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Senate Republican Whip John Thune, who TSCL met with last week, noted the Senate plans to hold multiple hearings on what should be included in the next relief bill, but he said moving a bill "probably doesn't happen" until July..Here are three things you can start doing right now to lower your Medicare costs.Specifically, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual paying into the system from one job while receiving a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. Educators are just one example of folks especially hard hit when they take a summer job. The GPO significantly cuts by two-thirds the spousal benefits of federal, state and local employees in jobs not covered by Social Security such as police officers, firefighters, and educators..However, he has apparently given up his demand..For most Americans, the prices of essential prescription drugs are increasing far too rapidly for family budgets to sustain. Many Americans are being forced to choose between paying household bills and purchasing life-saving medications. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation issued a poll last October reporting that 77% of Americans - Democrats, Independents, and Republicans - identified the increasing prices of prescription drugs as their number one health concern.The American people are absolutely right..If signed into law, S. 2023 would take a number of steps to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, including requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate Part D drug prices, allowing the re-importation of drugs from Canada, closing the "doughnut hole" three years earlier than current law, and prohibiting "pay-for-delay" deals between drug manufacturers.."TSCL surveys indicate there is no support for benefit cuts among older voters," Johnson says. "We have learned, however, that there is widespread support to boost the amount of wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax, and to provide more adequate Social Security income," she says. "Raising the Social Security taxable maximum is a way to do both," she points out.."The drug is essential," Heyman testified. "People can die without it… The drug company deserves the right to make a profit. But it is unconscionable that one company, Valeant, can hold Wilson Disease patients hostage," she said in her testimony..The new cosponsors are: Sen. Jack Reed, Reps. Mark Takano, James Langevin, Ed Whitfield, Patrick Meehan, William Keating, Duncan Hunter, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Raul Grijalva, John Larson, Billy Long, Michael Honda, David Price, Daniel Lipinski, Jan Schakowsky, Rosa DeLauro, and Ed Royce.