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"The group of Democrats blocked one committee from advancing their party's drug-pricing legislation, with two members arguing it was too far-reaching and could stymie innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Some of those Democrats also want to rein in a proposal to expand Medicare to include dental coverage, a high priority for progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders.".According to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, in 2015, the weighted average net price for top-selling brand name specialty drugs in Medicare Part D was ,600 for a 30-day supply, almost twice as much as the weighted average net price of ,920 for the same drugs in Medicaid. The big difference is how drug prices are determined..On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees hosted a successful breakfast reception for all Members of the 113th Congress and their staff, along with Shannon Benton, former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk, and TSCL's staff. More than 125 Members of Congress and/or staff were in attendance, and we were pleased to have the chance to speak with them about the issues that matter most to TSCL's members and supporters. We especially want to thank Rep. Nick Rahall, who has been a regular attendee at TSCL's receptions..Now a leading budget policy organization is pushing Congress to fully offset the cost of building the wall and other new spending and tax cuts with entitlement cuts - specifically, adopting the more slowly-growing Chained Consumer Price Index to calculate annual Cost of Living Adjustments. That's a change that would cut federal spending by about 0 billion, the group estimates..This week, Members of one Senate Appropriations Subcommittee approved a spending bill that would fund the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs through fiscal year 201In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw three key bills gain support..According to Senator Thune, there is likely to be another major bill providing more money for businesses and others to keep the economy afloat. However, that may not happen until later in June or sometime in July. Obviously, that will use up time that would otherwise have been spent dealing with the other important issues Congress must address..House Adjourns for Recess.The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011 was passed by a House panel this week. The bill was previously approved by the House Ways and Means Committee and is now scheduled for a House floor vote..According to the CBO report, the fiscal shortfall is largely due to the growth of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest payments as a share of the country's gross domestic product, while tax revenue stays relatively steady and spending for other programs drops.