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Addressing the Social Security Trust Fund shortfall by increasing both the amount of wages subject to taxation and, increasing the payroll tax rate. The bill would immediately tax wages above 0,000. That threshold would not be adjusted annually, and the current law maximum of 2,900 would continue to increase as scheduled, slowly closing the gap, until all covered earnings would be subject to payroll taxes by 204The bill would raise the payroll tax rate 0.1 percentage point per year until it reached 14.8% - 2.4% higher than today. Currently employees and employers each pay 6.2% for a total of 12.4%..TSCL also supports a second Notch Baby bill that Representative Emerson has introduced in the past - the Notch Baby Health Care Relief Act. That bill would provide a tax credit for the Part B premiums paid by Notch Babies born 1917 through 1926..Addressing prescription drug prices is also one of my top priorities as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The Committee launched a comprehensive investigation of the prescription drug industry's pricing practices in January of this year, focusing on the drugs that are the costliest to Medicare. In January I convened the Committee's first hearing of the 116th Congress on this topic, inviting AARP's National Volunteer President to testify about the challenges seniors face in affording their drugs..Medicare Part B premiums jumped .10 per month in 2020 - one of the biggest increases in recent years. While the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment increased benefits by 1.6 percent in 2020, Medicare Part B premiums climbed 6.7 percent, more than four times faster. A jump of this size can put older household budgets into a bind, forcing retirees to go without essentials when they run short before their next Social Security check..He purchased it on his first trip to the dealership after receiving an offer in the mail of payments of a month. Instead of a payment that low, though, he wound up owing 0+ a month for five years. His auto loan charges 18% interest. My brother couldn't pass a credit check from a legitimate lender. He's had numerous problems with debt collectors over the years, although he and his wife still own their home with no mortgage now. Do you have any advice?.This week, lawmakers continued working on an omnibus spending bill, and The Senior Citizens League endorsed new legislation that would give Social Security beneficiaries an emergency cost-of-living adjustment next year..The 2020 Medicare Trustees report recently estimated that the Hospital Insurance Trust fund will become depleted in six more years - 202"But the high level of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus for seriously ill Medicare patients may shorten the life expectancy of the Medicare Trust Fund," Johnson says..The hold harmless provision protects people who have their Medicare Part B premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security payments. If the Medicare Part B premium increase is greater than the amount of the COLA increase, then the Part B premium will be frozen to prevent a reduction in Social Security payments. The provision does not apply to new enrollees in 2016, people who pay their Medicare Part B premiums by check, low-income beneficiaries who have their Medicare premiums paid for by state Medicaid programs and high income people who pay premium surcharges..TSCL supports the Social Security 2100 Act enthusiastically since it would reform the program responsibly, without any cuts for beneficiaries. Our legislative team will continue to advocate for it in the months ahead, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 114th Congress. For updates on the progress of the Social Security 2100 Act, visit our Legislative News updates regularly or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.