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The Senior Citizens League supports legislation called the Fair COLA for Seniors Act that would strengthen the annual COLA by tying it to a "seniors" index, the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers, which over time is expected to provide modestly higher benefits than the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which is used to calculate the COLA under current law. In addition, TSCL supports legislation that would provide a minimum COLA of no less than 3%. This would provide extra protection in years when inflation is below that amount..Three Bills Gain Support.This week, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle spoke favorably about Tavenner on the Senate floor. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, urged his colleagues to vote for her, stating: "She's dedicated. She has the ability, and I believe that she will do a great job." In addition, Sen. Tim Kaine, who served as Tavenner's boss as the former Governor of Virginia, spoke highly of her cost-cutting skills. He said, "There was no one in my cabinet that was more creative and passionate about achieving savings without sacrificing patient care.".Low-income individuals whose state Medicaid programs pay their Medicare Part B premium on their behalf..Several bills to address this issue have gained traction in Congress and bill sponsors are trying to prevent problems by inserting language into the legislation that would bar drug companies from retaliating against Canadian pharmacies that sell medication to U.S. consumers at the lower Canadian prices. The Senior Citizens League supports the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act. In 2017 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a previous version of the bill would reduce the federal deficit by about .8 billion over the next ten years..The provision would ban earnings from jobs worked without legal authorization from being used to determine entitlement to Social Security benefits and for calculating the amount of initial benefits, legislation that TSCL and TSCL's grass roots members have long supported. TSCL's Legislative Assistant, Jessie Gibbons delivered a letter from Chairman, Larry Hyland, expressing TSCL's support for the amendment to Senators Hatch and Rubio..Social Security's finances depend largely on payroll taxes, tying the strength of Social Security to the strength of the U.S. economy. The U.S. unemployment rate was more than 13.3% through May. That was worse than the 2009 Great Recession, when the unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.6% in January 20With 20.5 million people out of work, combined with a higher number of new claims for benefits as older unemployed workers turn to Social Security, there will be a significant impact on the finances of the Social Security Trust Funds. The degree of the impact depends on how long it takes to get our economy safely up and running again..years, seniors participating in TSCL surveys say they are putting off visits to.Trustees Release Annual Social Security and Medicare Reports