Congressman James Moylan has reintroduced the Supplemental Security Income Equality Act, a bipartisan effort to extend Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Currently, SSI benefits are limited to residents of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
“This is about equality—plain and simple,” said Moylan in a release. “Americans living in the territories should not be treated as second-class citizens.” Moylan is joined in this legislative effort by Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands), Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa), and Congressman Pablo José Hernández (D-Puerto Rico), all of whom stressed the urgent need to correct longstanding disparities in federal benefit access.
Plaskett emphasized the financial and moral necessity of the measure, pointing out that without federal SSI support, territorial governments are forced to carry the burden with limited resources. Radewagen echoed this sentiment, stating that access to vital programs like SSI should not depend on geographic location. Hernández highlighted that roughly 22% of Puerto Ricans live with a disability, yet remain excluded from SSI benefits under current law.
If passed, the legislation would provide critical assistance to elderly and disabled low-income residents in the affected territories—support that advocates say is long overdue.
“I thank my co-leads Congresswoman Plaskett, Congresswoman Radewagen, and Congressman Hernández for their bipartisan partnership on this bill, and I look forward to moving it through the legislative process,” Moylan concluded.