Senator McConnell's comments came a day after the U.S. Treasury Department released an analysis that revealed the corporate tax cuts under the new tax law had a significant impact on the deficit in 201Supporters of the 2017 tax legislation sold the bill saying that the tax cuts would spur economic growth so much that it would pay for itself. But the Treasury Department recently reported that the U.S. budget deficit grew to 9 billion in Trump's first full fiscal year as president, as a result of the tax cuts, spending increases, and rising interest payments for the national debt..There are better and more fair choices for indexing the COLA. The BLS also measures the price change experience of All Urban Consumers which covers about 88% of the U.S. population including retirees as well as younger people, and it even maintains a "senior-specific" experimental CPI, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, that our government has quietly tinkered with since 1983, but has never used to calculate the COLA..To learn more, visit..TSCL's members and supporters, through various surveys and polls, have backed these policy recommendations. Together, they represent a balanced and responsible path forward for the DI program. To read the full set of policy recommendations submitted by TSCL to the Social Security Subcommittee, visit our website. To stay updated on efforts to strengthen and reform the Social Security program, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..During the debt limit negotiations, one of the most frequently discussed components of deficit reduction plans included a switch to the "chained" CPI. Such a proposal wouldn't just impact Social Security benefits; it would also reduce Railroad Retirement benefits, military retirement, and federal pension payouts as well as Supplemental Security Income payments received by very low-income seniors. In addition, seniors would also pay more in taxes since the CPI is also used to adjust tax brackets, the standard deduction, and personal exemptions..From January through March, TSCL surveyed seniors and disabled Medicare beneficiaries to learn how our readers feel about many of the proposals under debate. Almost 5,000 of you weighed in. The answers are important as members of Congress consider major changes to Medicare, most of which would make people pay more for their benefits..Compare plans: Once you have entered all the information you will get your results. The results are available for both 2012 and 2013, but check and see which you are looking at. You first should compare how your current coverage is changing for 201You will also be surprised by what a difference a year makes in your lowest cost plan from 2012 to 201When making comparisons, check all the details. The results page allows you to compare up to three plans side by side. This is enormously helpful when juggling so many plans and details. Check the boxes of three you would like to compare. When comparing health plans, for example, you will see links to health plan benefits, drug costs and coverage, and plan ratings. Click each and print out results..Do you suspect someone of committing disability fraud? Learn how to report fraud online at the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General or call or write the Fraud Hotline..The COLA will be announced in mid - October and the Medicare Part B premium often is announced by the end of November.