Legislative Agenda
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL)
Legislative Agenda
119th Congress
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan advocacy groups representing older Americans. We aim to educate and alert senior citizens about the work of their elected officials on Capitol Hill and to protect, defend, and strengthen the retirement security they have earned and deserve.
TSCL’s supporters are active and informed, and we advocate tirelessly for the issues that matter the most to them. We survey our supporters each year and ask them, “What’s important to you?” We take their answers and shape our legislative agenda around them. Our legislative agenda for the 119th Congress includes the following key issues, among many others.
Comprehensive Social Security Reform
The long-term solvency of the Social Security trust funds is essential to TSCL’s supporters. According to the Social Security Trustees, reserves are projected to be depleted in 2035. After the depletion of reserves, the continuing tax income would be sufficient to pay only 83 percent of scheduled benefits in 2035 and 73 percent by 2094.
The program faces a manageable shortfall, and TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will return the program’s trust funds to 75-year solvency as soon as possible. Acting in the 119th Congress will allow changes to be phased in gradually and with minimal impact on beneficiaries. But time is running out.
The Senior Citizens League has endorsed several small changes to the program, including increasing the payroll tax cap to ensure that the wealthiest Americans contribute more fairly. However, older Americans will not tolerate benefit cuts—including reductions in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)—for current or future retirees.
Legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act or the Social Security Expansion Act would restore the program’s solvency responsibly while strengthening benefits for seniors.
Social Security COLA Fairness
Social Security beneficiaries received a 2.5 percent COLA in 2025. Still, seniors with the lowest Social Security benefits may not have seen any net increase in their monthly checks after Medicare Part B premiums were automatically deducted.
According to TSCL’s research, Social Security benefits have lost 20 percent of their purchasing power since 2010 due in large part to inadequate COLAs and rising health care costs. To address this growing issue, TSCL urges Congress to adopt legislation that would base the COLA on an inflation index specifically for seniors, like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).
Under current law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W), which underestimates the inflation Social Security beneficiaries experience because it does not give enough weight to expenses like health care or housing costs.
TSCL has endorsed the CPI-E Act, the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act, the Seniors’ Security Act, and several other bills that would better protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits. TSCL also supports legislation that would give beneficiaries a modest benefit boost to help compensate for years of excessively low COLAs.
Prevent Social Security COLA Cuts
Despite evidence that Social Security beneficiaries are already receiving inadequate COLAs, some on Capitol Hill argue that COLAS are too generous and should be cut.
A study by TSCL found that adopting the “chained” CPI would significantly reduce the lifetime retirement benefits received by future Social Security recipients—in some cases by as much as $88 per month after ten years. Cutting the COLA would undoubtedly reduce Social Security benefit adequacy, especially if Medicare Part B premiums continue to exceed the growth in COLA.
TSCL believes that any cuts to the COLA—including the adoption of the “chained” CPI—would be unwarranted and unduly harsh, especially for the oldest and lowest-income seniors who depend on Social Security the most. We will continue to oppose COLA cuts in the 119th Congress.
Stop the Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Social Security was designed to provide a stable income for retirees and individuals with disabilities. However, taxes on Social Security benefits undermine this purpose by reducing the assistance available to beneficiaries. As of the latest tax code, individuals with combined incomes above $25,000 (or $32,000 for married couples) may have up to 85 percent of their Social Security benefits taxed. This policy disproportionately affects middle- and low-income seniors and disabled individuals, many of whom live on fixed incomes and struggle to meet basic living expenses.
According to data from the Social Security Administration, nearly 40 percent of Social Security recipients already experience taxed benefits, leading to financial strain among those least able to afford it.
Eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits would be an excellent step toward providing financial relief to American seniors, many of whom are struggling with a cost of living that is growing much faster than their incomes.
Medicare Reform
The Medicare Trustees project that the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which finances Medicare Part A, will become depleted in 2036, an improvement from the projected depletion year of 2031 in the 2023 report. Upon depletion of the HI Trust Fund, payments to medical providers would be reduced by 11 percent.
Several leading lawmakers have been attempting to reduce the federal deficit by reforming the Medicare program for years. Popular proposals would phase out the traditional Medicare program and replace it with a “premium support” model, where older Americans would be given subsidies from the federal government to purchase private insurance.
These proposals have also outlined plans to increase the Medicare eligibility age from sixty-five to sixty-seven, requiring younger seniors to purchase costly private insurance or rely on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage for longer.
TSCL has serious concerns about Medicare reform plans adopting a “premium support” model or increasing the eligibility age since these changes would result in higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs for older Americans.
In the 119th Congress, TSCL will tirelessly advocate for legislation protecting the Medicare benefits older Americans have earned and deserve. We will also promote policy solutions that would responsibly strengthen and modernize the Medicare program without enacting benefit cuts or increasing costs for seniors.
Dental, Vision, and Hearing Coverage
Millions of older Americans have age-related hearing loss, low vision, and poor oral health. Yet, current law prohibits Medicare from covering most hearing, vision, and dental services.
TSCL has heard from countless retirees living on fixed incomes who cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket for costly care and assistive technologies like eyeglasses or hearing aids. When left untreated, these conditions often cause serious health complications and injuries. However, when treated successfully, the result is improved overall health and lower costs for Medicare and patients.
TSCL believes it is essential for older Americans to receive the primary and preventive care needed to ensure good health in retirement. We have endorsed the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, a bill that would expand Medicare coverage to include essential hearing, vision, and dental services.
Prescription Drug Prices
Improving and maintaining access to affordable, lifesaving prescription drugs is a top concern for TSCL’s supporters. Most live on fixed incomes and cannot afford steep and sudden cost increases. TSCL will wholeheartedly support measures that lower drug costs.
In a recent survey of TSCL’s supporters, as many as one-third of respondents said they postponed filling their prescriptions or took less than prescribed due to high costs. They question why Congress has not taken action to improve the system and to protect the American public from rising drug costs.
TSCL urges Congress to take common-sense steps to reduce prescription drug prices: allowing the federal government to negotiate lower Part D prices of more widely used prescriptions, capping out-of-pocket expenses for Part D beneficiaries, permitting prescription drug re-importation, prohibiting anti-competitive pay-for-delay deals, and increasing price transparency.
TSCL has endorsed comprehensive prescription drug reform legislation in the past, and in the 119th Congress, we will continue to seek solutions that would increase access to lifesaving prescription drugs. The goal remains to ensure safe and affordable medicines for older Americans.
Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Fraud, waste, and abuse are significant problems in both the Social Security and Medicare programs. TSCL believes the government is not administering the necessary oversight to ensure that scarce program dollars are appropriately spent. By increasing efforts to fight fraud, the government could save tens of billions of dollars each year, reducing the need for reforms that could negatively impact beneficiaries.
Fraud within Medicare costs the federal government an estimated $60 billion to $90 billion each year, and according to the Attorney General’s office, enforcement efforts have yielded an impressive return on investment for the American taxpayer. Approximately $7 has been recovered and returned for every dollar spent fighting fraud.
Social Security’s Disability Insurance program is also littered with waste. In recent years, an enormous backlog of Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) has accumulated, and increased funding could result in significant savings for the Social Security program.
It is well understood that the failure to manage fraud results in higher taxes for all and higher premiums for Medicare beneficiaries. In the 119th Congress, TSCL will urge lawmakers to increase preventive efforts to ensure that scarce program dollars are appropriately spent.
Our Commitment
TSCL’s all-volunteer Board of Trustees, legislative team, and administrative staff will tirelessly work on behalf of our supporters throughout the 119th Congress to protect, defend, and strengthen the retirement security they have earned and deserve. We are committed to our advocacy work on Capitol Hill and informing our supporters nationwide on our website, newsletter, and social media.
