By José A. Delgado - El Nuevo Dia
Mandated island-wide access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and Medicare Part D subsidies.
Washington, D.C. - A federal judge in San Juan ruled today that it is unconstitutional - for violating equal protection of the laws - to deny benefits from three federal programs that exist in the states to residents of Puerto Rico, and whose effectiveness on the island could have an annual impact of more than $2.5 billion.
Judge William Young - assigned to the Federal Court in San Juan, although he has his office in Massachusetts - ordered the U.S. government to provide Puerto Rico residents access to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidies (LIS), which covers prescription drugs.
In a lawsuit filed by nine citizens against the U.S. Departments of Health, Agriculture and Social Security, the court ordered the federal government to comply with "constitutional provisions" and make these programs available on the island.
The court granted a request by the federal government to stay the order for 60 days, except for the nine plaintiffs' immediate access to these programs.
As determined by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in the Vaello Madero case, with respect to SSI, Judge Young rejected the federal government's rationale - nonpayment of contributions, cost and disruption of the economy - for denying access to the SSI, SNAP and LIS programs in Puerto Rico.
Contrary to the facts of Vaello Madero, the nine plaintiffs in this case - Sixta Gladys Peña Martínez, Nélida Santiago Álvarez, María Luisa Aguilar Galindez, Gamaly Vélez Santiago, Victor Ramón Ilarraza Acevedo, Maritza Rosado Concepción, Rosa Maria Ilarraza Rosa, Ramón Luis Rivera Rivera and Yomara Valderrama - have not collected SSI benefits while living in Puerto Rico, nor have they had access to the other two federal programs.
José Luis Vaello Madero had begun receiving SSI in the United States before moving to Puerto Rico. The U.S. government - which sought to collect from Vaello Madero the money received on the island - has until Sept. 7 to decide whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review that other case.
The federal government has insisted that Puerto Rico residents should not have access to these programs because they generally do not pay federal income taxes, the cost to the Treasury and could cause a disruption to the Puerto Rican economy.
"This court, guided in large part by a recent decision of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, disagrees with the government," the judge held.