Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/20-303_6khn.pdf
Page Number: 35.0

2 

UNITED STATES v. VAELLO MADERO 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

came in the form of programs administered and funded by
States and supplemented with matching federal funds.  See 
S. Rep. No. 92–1230, pp. 383–384.  One of those programs
was known as Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (AABD).
Under AABD, the States and Territories set their own in-
come and asset limits for individual participation and de-
termined their own benefit amounts.  See Brief for Public 
Benefits Scholars as Amici Curiae 27.  The Federal Govern-
ment paid 75% of the benefits and 50% of the administra-
tive costs, subject to a statutory cap on total expenditures.
See Congressional Research Service, W. Morton, Cash As-
sistance for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled in Puerto Rico 12
(2016).

To  provide  a  uniform,  guaranteed  minimum  income  for 
the neediest adults, Congress established the SSI program 
in 1972.  In creating the SSI program, Congress “displaced
the States.”  Schweiker v. Gray Panthers, 453 U. S. 34, 38 
(1981).  Rather  than  dispensing  money  through  block
grants to the States, SSI provides monthly cash benefits di-
rectly to qualifying low-income individuals who are over 65
years old, blind, or disabled.  The Federal Government sets 
uniform qualifications for eligibility and fully funds the pro-
gram through mandatory appropriations from the general 
fund of the United States Treasury.  See 42 U. S. C. §1381 
et  seq.  Unlike  AABD  benefits,  SSI  benefits  do  not  vary 
based on the specific State or Territory that a beneficiary is
located in, as long as the beneficiary is otherwise eligible.1 
In sum, SSI created a fully nationalized assistance program
with federal administration, federal determination of eligi-
bility, and financed entirely from federal funds.

When Congress created SSI, it made the program availa-
ble only to “resident[s] of the United States,” and it defined 

—————— 

1 The amount of benefits SSI pays to eligible recipients can vary, de-
pending, for instance, on whether the recipient has an “eligible spouse.” 
42 U. S. C. §1382(b).