The program applies to illegals under the age of 31, who entered the U.S. prior to the age of 16, and have resided illegally in the U.S. since June 15, 200Applicants must also be currently enrolled in school, have a GED certificate, or have served in the U.S. military, and be law-abiding. Critics, including TSCL, question how the government will be able to verify when applicants actually entered the country and whether they were under the age of 16 when they did. .Roughly 27% of older single women are at high risk of living in poverty, because they have little other income to augment their Social Security benefits. Single women have it worse in retirement than married couples and men, and are more likely to become impoverished as they age. Most women have lower benefits than men. Women tend to work in lower-paying jobs, get paid less than men, and take time out of the workforce to take care of children and older family members. That can leave zero earnings gaps, or only partial years of earnings for the time out of the work force. .The government has made it much easier to drop out of an older supplemental Medigap plan and join a new Medicare Advantage plan than the other way around. In fact, if you drop your older supplement, you may not be able to get it back again should you discover your new plan is not what you thought it would be. Failure to read the fine print can expose you to thousands of dollars in unexpected out-of-pocket costs should you require even just a few days of hospitalization or have a health condition that requires multiple visits to the doctor and lab services. .The President's final memo waives all interest on student loans held by the federal government through the end of 2020 and allows people to delay payments until Dec. 3This will help those who are repaying student loans. .If adopted, H.R. 1716 would prohibit unauthorized workers from receiving Social Security benefits based on work done while in the country illegally, using stolen, fake, or fraudulent Social Security numbers. TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1716 this week, and we will continue to advocate for it on Capitol Hill in the months ahead, since we feel that protecting the integrity of the Social Security program is of utmost importance. .This week, lawmakers released the text of legislation that will comprehensively reform the tax code if adopted, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) delivered letters to Capitol Hill outlining three tax-related changes that would strengthen the Social Security program. In addition, TSCL endorsed two new bills that would reduce prescription drug costs, and several key bills gained support. .The Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1391), introduced by Representative John Larson (CT-1). Like the FAIR Social Security Act, this bill would base COLAs on the CPI-E. It would also provide a 2 percent benefit bump for the average beneficiary and create a new minimum benefit set at 25 percent above the poverty line. In addition, more than 11 million seniors would see a significant tax cut, since the bill would double the income threshold for the taxation of benefits from ,000 per individual to ,000, and from ,000 per couple to 0,000. .The new RAND report is based on 2018 data and compares U.S. drug prices to those in other countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. .Welcome to the month of February! This week, President Donald Trump addressed the nation in his first State of the Union, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) monitored negotiations at one Senate hearing. In addition, four key bills gained new cosponsors in the House and Senate.