News

I have proudly introduced this important legislation every single Congress since coming to the House of Representatives in 201Despite having over 100 bipartisan cosponsors each Congress, the bill has received little attention from House leadership. In September 2018, myself and my colleague, Representative Garret Graves offered this bill as an amendment to the Family Savings Act, which was part of Representative Kevin Brady's "Tax 2.0" package. Then in May of 2019, we offered the legislation as an amendment to H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act which passed the House 417-Unfortunately, both times, the amendment was defeated in the House Committee on Rules..TSCL continues to work for the passage of Notch Reform legislation. Recently Representative Jo Ann Emerson, a stalwart Notch Reform advocate, re-introduced the Notch Baby Act of 201The legislation would provide additional benefit increases for Notch Baby beneficiaries who first became eligible for benefits, at age 62, from 1979 through 1988..With people living longer, retiring too early means potentially leaving tens of thousands in retirement income behind. Who can afford to do that? If you haven't started benefits yet, beware of the anchor effect, and remember that age 70 is the age to get your maximum retirement benefit. Individual circumstances vary though. It's a good idea to get professional help if you can, to take your time to learn about your benefits, and to decide the best age for you to start benefits. This is an important decision. It pays to take your time. To learn more about the "anchor effect," read "What Was I Thinking?".Then, in September, our entire country was appalled when a 32-year-old former hedge fund manager, Martin Shkreli, jacked up the price of Daraprim - a drug used to treat a life-threatening parasitic infection in people with suppressed immune systems like cancer patients and people with HIV/AIDS - from .50 per tablet to 0, overnight..However, he has apparently given up his demand..2009 Annual Medicare Trustees Report, May 12, 200"How Medicare Part B Premiums Would Be Affected If There Is No Social Security COLA," Kathleen Romig, Jim Hahn, Congressional Research Service, May 4, 2009 7-5700..According to Michael Astrue, the Commissioner of Social Security, the report "contains troubling, but not unexpected, projections about Social Security's finances." Income including interest to the combined OASDI Trust Funds totaled 5 billion in 2011, while total expenditures amounted to 6 billion. Non-interest income fell below program costs, however, and should continue to do so through the remainder of the 75-year period. The Trustees estimated that 158 million people paid Social Security payroll taxes in 2011, while approximately 55 million collected Social Security benefits..I recently read that if retirees got higher cost-of-living-adjustments some low-income people would lose eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps, and other benefits. Would using a senior consumer price index to determine the annual raise really do this?.Low-income "dual-eligibles" - Medicare beneficiaries whose incomes are so low that they are also eligible for Medicaid. Part B premiums are paid on their behalf by state Medicaid programs.