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     From Politico : ... Rep. John Larson of Connecticut, a senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, has a bill, H.R. 860 (116) , that would hike Social Security benefits across the board, paired with tax increases in the neighborhood of $1 trillion over a decade. Larson has pushed for Ways and Means to mark up his measure and for the full House to take up the bill � so far unsuccessfully, despite the fact that the vast majority of House Democrats have signed on to the proposal. Larson�s fellow Democrats are especially queasy about the impact that his measure�s hefty payroll tax increases would have on lower-income workers, which is one reason the measure � which would only be a messaging bill this year, because it stands little chance of getting much attention in the Senate � has stalled in recent months.  Larson said Wednesday that he�s changing the bill in response to his colleagues� concerns about lower-income workers. That include...

    A press release : Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), and Worker & Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) released the following statement regarding reports of a draft Social Security Administration (SSA) rule that would narrow the eligibility criteria for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits:  �Yet again, the Trump Administration is going out of its way to make life more challenging for the most vulnerable people in our country. The United States government already has extremely stringent disability standards. In fact, fewer than four in 10 applicants are found eligible for Social Security disability benefits, even after all levels of appeal. This rule would further restrict eligibility, making it even harder for disabled people to access the essential income they�re qualified to receive. We are pa...

     From an op ed in the Baltimore Sun by Ralph de Juliis, head of the union local that represents most Social Security employees: ... While the president has blustered and obfuscated through his first term, Trump-appointed Cabinet officials have waged a war on the federal workforce that has undermined our productivity, driven down morale and villainized the very employees who show up every day to serve the American people. ...   Now under threat is the Social Security Administration thanks to administration decisions that will ultimately harm employees and drive up wait times for Social Security recipients under the guise of good public relations. Social Security Administrator Commissioner Andrew Saul announced that the agency would extend office hours to the public on Wednesday afternoons in more than 1,100 field offices around the country. He followed this announcement with a promise to hire 1,100 new employees, claiming that the new hires woul...

     A bill that would require the Social Security Administration to resume mailing annual earnings statements has passed the House Social Security Subcommittee. This is a bipartisan bill that faces no opposition in the House.

     From a press release issued yesterday: Today , House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT), Ways and Means Committee Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Finance Committee Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the Know Your Social Security Act . The legislation will clarify the requirement for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to mail an annual Social Security Statement to all workers ages 25 and older with covered earnings, who are not receiving Social Security benefits. Since Fiscal Year 2011 SSA has failed to mail annual Statements to these Americans, citing limited operating budgets, even though in 1989 and 1990 Congress enacted requirements for SSA to provide a Statement annually. ... The bill has been endorsed by: AARP Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Coalition for Paper Options Justice in Aging National Committee to Preserve Soci...

     I  checked to see when the House Social Security Subcommittee last held an oversight hearing. It was September 28, 2018, with Republicans still leading the Subcommittee.  The Subcommittee has certainly held hearings this year but they have all been focused on legislation to improve Trust Fund financing and improve benefits. That is a worthy goal but there is no chance for passage in this Congress and uncertain chances in the next Congress.      I don�t remember ever going this long between oversight hearings.