By Manuel Guillama Capella Tuesday, 02 March 2021
Pedro Pierluisi said this afternoon that, in his opinion, it is the "career staff" of the federal Department of Justice who has insisted on the judicial review process of the determination of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that would give Puerto Rico residents access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
"Ideally, the president(Joe Biden) would ask the attorney general, as a matter of public policy, to allow the First Circuit's decision to prevail and thereby allow all citizens residing in Puerto Rico to potentially be eligible to receive SSI benefits. There is no attorney general at this time, but rather an acting attorney general. I suspect that the career staff of the Department of Justice is pushing this review, keeping certiorari alive," Pierluisi said in a press conference after announcing the bill that promotes the admission of Puerto Rico as a federated state.
Yesterday, precisely, the U.S. Supreme Court reported that it had granted the request for review submitted by the Department of Justice under the presidency of Donald Trump.
Although Biden, on the campaign trail, promised that he would defend Puerto Rico residents' access to SSI benefits, which are granted to low-income disabled persons, his administration, to date, has not withdrawn the petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court.
Elizabeth Prelogar currently serves as Acting Attorney General of the United States.
It is estimated that SSI could represent an impact of close to $2 billion annually for Puerto Rico's economy.
"If for whatever reason the review proceeds and the Supreme Court rules, I hope they do the right thing. When you look at that SSI program, it has nothing to do with whether or not eligible people pay (federal) taxes. I would bet that the vast majority of SSI recipients do not pay federal contributions. It's another example of U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico facing discrimination simply because they live in a territory. It makes no sense," the governor said from Washington DC.
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González, meanwhile, said the controversy over the federal program is a "great opportunity for the people of Puerto Rico to see how unequal the treatment of our senior citizens is.
"I would love for the Justice Department to withdraw the request (for review), but I don't think it will happen since it was granted," the commissioner said.
González added that, at the moment, there is a bill filed in the federal House of Representatives that would seek to eliminate the unequal treatment of the territories under the SSI program which, if approved, would make the judicial controversy academic.