What's Going On With The Puerto Rico SSI Case?

     In U.S. v. Vaello-Madero the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that it is unconstitutional to deny SSI benefits to U.S. citizens who reside in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico. The United States Solicitor General petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review that decision. That means they are asking that the Supreme Court hear the case.

     All the briefs concerning the petition have been filed. The Court generally makes decisions on whether to grant cert at weekly conferences, usually held on Fridays. The Vaello-Madero cert petition was distributed for consideration during the Court's conference on December 11. The Court could have granted or denied cert at that conference but it didn't. It could have relisted the cert petition for consideration at a future conference, which is common, but it didn't. They took no action, effectively putting the case on hold which is less common.

     Amy Howe, writing for SCOTUSblog, which is THE website for Supreme Court news, tells us that the most common reasons for putting a cert petition on hold are because the Court is already considering a similar case or because the Court is waiting for another cert petition presenting a similar question. Neither of these is the case here, unless the Supreme Court is waiting on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to act on a similar case concerning SSI benefits for Guam residents but, as far as I know, that case hasn't been scheduled for oral arguments yet. A decision could be many months off.

     What else could be going on here? I'm no Supreme Court expert but I've read some of the briefs. The briefs supporting SSI for U.S. territories expressed concern that there would be a summary disposition of the case, that is that the Court would summarily reverse the First Circuit without oral arguments, which it can do. The Court may have already decided to do that but has not yet announced anything because a decision and possible dissents are being prepared but that's just my speculation.

     Update: Vaello-Madero is an oddball case. The government has been seeking to recover an overpayment that occurred when the claimant moved to Puerto Rico but continued to receive SSI. Arguably, the case should have been resolved on a procedural issue, whether Vaello-Martinez should have contested the overpayment administratively. There's a class action seeking directly to order the government to pay SSI benefits to Puerto Rico residents. That's now pending in the Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs in that case filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court asking that the Court hold off on the Vaello-Madero cert petition pending a decision in the Court of Appeals in their case, Peña Martínez v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs which presents the issue more directly. The Peña Martínez case also involves other government benefits. Maybe the Court wants to wait for Peña Martínez and the Guam case. That could put Vaello-Madero on hold past the end of June or early July, when this term of Court ends. It also allows the Biden Administration plenty of time to express its own position on the matter.

It's OK To Feel Sad At Christmas, Especially This Christmas

 

It's the shortest day of the year.

Merry Christmas

 

Ways And Means Subcommittee Chairs Ask For Action On Covid-19 Related Overpayments

     A press release:

Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT) and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) sent a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Andrew Saul demanding that SSA forgive repayment of extra benefits paid to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This fall, SSA began notifying beneficiaries about these extra benefit payments, which were paid through no fault of their own. SSA also set up a limited process for some beneficiaries to have repayment of their COVID-19 overpayments forgiven. However there have been widespread reports that many beneficiaries have been unable to access even this limited relief.

“With the clock ticking, we urge SSA to immediately extend and expand the streamlined waiver process, providing all beneficiaries with immediate, automatic relief from COVID-19 overpayments. We also request that you provide us with detailed information on SSA’s actions and any relief that has been provided, to date,” wrote Larson and Davis.

“It is unfair and unjust for SSA to allow any hurdles to prevent beneficiaries from accessing relief from these COVID-19 overpayments,” continued Larson and Davis. “We urge SSA to immediately provide automatic relief for all beneficiaries with a COVID-19 overpayment, regardless of whether or not they apply for relief.”

The full letter can be viewed here.

Merry Christmas

 

No Answer From Saul Or Biden Transition On Commissioner Position

     Joe Davidson at the Washington Post has devoted a column to the effort to get Andrew Saul fired as Social Security Commissioner. It's clear that Davidson doesn't understand the constitutional issue involved but he does detail the pressure to get Saul out. Of interest to me in the column was this sentence: "Neither the agency nor Biden’s team responded to requests for comment." I have to guess that things are still up in the air.

     By the way, as I've asked before, when will the Post retire that same tired photo they've been using for years to illustrate articles having to do with the Social Security Administration?

Social Security Starts To Track Disability Claims As A Result Of Covid-19

      Social Security has issued an Emergency Message telling its staff to start flagging disability claims where Covid-19 is alleged as an impairment. They're not giving any instructions on how to adjudicate the cases. For now, they just want to track them.

     We'll see how common disability claims as a result of Covid-19 will be. Thus far in my practice, I have clients who have had Covid-19 but none who have suffered long term consequences as a result of the infection. I've not taken on any new clients alleging Covid-19 as an impairment. I haven't heard from other attorneys who have. It's still early, though. There may be cases coming but those affected are still hoping they'll get better. Remember, there's a 12 month duration requirement in the definition of disability that Social Security must use. You can be very, very sick but still recover in less than 12 months.

Merry Christmas