Unlike many other organizations TSCL accepts no government funding -- this leaves us free to truly represent the interests of supporters like you. .Members of Congress returned to their home states and districts this week for a holiday recess that will last for two weeks. Members of the House are expected to return to Washington on Tuesday, April 9th, and Members of the Senate are expected to return on Monday, April 8th. Budget negotiations will likely resume at that time, as President Obama is slated to release his own plan for 2014 on April 8th. .The savings to the government for switching to the more slowly-growing CPI compound over time, and are substantial. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the change would cut COLAs by 2 billion from 2012021 alone and, if used in other federal retirement programs and for indexing taxes as well, would reduce deficits by about 0 billion over the next decade, including reduced interest on the debt. .The sharp drop in benefits was unexpectedly steep and unduly harsh for those born from 1917 through 192According to economist Haldi, the decline in average benefit payments "was a highly unusual phenomenon, because benefits normally would be expected to increase slightly from one year to the next for people similarly situated. (7)" .While many seniors rely on Social Security for nearly all their retirement income, for others it is part but not all their retirement. Those seniors have investments they rely on to generate the income they need in their retirement years. .Despite the efforts of TSCL and others, knowledge of the U.S – Mexico Totalization Agreement remains limited on Capitol Hill, and the issue flies under radar for the most part. TSCL has expressed its support for resolutions in opposition to the totalization agreement. In addition, TSCL is supportive of legislation, such as the Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act, which would grant more time for congressional review of these agreements. TSCL also supports loophole-closing legislation which would prevent individuals who worked in the U.S. while illegal from receiving credit for that work for purposes of Social Security benefit calculations. .TSCL is receiving a large number of comments about the impact of no COLA from retirees around the country, and recently started posting some of the stories. According to new research for TSCL, there are several important factors affecting why COLAs aren't accurately reflecting retiree healthcare costs. "First of all, the consumer price index (CPI) used to calculate Social Security and other retiree COLAs doesn't survey the spending of people age 65 and over," Cates explains. The Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) does not include changes in Medicare premiums, according to background information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). .Sources: Hearing on Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration, January 24, 201"Levin, Conrad Introduce CUT Tax Loopholes Act," Senator Carl Levin, February 7, 2012. .Last week White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows announced that President Trump would soon be signing three executive orders regarding prescription drug prices. While he did not provide any further information the Washington Post published an article about what one of the orders is likely to be.