The savings compound over time and are huge. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that chaining the CPI would cut COLAs by 2 billion from 2012021 alone and, if used in other federal retirement programs and for indexing taxes, would reduce deficits by about 0 billion over the next decade. .What you can do? Tell others! Describe what you are doing to manage your Medicare costs on a Social Security budget. Send your story to your Members of Congress, to the editor of your local newspaper, and to TSCL! .According to consumer price index data through August, ten of the biggest price jumps for Social Security recipients over the past 12 months are illustrated in the following chart: .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. .To be fair, the House of Representatives, for the most part, got its work done on time. It was once again the Senate that failed to do what it is supposed to do and pass the funding legislation that is needed for the new fiscal year which will begin on October 1. .Therefore, they are considering using the "reconciliation" process because they would only need 51 votes. But if they do that, legislation passed over ten years ago dictates that they must either raise taxes or cut spending on current programs to pay for the new spending in the President's bill. .Members of the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts this week as the August recess continued. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, September 9th. Until then, many Members of Congress will attend local events and hold town hall meetings. The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) urges its members and supporters to attend town halls in the coming weeks, since they are an excellent opportunity for constituents to voice their concerns and have their most pressing questions answered. .Joint filers in households where both spouses work or where one or both spouses have more than one job. .The findings show a dramatic drop in inflation from January of 2014 to January of 2015 — due almost entirely to the drop in oil prices. The deflationary trend, while making the price of petroleum products more affordable in the short term, could spell trouble ahead next year for retired and disabled beneficiaries who depend on Social Security for most of their income. The last time the drop in inflation was this steep was in 2009 — when no cost of living adjustment (COLA) was payable the following year. In fact, the drop in inflation is now so deep that TSCL's Social Security policy analyst and Advisor editor, Mary Johnson, forecasts that the COLA for 2016 will be around zero. Going without any COLA is like going without interest on savings and results in a lower Social Security income over time, due to the loss of compounding.