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Finally, because it started in China and it is a new strain of flu, health care officials in the U.S. are still learning about it and uncertainty exists..The Social Security Trust Fund is the single largest holder of U.S. debt. In the past, when more payroll taxes were received than required to pay benefits, the surplus was by law, used for other purposes. The federal government accounted for borrowing the funds by issuing I.O.Us from the U.S. Treasury to Social Security or Medicare Trust Funds. In recent years, the program's financing reversed and now both Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds are paying out more in benefits than money coming in. Both now rely on drawing down the interest and then the I.O.Us. But when the rest of the federal budget is in deficit, the government must borrow to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits. And according to a growing number of economists, those borrowing days are numbered..To read our full recommendations to Congress or for more information on the recent budget deal, visit our website at..This week, appropriators in the House and Senate revealed a unique proposal to prevent a government shutdown on December 11th. It would fund the entire federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year, except for the Department of Homeland Security. That agency would only receive funding through the next three months, which should buy lawmakers enough time to solidify a legislative response to President Obama's recent immigration orders..Re-opening is expected to be slow and painstaking as providers and states try different approaches to keep patients and staff safe. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released a bulletin about what patients should know about seeking healthcare during the pandemic, which can be found online at:..Bill to Give Free Vaccines for Seniors.Running for election to Congress has become incredibly expensive and lawmakers spend a great deal of their time all year long raising money to pay for their campaigns..I have proudly introduced this important legislation every single Congress since coming to the House of Representatives in 201Despite having over 100 bipartisan cosponsors each Congress, the bill has received little attention from House leadership. In September 2018, myself and my colleague, Representative Garret Graves offered this bill as an amendment to the Family Savings Act, which was part of Representative Kevin Brady's "Tax 2.0" package. Then in May of 2019, we offered the legislation as an amendment to H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act which passed the House 417-Unfortunately, both times, the amendment was defeated in the House Committee on Rules..Fall Congressional Recess Continues