Sen. Lindsey Graham said, "I do believe we should be helping people on Social Security because the price of food has gone up and I don't see any end in sight," he said. "A payment to Social Security recipients who are on fixed income of ,000 and below might make sense.".Rep. Charles Gonzalez introduced H.R. 456 on January 26, 201It has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means..Consider this, 5 per month is about one quarter of the average ,523 per month Social Security benefit in 202About one third of those participating in our 2020 Senior Survey indicated they spent that much on their total healthcare costs. Another 31% said they spend more than ,000 a month on total healthcare costs - roughly two-thirds of the average Social Security benefit! These findings are particularly troubling considering that the Government Accountability Office estimated in 2019 that almost half of households with people aged 55 and older have no retirement savings or other form of pension outside of Social Security..Upon introducing the bill, Sen. Brown said, "For many Americans, Social Security benefits are the foundation of their retirement security. But many of our public sector workers like teachers and first-responders have seen their benefits reduced for years because of unfair laws that target them … These workers have taught our children and kept our communities safe. It's time they receive equal treatment under Social Security law.".One TSCL member Barbara B., 75 of Indiana recently told us: "It's been 36 months since I've had any raise in my net operating Social Security, but my actual household costs continue to go up. This isn't fair to retirees." Barbara, who is now 75, retired 9 years ago. Like many seniors around the country, she feels that her Social Security benefits are not keeping up with inflation..TSCL supports the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act enthusiastically since it would extend the solvency of the program responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. We look forward to working closely with Senator Hirono and Congressman Deutch in the months ahead to help build support for their important new bill..Despite resistance from some lawmakers, appropriators in the House and Senate say that their work on the "cromnibus" is continuing. According to Harold Rogers, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, negotiations are "on schedule," and the bill should come to the floor by early next week. If it fails to get the necessary votes, lawmakers will likely adopt a continuing resolution to provide the government with short-term funding. At this point, leaders are saying that a government shutdown is not something that they're willing to consider..Get started now on a financial habit that can give you big savings for the time you invest in shopping around..Congress is now in recess and is not scheduled to start again until April 20. Of course, that could change, depending on the situation with the spread of the virus.
