The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) Monthly Update for the end of December 2025
Few would have predicted that 2026 would begin with such a dramatic event as the U.S. Military operation in Venezuela. While this isn’t something we would normally cover in our monthly update, we’re mentioning it because the ripple effects could influence issues that matter to America’s seniors. We’ll explain that, and more, below.
Congress Begins 2026 With a Very Full Plate
As Congress begins its work in 2026, it faces major issues. Until just a few days ago, we thought the first item would be passing a budget for the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year. They have until January 30 to either fully fund the government or pass another temporary funding extension. If they don’t, the government, or at least that part of it that isn’t funded, will shut down once again.
They must also address the extension of subsidies for those with health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. If they don’t extend those subsidies, millions of Americans will lose their health care.
A third issue facing Congress is that this is an election year, and they will spend much less time working in Washington and more time at home trying to win re-election.
Each of these matters individually could require months of attention. In addition, policymakers are currently focused on the Venezuelan situation with many unresolved questions, including the scope of involvement, potential duration, and any necessary approvals or funding. With so much attention on these issues, there is a risk that important matters affecting America’s senior citizens may receive less focus than they otherwise would.
Congress is expected to consider these issues over the coming weeks. At the same time, it faces an imminent deadline to fund the government by the end of the month to avoid a shutdown.
Together, these factors may delay progress on other legislative priorities for several weeks. As noted earlier, this could have downstream effects on issues that affect seniors.
TSCL will keep a close eye on all of this and keep you informed as events unfold.
Good News – No need to Start the Legislative Process Over
There is some good news, despite the overflowing agenda Congress faces. Because 2025 was not an election year, bills that were introduced last year are still alive. There is no need to start the process over.
That means that two of the bills TSCL has been working hard to pass are still alive. They are S. 3078, the Social Security Emergency Relief Act in the Senate, and its companion bill in the House, H.R. 6193. This important legislation would increase Social Security benefits by $200 per month for six months.
Phone calls and letters to your members of Congress are crucial if these bills are going to stand a chance of passing. Please call your U.S. Senators and Representatives today and ask that they co-sponsor The Social Security Emergency Relief Act.
Changes in Mail Delivery Could Affect Delivery of Prescription Drugs
The U.S. Postal Service has begun a 10-year plan, it says, that will improve mail delivery by consolidating mail processing into regional hubs. Mail that used to be processed locally is now sent to bigger regional centers for sorting. This has resulted in many local post offices more than 50 miles from those centers moving to a single daily collection schedule.
The changes could downgrade services in much of the country, according to an advisory opinion issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission last year.
According to a new report from the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank, these mail delivery slowdowns could leave people with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and other illnesses without their medications, at least for a time, especially in rural areas.
This is important because it has been shown that prescription drug delivery by mail improves the odds that people will stay on their medications. The Postal Regulatory Commission advisory estimated that about 3.7 million Medicare enrollees face the issue of living far from a pharmacy, thus relying on mail delivery of their drugs, and that they also live in areas affected by the postal consolidation plan. In addition, nearly half of all Americans face at least one of those issues.
A separate analysis by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center stated that when delivery slows or becomes uneven, the consequences are likely to negatively affect whether patients stay on medications and chronic disease management.
In reaction to these findings, the U.S. Postal Service says the Brookings report misrepresents the impact of the consolidation effort and that it will not change delivery.
Time will tell.
More Health Care Cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs
TSCL has many veterans who support our efforts, something for which we are very grateful.
That’s why we were highly concerned last month when a report came out in mid- December that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to eliminate as many as 35,000 health care jobs.
The VA indicated that most of the additional job eliminations would come from unfilled positions. But they would include doctors, nurses, and support staff.
While leaders have instructed managers across the Veterans Health Administration, the agency’s health care arm, to identify thousands of openings that can be canceled, employees have warned that the contraction will add pressure to an already stretched system, contributing to longer wait times for care.
This decision came after Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins, who came under political pressure from Congress, backed away from his plan to slash 15 percent of the agency’s workforce through mass firings. Instead, VA lost almost 30,000 employees this year from buyout offers and attrition.
The agency hopes that the cuts will reduce the healthcare workforce to as few as 372,000 employees, a 10 percent reduction from last year, according to a memo shared with regional leaders the previous month.
According to a spokesman for the VA, “The vast majority of these positions have not been filled for more than a year, underscoring how they are no longer needed,” he wrote in response to questions. “This move will have no effect on VA operations or the way the department delivers care to Veterans, as we are simply eliminating open and unfilled positions that are no longer needed.”
However, some critics have said that the VA has been chronically understaffed for years, and employees will bear the brunt of any further job cuts or reorganizations that require them to do more with less.
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As the year unfolds, one thing is clear: seniors and veterans could feel the effects of decisions being made on many fronts at once—from budget battles and health care funding to mail delivery and VA staffing. With so much uncertainty, staying informed and engaged is more important than ever. TSCL will continue to monitor these developments closely, advocate on your behalf, and keep you updated on how these issues may affect your benefits, health care, and financial security in the weeks and months ahead.