Congress This Week .Finally, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.1205) from Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13) gained ten new cosponsors this week, bringing the total up to 158 in the House. The bill, if adopted, would repeal two provisions of the Social Security Act that reduce the earned benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. .During last fall's debt limit deal, Members of Congress passed legislation containing un-debated, secret provisions that made two major changes to Social Security benefit claiming strategies. The changes cut the expected retirement income of some married couples already at full entitlement age. Do you believe entitlement cuts are necessary in exchange for your vote to lift the debt limit in the future? .About 75 million people in the U.S. are 60 and older. Recently, about four-fifths of the nation's Covid deaths have occurred in that population. .According to Rep. Roskam, the bill would enhance data sharing between states and agencies so that they can more easily catch scammers, and it would modernize outdated fraud prevention systems. Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Carney said, "In this Congress, it's not easy to find areas where Democrats and Republicans agree, but fighting waste, fraud, and abuse while saving billions of taxpayer dollars just makes sense." .Five years after IPAB's creation, it still has no appointed members and, due to record-low growth in healthcare costs, it hasn't been triggered to make recommendations to Congress yet. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, says she doesn't expect it to be triggered until 201But hundreds of lawmakers have serious concerns about the prospect of the board since it would be comprised of unelected and unaccountable appointees. They are hoping to pass legislation that would do away with it by the end of this year. .I believe Congress and the President should take plans for deficit reduction elsewhere. Social Security is a self-funded program and has no place in the deficit reduction debate. I will continue to oppose the proposed cuts to the Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security because it will hurt our most vulnerable seniors. The average senior who retires at 65 will lose about ,000 over 15 years if chained CPI were put into place. For seniors living on a fixed income it could greatly impact their quality of life. . My husband who is diabetic and has high blood pressure, underwent surgery for colon cancer in March of 2020. He recovered and returned to work last summer. Shortly thereafter he had a stroke. He's been unable to work and received short term disability benefits through his employer until coverage ended on December 31, 2020. Will he qualify for Social Security disability now? He will turn 63 in April 202 .Do you have a plan to manage aging parents, siblings, or the needs of children or grandchildren? Do family commitments require your time, attention or other resources, including finances? If something were to happen to you, how would that impact other family members? If children or grandchildren come to you asking for loans or childcare, how does that impact your retirement finances and how will you manage that?