This week, lawmakers returned to their home states and districts to begin the month-long August recess.
Month-Long August Recess Begins
Late last week, lawmakers in the House returned to their home districts to begin the month-long August recess. Those in the Senate left Washington on Thursday, August 3rd – one week earlier than expected – after confirming several presidential nominees. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on September 5th, following the Labor Day holiday.
In the meantime, several Members of Congress will be attending local events and hosting town hall meetings in their home states and districts. The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to ask important questions about their Social Security and Medicare benefits, like the following three…
- Social Security beneficiaries received another record-low cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of just 0.3% this year. But if the COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors, like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), they would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would give older Americans a more fair and adequate Social Security COLA?
- Roughly 56% of older taxpaying households paid income taxes on a portion of their Social Security benefits this year, even though many of them only made twice the federal poverty level in income. Do you believe this is fair, and if not, what should be done about it?
- The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, senior citizens often pay much higher prices for their prescriptions. What do you feel should be done about this?
For more information on town hall meetings near you during the August recess, click HERE. For more sample town hall questions, read this month’s Legislative Update HERE.
