TSCL Delivers Petitions to Senate Leaders ."Public health officials were quick to tout J&J's data as a strong result, particularly given that regulators initially said a vaccine would only have to be 50% effective to be authorized. A vaccine that is 66% effective is an incredibly powerful tool in fighting respiratory viruses, they stressed. ‘We would be celebrating a seasonal influenza vaccine with 60% efficacy,' Jay Butler, the deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, told reporters. .This week, two new cosponsors signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (S. 567 and H.R. 3118), bringing the total up to three in the Senate and thirty-nine in the House. The new cosponsors are Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) and Mark Pocan (WI-2). If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. The Strengthening Social Security Act would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. .The Senior Citizens League urges lawmakers to act responsibly to keep the federal government fully funded so that essential programs like Social Security and Medicare can operate as smoothly as possible. In the days ahead, we will keep a close eye on the evolving negotiations, and we will continue to advocate for legislative solutions that would strengthen and protect your Social Security and Medicare benefits. For updates, follow us on Twitter or visit the Legislative News section of our website every Friday morning. .The Social Security Expansion Act (H.R. 1114) gained one new cosponsor in Congressman Donald Payne (NJ-10), bringing the new cosponsor total up to thirty-one. If signed into law, H.R. 1114 would enhance Social Security benefits by basing COLAs on the CPI-E, increasing monthly checks by around per month, improving the Special Minimum Benefit, applying the payroll tax to income above 0,000, and applying a 6.2% tax on investment income for wealthy individuals. .Four Bills Gain Support .To strengthen Social Security and Medicare, 84% of respondents strongly agreed that Congress should focus on getting Americans back to work. Jobs and the payroll taxes paid by people during their working years finance the benefits received by today's Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. While jobs were the top deficit fix, only 11% agree with cutting the Social Security payroll tax as a means to generate employment. Congressional leadership and the President are battling over spending cuts and higher taxes that will be needed to avoid hitting a "fiscal cliff" by the end of this year. .The Notch Fairness Act, which was introduced by Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7) in March, would provide compensation to Notch babies, or those born between the years 1917 and 192Just years before they were set to retire, these individuals learned that they would have significantly lower benefits than they originally anticipated. TSCL feels that this is an inequity that was brought about because of the Social Security Act Amendments enacted and signed into law in 1977. .TSCL surveys have found that the overwhelming majority of seniors feel Social Security benefits should not be based on illegal work, regardless of whether taxes were withheld. With major changes looming for Social Security, TSCL supports legislation that would ban the payment of benefits based on illegal work — H.R. 787, "No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act," introduced by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), and S.95, legislation to prevent Social Security credit from being earned without legal status introduced by Senator David Vitter (LA).