On the Hill – July 2026
Three visits, three very different districts, one common thread. This month, TSCL carried our members’ concerns to the offices of Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) — a reminder that the issues hitting seniors hardest don’t stop at party lines or state borders.
In each meeting, the conversation kept circling back to the same pressure points: the rising cost of living squeezing fixed incomes tighter every month, and the gap in resources available to seniors trying to keep up. We also raised a bigger idea gaining traction: expanding traditional Medicare to finally cover dental, vision, and hearing. Right now, seniors on Original Medicare pay out of pocket for care that most people would consider basic health maintenance, not a luxury. A cracked tooth or a hearing aid shouldn’t be the thing that breaks a retiree’s budget.
Three offices, three conversations, the same message we keep bringing to the Hill: seniors are watching, and they’re counting on someone to listen.
Legislative News
H.R. 9831 — Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Bill. Rep. Nanette Barragán’s (D-CA) bill, introduced on July 22, would amend Medicaid to require better dental and oral health coverage for adults, including a new statutory definition of “dental and oral health services,” as well as protections for people in institutional care settings, such as nursing homes. It’s not a Social Security solvency bill, but for the growing share of seniors relying on Medicaid, it’s directly on point with what we heard on the Hill this month.
H.R. 9519 / S. 5042 — Social Security 2100 Act. Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) brought this one back this month, and the premise is straightforward: strengthen benefits by asking higher earners to contribute more. Currently, income above a certain threshold isn’t taxed for Social Security at all — this bill would remove that cap. It would also lift the minimum benefit so no senior falls below 125% of the poverty line, a change that would meaningfully help those with the least to spare. This isn’t the bill’s first time around; it’s been introduced in various forms since 2017, and its odds of passing this session remain slim. Even so, it’s a useful marker of where the debate stands as this fall’s COLA announcement approaches.
H.R. 6193 / S. 3078 — Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act. While the Social Security 2100 Act represents a long-term overhaul that’s been reintroduced several times over the years, other lawmakers have taken a different approach, targeting immediate financial relief for beneficiaries struggling with today’s high costs. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), joined by eleven Senate cosponsors, introduced S. 3078 to put $200 monthly relief payments directly into the pockets of Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, and veterans’ disability or pension recipients. And Representative Steven Horsford has introduced H.R. 6193, a companion bill in the House.
The proposed payments would be tax-free and protected from garnishment, ensuring beneficiaries receive the full amount. The bill remains in the Senate Finance Committee. One important note: the relief period written into the bill – January through June 2026 – has already passed, so those dates will need to be updated during the markup process if lawmakers decide to move the legislation forward. But the underlying idea hasn’t changed: providing temporary, direct financial relief to seniors when inflation drives up everyday costs. It’s also a proposal we brought up repeatedly in our meetings this month as one way Congress could help older Americans facing higher prices.
Take Action: Tell Your Senator You Support This Kind of Relief
The math seniors are describing to us is simple: the gap between what a COLA promises and what it actually covers keeps growing, and longer-term fixes — whether it’s COLA formula reform or a broader package like Social Security 2100 — take time to work their way through Congress. A temporary cash bridge, like the one S. 3078 was built to provide, is the kind of stopgap that could ease that gap in the meantime.
Here’s what you can do:
-
- Call or write your Senator and tell them you support the concept behind S. 3078 and H.R. 6193 to direct temporary relief payments for seniors during cost-of-living spikes — and ask what it would take to bring an updated version forward.
- Ask directly: is the Finance Committee considering any action, or a refreshed version with a current timeframe?
- Share your story. If the cost-of-living crunch has hit your budget, lawmakers need to hear it in your words, not just in a poll number.
Tell your elected officials: seniors are watching, seniors vote, and seniors remember who stands up for them.
