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With it being such a contentious election year, Congress enacted legislation to limit that jump in Part B which could be made even worse because the COLAs of so many beneficiaries would not be high enough to cover the full amount of the increase..But our fight to protect seniors doesn't stop there. My bill also ends the nonsensical practice of "double taxation" on Social Security benefits for middle class seniors. Currently, many seniors pay taxes when they receive their Social Security benefits, even though they were taxed to create those benefits throughout their working lives. That's wrong! Providing a tax cut to middle class seniors while increasing the sustainability of Social Security is something everyone in Congress can and should agree on..This week, House and Senate lawmakers remained in their home states and districts for a two-week spring break. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, April 29th. Until then, many Members of Congress will be hosting town hall meetings and attending events in their home states and districts.."To lower the expected cost of these new benefits, House Democrats have proposed introducing the new dental benefits starting in 2028, ramping up the coverage over five years.".However, TSCL is opposed to two provisions that lawmakers included in the package to offset its 0 billion cost. One of those provisions will increase monthly premiums for beneficiaries with higher incomes, and the other will create a new 0 deductible for those enrolled in supplemental Medigap plans. Both of them will require seniors to pay more out-of-pocket for their healthcare..Another concern about congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is the potential for cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. In recent debates, Social Security benefits have been used as a bargaining chip and have been held hostage to the debt limit increase. Some retirees have felt the sting of unexpected benefit cuts. In 2015, following the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, millions of seniors, already eligible for Social Security benefits, learned that an important claiming method called "file and suspend" a particularly important protection for women who tend to have lower benefits than men would no longer be an option to them..The idea is to cut government spending on Medicare by limiting the annual growth of the Medicare voucher to the growth of the gross domestic product plus one percentage point. However, for the last 40 years national healthcare spending has exceeded the growth of the gross domestic product by more than two percentage points, and TSCL is highly concerned that the vouchers would rapidly become increasingly inadequate to purchase sufficient coverage or that seniors would face significantly higher premiums. In addition, the CBO recently wrote that the average age and cost of enrollees remaining in the current system would increase over time, and TSCL believes that would lead to far higher premiums for older beneficiaries as well..The main source of funding for Social Security comes from the payroll taxes that workers pay into the program. But there are two other sources of revenues: taxes that retirees pay on their Social Security benefits, and the "interest" earned by the "I.O.U.s" held by the Social Security Trust Fund..Rep. Charles Gonzalez introduced H.R. 456 on January 26, 201It has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.