[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H493-H494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A REAL CASE OF UNFAIRNESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Guam (Mr. Moylan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to remember 
and honor twin sisters Katrina and Leslie. Their story is one of 
tragedy, as they both are resting with our maker in heaven. Their 
memories have and shall continue to be shared with their loved ones.
  Katrina and Leslie were born with disabilities. As they were growing 
up, they required a caretaker to address their basic needs.
  These twins were loveable and stole the hearts of those they met. 
Katrina and Leslie were also emotionally strong. They wanted to be 
raised like other kids but knew that their conditions were permanent 
and they wouldn't be able to participate in sports, attend a prom, or 
get a job.
  They accepted the reality of their life, but they knew they had each 
other, and they had a loving family. The two were living in the State 
of Pennsylvania and received Supplemental Security Income, SSI, 
benefits that helped their caretaker purchase necessities.
  Unfortunately, their caretaker, who was their mother, passed away 
unexpectedly. Leslie and Katrina once again found themselves enduring 
another unbearable hardship. Because of their conditions and the 
undertaking it would require to care for not one but two disabled 
individuals, the sisters were separated.

  Leslie stayed in the State of Pennsylvania and continued to receive 
SSI benefits. Katrina was taken in by her

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mom's sister, who is married to my childhood friend, Dr. John Fegurgur. 
The couple brought her to Guam, and within 30 days of leaving 
Pennsylvania, Katrina lost her SSI benefits.
  Why, you may ask?
  Because of a Federal inequity which denies American citizens who 
reside in most territories the rights to secure SSI benefits. This 
Federal law strips away the financial benefits from American citizens 
with disabilities who relocate from a State to Guam, American Samoa, 
the Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico.
  We need to change this inequity. Why are U.S. citizens who reside in 
U.S. territories denied benefits they can attain if they were residing 
in a State?
  This is a real case of unfairness.
  Did you know that Guam has among the highest per capita numbers of 
enlisted members in the United States armed services throughout the 
Nation?
  Yes, we, too, are proud Americans.
  There have been lawsuits to fix this inequity, and the courts have 
simply ruled that SSI benefits were created by Congress and, hence, can 
be changed by Congress. So let's change it and do what is right.
  Katrina and Leslie are both no longer with us in the world today. In 
Leslie's final days, she said she sadly wouldn't be able to witness 
when this wrong would be made right.
  While neither sister may be here, let us fix this inequity in their 
names and the names of many others who have been denied this benefit 
just because they reside in a U.S. territory.

                          ____________________