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One of the key issues discussed was the growing concern surrounding the possibility of the Totalization Agreement between the United States and Mexico being signed by the President. If this happens, Congress would have a limited amount of time to actually review the Agreement. If Congress decides not to take any action, the Agreement would automatically go into effect..It required a mix of financial incentives, unprecedented world-wide need, and government prodding. But drug companies stepped up, and based on their performance in the stock market, they appear to be prospering. The federal government negotiated not only prices, but also it purchased hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines, made the vaccines available to the public at no charge, and has overseen the distribution of the vaccines to states. Those vaccines are saving lives, helping to get workers back on the job, and allowing those of us who are fully vaccinated to carefully start to resume pre-pandemic activities, such as visits with friends, family and grandchildren..Under current law, immigrants who work without legal authorization, but who later gain legal status, aren't prosecuted for using fraudulent or even stolen Social Security numbers. Those who kept evidence of earnings, like W2s, could later reinstate unauthorized earnings under a valid Social Security number and legally claim benefits based on those illegal earnings. Suspicious wage reports remain in the Earnings Suspense File until the Social Security Administration receives evidence to link the unidentified earnings to a valid work-authorized Social Security number..The past two years without a cost-of-living adjustment felt like the government clamped a lid on benefits. Now a Congressional debt reduction committee is working on a plan that's likely to keep your COLA "chained" down in the future by switching to a more slowly-growing "chained" consumer price index..On Monday, President Obama's November immigration orders which TSCL's members and supporters overwhelmingly oppose according to recent poll results were temporarily halted by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas. Judge Hanen did not rule on the legality of the President's orders on Tuesday the lawsuit is expected to take many months to complete. Instead, he issued a 123-page temporary injunction on the grounds that President Obama's orders did not go through the proper procedures, which require public notices and comment periods. Judge Hanen wrote: "This is not the end of the inquiry; in fact, in this case, it is really the tip of the iceberg.".The Medicare Part A outlook has worsened due to both the financial impacts of COVID-19 and the high levels of people out of work. Nationwide business closures, layoffs and salary cuts, have significantly reduced the amount of revenues received by the Medicare HI trust fund over the past year, while payments to hospitals were increased 20% by emergency legislation for COVID-related care, and the elimination of cost sharing associated with COVID treatments..TSCL supports H.R. 4012 enthusiastically, and we were pleased to see two new cosponsors sign on to it this week. We will be advocating for the passage of H.R. 4012 and S. 2251 Sen. Elizabeth Warren's companion bill tirelessly in the coming months because we know that a 3.9 percent COLA would provide much-needed relief to our members and supporters next year..In the meantime, The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would boost Social Security benefits and tie the annual COLA to an index that better reflects the expenditures of retirees, such as the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. To learn more visit..This week, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill to begin the "lame duck" session of Congress. Those in the Senate plus Republicans in the House held leadership elections for the 116th Congress. In the Senate, key leadership positions will remain largely unchanged in 201Senator Mitch McConnell will once again serve as the Senate Majority Leader, while Senator Chuck Schumer will remain the Minority Leader in the 116th Congress.