But the hyper - inflation of 2021also means that Social Security recipients are likely to see the highest cost-of-living adjustment in almost four decades. Johnson estimates that the Social Security COLA payable in 2022 will be about 6.2 percent if the current trends continue. "That's a huge boost, coming after COLAs have averaged a meager 1.4 percent over the past 12 years," Johnson notes..Republicans as a whole did not object to the renaming provision and they agreed with Democrats that the NDAA was not the place for the social media provision that Trump wants. As a result, both houses of Congress passed the NDAA last week with majorities that are large enough to override Trump's threatened veto..Also last week, House Democrats unveiled a range of health care measures to be included in their coming .5 trillion package, including provisions to lower prescription drug prices and expand Medicaid in the 12 GOP-led states that have refused to do so. The measure unveiled by the House Energy and Commerce Committee includes legislation to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices, known as H.R. 3..Last week, most seemed doubtful that Members of Congress would successfully reach an agreement before the looming deadline due to demands from some lawmakers to attach hundreds of controversial policy riders to the package. However, this week, many are reporting that appropriators have narrowed down the list of policy riders to a more manageable number, and leaders in Congress seem surprisingly optimistic about the prospects of the massive omnibus..The members of Congress still cling to that particular tradition even though by the time they come back to town in September they have less than a month to complete their work to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year which begins October If they were able to get their work done on time like they used to the August recess would make more sense..Higher taxes and reductions to benefits are expected to top the discussions of the next Congress. If we intend to protect our Social Security and Medicare benefits, it's going to be up to us to play a major role in crafting the solution. We're out of time for partisan stand offs. This is not an "us versus them" situation. This is a "we" as in "we are all in the same boat." Please join TSCL in helping to be part of the solution. To learn how you can take part click the links to: sign a petition, make a donation, or become a member of TSCL..This week, Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts to continue the fall recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill following the November elections to begin the lame duck session. Until then, most lawmakers will be attending local events and holding town hall meetings in their home states and districts..The difference in drug prices between the lowest and highest costing plans, can be in the hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. For brand name and specialty drugs, the most frequent reason that the drug costs so much more in the highest costing plan is lack of coverage. The drug is not listed on the high cost plan's formulary. For example, the lowest cost plan for Sovaldi, a drug used to treat Hepatitis C, charges ,600 in co-insurance. The highest cost drug plan charges 0,800, the full cost of the drug, because Sovaldi is not on the plan's formulary..Instead, they are banking on seniors losing the grit and determination that saw them build America into the greatest economic and military power the world has ever known, in order to tax more, spend more, borrow more, and leave us a diminished nation. The generation of my mother and father left me a nation of opportunity and freedom. I assure you, I am reminded of that legacy every day I am in Congress, and remain determined to leave my children, and your grandchildren, a stronger nation.