The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Frank Pallone, Jr. has been working with the top Republican on that committee, Greg Walden of Oregon, on what measures need to be included in the next coronavirus bill. Walden is pushing for a surprise billing measure to be in the bill, but Pallone has yet to commit to it..The following reflects the views of the writer and are not necessarily those of The Senior Citizens League..The Social Security Trust Fund is the single biggest government account to which the U.S. Treasury owes money, with obligations currently totaling about .8 trillion dollars. From the mid 1980s until 2010, the Social Security Trust Funds received more revenues than required to pay benefits. Under current law, when surplus revenues are received, the Treasury issues special bonds or I.O.Us to the Trust Funds and excess revenues are used for other government spending. The government is required by law to pay interest on those I.O.U bonds..Take a complete list of all your prescriptions, vitamins, and supplements with you on your next visit to the doctor. Note the dosage and the quantity you use monthly. Find out whether you still need to take them all, and if there's a less-expensive brand name or generic you can try before settling on new expensive brand meds..Sen. Kerry's bill, if signed into law, would amend the Social Security Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. These two provisions unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. TSCL believes that Congress should repeal the GPO and the WEP so that dedicated public servants receive the retirement security they deserve..Early in the summer, I spent an afternoon at one of two critical access hospitals in my district in Southeastern Ohio. It's a hospital with just 25 beds and an Emergency Department no larger than many families' kitchens. Still, every year the doctors and nurses there care for more than 2,000 inpatients and treat an astonishing 50,000 outpatients..The report stated that the four changes together would eliminate 113% of Social Security's projected long-term financing gap. The majority of participants, who included all income levels, and political party affiliations, preferred the package of changes. "This survey reflects similar findings to surveys conducted by TSCL," says TSCL's Executive Director Shannon Benton. We hope that this survey can serve as an outline for a plan to strengthen Social Security without having to rely on benefit cuts," she states. "We encourage our readers to share the findings of this study with your Members of Congress," Benton adds..Increasing the frequency of Continuing Disability Reviews. Additional funding for CDRs, which are conducted periodically to determine if enrollees still qualify for DI benefits, would return significant savings to the program according to recent projections..Also this week, seventeen new cosponsors signed on to Rep. Rodney Davis's Social Security Fairness Act, bringing the total up to thirty-eight. In addition, one new cosponsor signed on to Sen. Mark Begich's Social Security Fairness Act in the Senate, bringing the total to four. Both bills, if signed into law, would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. TSCL firmly believes that the GPO and the WEP should be repealed immediately so that dedicated public servants receive the retirement security they deserve. H.R. 1795 and S. 896 would do just that, and we were pleased to see eighteen new cosponsors announce their support this week.
