voters ensured those plans never went anywhere..Since the Social Security Administration announced the 2013 benefit boost last fall, fuel, food and healthcare costs have steadily climbed. U.S. households that heat with oil are expected to pay nearly 20 percent more this winter compared to last year. Homes that rely on oil heat will pay an average of 7 more this winter according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration..TSCL is working for legislation that would eliminate the one-time gain "means test," and supports efforts that would repeal determination of Medicare benefits based on income. To learn more, please visit.