Guam Del. Michael San Nicolas introduced his first bill on his first day as a member of the 116th U.S. Congress last week.
H.R. 208, the Guam Supplemental Security Equality Act, aims to correct an oversight. American citizens living on Guam are not eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, disability benefits and the bill is aimed at changing that.
Supplemental Security Income is a benefit generally provided to people with disabilities. SSI pays up to $750 a month to help with daily living and service needs. Families can receive up to $1,125 a month.
The SSI law provides benefits to American citizens who live "in the United States," which is defined in the law as being the 50 states, District of Columbia and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not included in the law, thus U.S. residents in these territories are not eligible for SSI benefits.
"Every state receives this support, as does the territory of Washington, D.C., and the CNMI," San Nicolas stated.
A lawsuit was filed recently in the District Court of Guam challenging the law. It seeks a declaration from the court that the SSI law is discriminatory. The lawsuit asks the court to order the Social Security Administration to provide the same benefits to Guam residents that it provides to all other American citizens.
San Nicolas' bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
“We will be unrelenting as we drive this issue,” San Nicolas said in a release. “I will meet with the chair of the Committee of Jurisdiction to initiate dialogue and am already securing co-sponsors among my colleagues.”
Guam was one of only three districts to introduce a bill on the first day of the 116th Congress, San Nicolas said in his statement. "We are also the first territory in the modern history of territories to introduce a bill on the first day of business," he said.
