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The president of the House of Representatives, Rafael “Tatito” Hernandez, Sent a letter to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, In which it requires that the Federal Department of Justice desist from the case that prevents over 350,000 Puerto Ricans living on the island from participating in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
Currently, the case is at the level of United States Supreme Court after the federal government challenged a determination of the First Circuit of Appeals in Boston. “The time has come for the Joseph Biden administration to demonstrate with action its contrast in public policy towards Puerto Ricans. This action does not require lobbying in the House, does not require conspiracy in the Senate, does not require any excessive movement of resources “, he pointed out
A copy of the letter was also sent to the appointed U.S. Secretary of Justice, Judge Merrick Garland.
In the middle of last year a panel of the First Circuit of Federal Appeals determined that it was unconstitutional to exclude Puerto Rican residents from the SSI that provides benefits to low-income people who are 65 or older, are not sighted or disabled. However, the determination was challenged by the Donald Trump administration.
The claim was raised by Puerto Rican José Luis Vaello in 2018, after he was excluded from the program after moving to reside on the island from New York City. “This goes to the heart of the most needy,” Hernandez argued.
In its most recent defense, the federal government alleged that it can deny SSI in territories – such as Puerto Rico – that did not “enter” the United States “voluntarily” through a “negotiation.” Hernandez described this argument as discriminatory and racist, “which truly demonstrates the dark soul of Republicans divided by Donald Trump.”
“This is not the position of Joseph Biden and it is not the position he embodied on his platform,” Hernandez argued in differentiating Trump’s vision versus that of the incoming president.
“Ideally for it to be an academic case is for the Supreme Court to receive a notification from the Secretary of Justice notifying him that they are withdrawing from the dispute and automatically enforcing Boston’s determination. That is what we are asking for, if not, then, it is complex“, Said the Speaker of the House.
In addition to the letters sent to the Biden administration, Hernandez said that last week – during his trip to Washington to participate in the swearing-in of the incoming president – he met with members of Congress as well as with unions and religious and commercial entities, some of these with subsidiaries in Puerto Rico, to begin an offensive.
“We are calling on all socio-economic sectors of the country to be included in this effort and to demand from the Biden-Harris administration”, Has argued by reminding him that funding for this program is through a budget allocation through the Treasury Department.
Hernandez questioned the leadership of the Washington-resident commissioner, Jenniffer González, Who, he has argued, even though she is a “friend of the court” in the federal case, did not denounce the Trump administration’s arguments. “She had to raise her voice, she had to take the plot and destroy it and outrage like a Puerto Rican. One has to be consistent …”, stated the legislator of the Democratic People’s Party (PPD).
During the press conference, Hernández also highlighted as a priority the recovery of the country after the scourge of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, in 2017, and the earthquakes that affected the south of the country a year ago.
Hernandez argued that the past Trump administration imposed a series of regulations on the federal Department of Housing and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that require modification to facilitate access to funds allocated to the island by to recovery. “These regulations have conditions that limit with layers of bureaucracy access, ”he said.
He said that this particular issue will be addressed by lawmakers Angel Fourquet, Kebin Maldonado, Luis Ortiz Lugo, Aníbal Díaz Collazo and Estrella Martínez, who on Wednesday will offer additional details on what these regulations are and what steps they will take to amend them.
Another issue that, he noted, is urgent to address is the approval of the tax plan.
He said he met with him last week Justin Peterson of the Board of Fiscal Supervision (JSF). “We have big differences, but at least a communication process began through which I identified that the vision of the members of the Board and the operation is not necessarily aligned with the execution of (the executive director of the JSF, Natalie) Jaresko, ”he said.
He advanced that tomorrow, Monday, he will meet with members of the federal body in his office at the Capitol.
The chamberlain leader stressed the need for the administration of Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia adjust the tax plan so that it is aligned with the country’s fiscal reality, a claim they made through a legislative resolution.
Hernandez said that although there is no set date, the expectation is that this week he and the president of the Senate, José Luis Dalmau, Meet with the governor to discuss this and other matters.