Can your husband do the work he did previously? If he can, your husband would not qualify. .Expanded tax credits — Social Security numbers would pave the way for applicants to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Additional Child Tax credit. In a recent Senate hearing, Eileen O'Connor, who ran the Justice Department's Tax Division under George W. Bush, explained that these refundable tax credits, "can create a ‘refund' of an amount you never paid as income taxes. So you can have a liability before the credit of 0, have paid in nothing, and with a refundable earned income tax credit of ,000, get a check from Uncle Sam for 0." She went on to say that immigrants who acquire Social Security numbers would be able to amend three years of previous tax returns to claim the earned income credit. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that an estimated 24% of all refunds due to the Earned Income Tax Credit are paid improperly. .TSCL is very supportive of the PRIME Act, since we believe that the failure to manage fraud results in higher taxes for all and higher premiums for Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, at a time when many deficit hawks are considering cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid, we believe it is critically important to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. TSCL looks forward to working with the sponsors of the PRIME Act to help build support for it, and we are hopeful that Congress will pass it into law by the end of the 113th Congress. .Action on Capitol Hill this past week was limited as Congress re-convenes this week. Meanwhile, a Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) report indicates the effects of House member office budget cuts, and the Congressional Budget Office released a report that would save Medicare 500 billion dollars. .If you choose to supply The Senior Citizens League with your postal address through our website, you may receive periodic mailings from us with information on new issues, products, services or upcoming events. If you do not wish to receive such mailings or if there is an inaccuracy in your name or address, please let us know by writing to us at the above address, or through our Contact Us page. Additionally, you may request that TSCL provide you with the personal information that it has about you over the past 12 months by writing to us at the above address, or through our Contact Us page. .According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater. .On housing, the President instructed key officials to "consider" whether there should be a ban on evictions. He also insists that state governments pick up the tab for some of the unemployment aid. But there are serious questions about whether states have the finances to pay the additional amount. .TSCL has been concerned that the coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the impending insolvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. With record numbers of Americans out of work, fewer payroll taxes are coming in to fund Medicare spending. At the same time, the number of beneficiaries is rising and, earlier this year, Congress accessed Medicare's reserves to fund COVID-19 relief efforts. .Increasing the payroll tax cap. Under current law, the 12.4 percent payroll tax is applied only to the first 7,200 in earned annual income. Individuals earning more than that pay nothing in Social Security taxes on the rest of their earnings. Several proposals now before Congress would modify this policy so that higher income workers contribute more fairly to the program.