Federal Justice asks for extra time in Vaello case Island's inclusion in ISS at stake

As President Joe Biden calls for "equal treatment" for Puerto Rico in Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Solicitor General asked the federal Supreme Court for more time to determine the current administration's position on the case regarding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) parity for Puerto Rico residents.

Federal Justice, under the administration of then Republican President Donald Trump, asked the highest judicial forum to reverse the decision of the presiding judge of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico, Gustavo Gelpí, which was later endorsed by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Both rulings ratified that Luis Vaello Madero, a former New York resident living in Loíza, did not have to pay back $28,000 of SSI because he had not reported that he had moved to the island - where the benefits of that program are not received - thus overturning a decision of the Social Security Administration. Federal Justice insists that Vaello Madero must return the money.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in the motion sent to the federal Supreme Court that the deadline extension "is necessary because the completion of the brief requires consultation with various components of the government" and the attorneys in charge "have been heavily engaged in other pressing matters."

This would be the second request by the federal government to extend the deadline by which the parties involved had to submit their arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court. Initially they had until April 15, which at the government's request was extended to June 1 and now to June 7.

The communication coincides with the unveiling of Biden's FY 2022 budget proposal, in which he included language for the federal government to pave the way for parity in Medicaid, SSI and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for Puerto Rico.

Despite Biden's budget announcement - which would benefit the island - the president has not asked that the Vaello Madero case, which is before the federal Supreme Court, be withdrawn. This case could set an important precedent as the highest judicial forum could determine which aid programs should apply to all U.S. citizens equally.

For his part, the President of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, Rafael "Tatito" Hernández, estimated that the inclusion of the Island in SSI would have an impact of $2.3 billion annually and will benefit close to 300,000 Puerto Rican minors and adults with some type of disability. "In times like the ones we are living through, the fact that this assistance will be extended to more citizens in Puerto Rico is an achievement that will bring tranquility, hope and social justice to the people," he said.

"After so many efforts in which we asked President Biden to order the federal Department of Justice to withdraw the writ of certiorari and include the residents of the island in the federal social justice program, we are more than pleased with the determination to include the residents of Puerto Rico in this benefit," the House Speaker added.

Hernández also said that he will send a letter to the Federal Justice to urge it to drop the Vaello Madero case, "so that the Boston court's decision can be ratified and he can finally receive this benefit.