The Supreme Court denied an effort Thursday to require certain Social Security benefits also go to Puerto Rico residents, in an opinion that points to Congress’ broad constitutional power over the country’s territories.
The 8-1 decision keeps Puerto Rico residents from receiving Supplemental Security Income for aged, blind and disabled individuals, under a 1972 law that made U.S. residents eligible for the program but not residents of the territory.
Lower courts had ruled that different treatment under a national program violates the rights of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico. A decision allowing the benefit would have cost an estimated $3 billion over the next decade.
