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Across the country Meals on Wheels programs are reducing the number of meals delivered to low-income seniors or shutting down altogether according to a new survey. The programs typically deliver a hot prepared meal five days a week to people over 60 who are homebound and/or unable to shop and cook, low income, or all three. Without Congressional action, the programs will be cut by about .7 million in federal funding this year due to the automatic budget cuts known as "sequester.".With about 1 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of TREA The Enlisted Association. Please visit or call for more information..After passing new tax legislation that's projected to increase the federal deficit by more than .5 trillion over the next ten years, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell recently blamed Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for the rapidly increasing deficit. McConnell said the only way to lower the deficit would be to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid..To contact Social Security, you may call toll free at or visit the website at..Fall Congressional Recess Continues.TSCL is adamantly opposed to "Chaining the COLA" and continues to fight it. TSCL is gathering the signatures of thousands of seniors. Should the plan achieve passage, TSCL is prepared to lead a national repeal campaign of the same kind that resulted in the immediate repeal of "Medicare Catastrophic" in the late 1980s. To sign a petition or to learn how you can take part in our campaign, visit TSCL on the web at..Forty-one million Americans participate in Part D. Medicare should be able to negotiate drug prices on their behalf just as the VA and private insurers do. Doing so would have the potential to lower drug costs for Part D participants and save Medicare money. For these reasons, I've introduced multiple bills to end Medicare's ban on price negotiation, and have urged President Trump not to renege on his campaign pledges supporting this..Some have hailed this provision as the closing of a "loophole," while others have said the provision will cause companies to cut jobs, and cut prescription drug coverage for retirees. Because companies would no longer be able to deduct the subsidy, it would increase the taxes they expect to pay under current law. The Senior Citizens League is monitoring this provision's potential effects on retirees. TSCL is concerned that some employers may cancel the often-generous prescription drug coverage that they provide to their retirees as a result of the expected increased costs of providing that benefit. If any retirees lose their current prescription drug coverage, they could then go through Medicare Part D to get their prescription drug coverage.."The combination of lower benefits and higher expenses in recent years means many more seniors are already struggling to make ends meet," said Larry Hyland, chairman of The Senior Citizens League. "We agree that Social Security must be reformed in order