Congressman Moylan Backs Bipartisan Bill to Bring SSI Benefits to Guam

(Hagåtña, Guam) — For decades, disabled Americans living in Guam have been excluded from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal program designed to help seniors and individuals with disabilities meet basic needs.

Congressman James Moylan joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act, alongside Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). The legislation would extend SSI eligibility to residents of Guam and the other U.S. territories while modernizing the decades-old program nationwide.

SSI provides monthly financial assistance to individuals who are blind, disabled, or age 65 and older with limited income and resources. While approximately 7.4 million Americans rely on the program nationwide, eligible residents of Guam remain excluded despite being American citizens.

“For decades, disabled Guamanians have been denied access to Supplemental Security Income. Not because they are less disabled. Not because they are less American.  But simply because of where they live,” said Congressman Moylan. 

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is leading the legislation in the Senate, emphasized that the proposal would expand access to the program while addressing longstanding gaps affecting Americans living in the territories.

“The bill also expands who is eligible because it is long overdue for people from Guam and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa to get SSI benefits as well,” Warren said during a press conference announcing the legislation.

For families on Guam, this exclusion often means parents caring for adult children with severe disabilities, veterans living with life-altering conditions, and individuals unable to work must rely entirely on family members to get by. The legislation would address this inequity by extending SSI eligibility to residents of Guam and the other U.S. territories.

The bill would also modernize several outdated program rules that have not been meaningfully updated since the 1970s by increasing asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for couples, updating income exclusions so beneficiaries can work without immediately losing benefits, raising benefit levels to 100 percent of the federal poverty line, eliminating the marriage penalty for couples receiving SSI, and removing penalties for in-kind support such as food or housing assistance provided by family members.

Representative Adelita Grijalva, a lead sponsor of the legislation in the House, highlighted how the bill would update outdated eligibility rules that often penalize individuals with even modest savings.

“This bill will increase benefit amounts and asset limits so that having a minor savings account doesn’t disqualify you from getting benefits,” Grijalva said during her press conference remarks. “It will rid the punitive reductions in benefits and streamline the claiming process.”

Moylan pledged to continue advocating for the inclusion of Guam residents in the federal program. 

“Our residents serve in uniform, pay federal taxes, and pledge allegiance to the same flag,” Moylan said. “Yet the system meant to support our most vulnerable Americans still leaves many in Guam on the outside looking in, forced to make ends meet without the support available to others. I will continue advocating for SSI for Guam, so we are no longer left behind by a system that should serve all eligible Americans equally.”

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