"The exclusion of American citizens living in the territories from the SSI program and other federal programs is unfair and unjustified, and hurts the most vulnerable citizens who, as a nation, we are called to protect," he denounced.
Monday, March 1, 2021 - 1:37pm
Washington DC - Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón on Monday again asked U.S. President Joseph "Joe" Biden to withdraw the case that excludes Puerto Rico from receiving federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
"On January 20, 2021, I asked President Biden to withdraw the federal government's petition for certiorari in the Vaello Madero case and allow the decision declaring unconstitutional the SSI program's exclusion of U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico to become final and firm. This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the First Circuit's decision to extend the SSI program to Puerto Rico. Once again, I urge President Biden to do the right thing and withdraw the case. The exclusion of American citizens living in the territories from the SSI program and other federal programs is unfair and unjustified, and it hurts the most vulnerable citizens that we, as a nation, are called to protect. On January 28, 2021, I introduced H.R. 537, which would extend the SSI program to the territories. Vulnerable American citizens living in the territories are no less deserving of help than vulnerable American citizens living in the States and DC. I ask my colleagues in Congress to do the right thing and pass H.R. 537. It is a matter of fairness and equity; it is a matter of who we are as American citizens."
"On the eve of the 104th anniversary of the granting of U.S. citizenship to the residents of Puerto Rico, we are reminded that without statehood, we are only entitled to second-class citizenship. That is why statehood is a civil rights issue that Congress must address immediately," González Colón said in written remarks.
In the same tone, the president of the House of Representatives, Rafael "Tatito" Hernández Montañez, asked President Biden to withdraw the case.
"After six conferences in the full U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari, filed by the Trump administration before this forum on the case of US v Vaello-Madero. Although we would have preferred to avoid the judicial stage involved in this decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, we are ready to step forward and defend the just rights of all Puerto Ricans, particularly the most needy and vulnerable. We will insist on our request to the Biden-Harris administration to drop the lawsuit. Likewise, the Legislature and other elected officials will request that we be allowed to participate as friends of the court in the lawsuit to defend the right of the people of Puerto Rico to receive the SSI benefit on equal terms as other citizens in the United States. The demand for the extension of the SSI benefit to Puerto Ricans has succeeded in unifying various sectors of the country. Now more than ever, we must continue united and together we must fight the battle for all Puerto Ricans," said Hernández Montañez,