The Department of Justice is set to file a brief on its position in a case now before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of a provision that provides Supplemental Security Income for the elderly, blind and disabled, but not in Puerto Rico and most other territories.
The lower courts in the case ruled that the provision violated the equal protection portion of the Fifth Amendment's due process protections. In September, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to reverse the lower courts and uphold the law. The justices in March agreed to hear the case in the next term, which begins in October.
The Trump administration, in its petition last year, told the judges that if the 1972 provision were struck down as unconstitutional, it would cost over the next 10 years approximately $23 billion for Puerto Rico and an additional $700 million for other territories.
And the Trump administration argued that it "could affect many other acts of Congress that treat Puerto Rico differently from the states and the District of Columbia for purposes of federal benefit programs."
That includes portions of Medicare, Medicaid, a school lunch program, a pandemic relief fund, temporary assistance for needy families, and child welfare services. The federal district court in Puerto Rico held, based on lower court rulings in the case, that Congress violated the Constitution by treating Puerto Rico differently from the states in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy, the Trump administration told the judges.
Biden said his administration would also argue that the provision is constitutional. The Justice Department, he said, has a long-standing practice of defending the constitutionality of federal statutes, regardless of policy preferences.
"This practice is central to the Department's mission of preserving the rule of law," Biden said.
Instead, Biden called on Congress to amend the Social Security Act to extend benefits to Puerto Rico, along with other measures he outlined in his budget request.
That includes eliminating Medicaid funding caps for Puerto Rico and changing SNAP.
"These steps, along with the American Recovery Plan, which included an enhanced Child Tax Credit for families and a permanent federal expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit program, will give families in Puerto Rico the same opportunity to get ahead," Biden said.
Congress provides federal assistance in Puerto Rico through a different program - Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled - which provides more local control but less federal funding and covers fewer people with a lower level of benefits.
The challenges began with a man with serious health problems who moved from New York to Puerto Rico in 2013 and thus lost eligibility for SSI benefits. The Social Security Administration paid him until they learned of his change of residence in 2016, and then sued him in 2017 to recover the incorrect payments.