(MONEY Magazine) – THE DEBATE IN WASHINGTON OVER HOW to slow spending on Medicare (for more on this, see page 28) may have distracted your attention from other ways Congress wants to balance the budget. Here are four lesser-known items that cost cuts could doom and advice on how to cope:

Prompt tax refunds. The Office of Management and Budget says that proposed cuts of at least $600 million to the President's IRS budget request would severely damage the IRS' ability to issue timely refunds. And you won't necessarily get paid for the wait: The IRS doesn't start paying interest--now 8%--until 45 days after your taxes are due.

Advice: To get a quick refund, be sure your return has all required Social Security numbers, including ones for infants born before Nov. 1.

Consumer fraud protections. The Federal Trade Commission could see its $98.9 million budget shrink by as much as 20%. One possible casualty: the FTC's fledgling efforts to combat fraud on the Internet. Also vulnerable is enforcement of new telemarketing rules, scheduled to take effect in January. Among other things, these rules would impose fines of as much as $10,000 per violation on telepests who harass consumers with repeated calls.

Advice: Call the National Fraud Information Center (800-876-7060) to report suspected fraud and learn about your rights.

Low-cost college loans. The Republicans' plan to slash student aid by more than $10 billion over seven years would raise the interest rate on federal PLUS loans by nearly one percentage point, to 9.88%. A PLUS loan is a loan to parents, payable over 10 to 30 years.

Advice: If the rate hike goes through, a 10.3% tax-deductible home-equity loan or a loan against your 401(k) plan (usually prime plus one percentage point, or a recent 9.75%) would be cheaper.

Subsidized commuting costs. The expected 44% whack to transit aid could mean sudden fare hikes ranging from 15¢ to 30¢, on average, for commuters in large metro areas, according to research by the American Public Transit Association.

Advice: This might be the incentive you needed to carpool, walk or ride a bike to work.

--Teresa Tritch and Kelly Smith