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Feds Consider Puerto Ricans Disabled Because They Speak Spanish
The Washingon Free Beacon ^ | April 6, 2015 | Elizabeth Harrington

Posted on 04/06/2015 12:56:28 PM PDT by Kaslin

95 percent of Puerto Ricans speak Spanish

The Social Security Administration (SSA) approved disability benefits for hundreds of Puerto Ricans because they do not speak English, despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanish-speaking territory.

According to a new audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency is misapplying rules that are intended to provide financial assistance to individuals who are illiterate or cannot speak English in the United States. Under the rules, Puerto Ricans are allowed to receive disability benefits for their inability to speak English as well.

“We found the Agency did not make exceptions regarding the English-language grid rules for claimants who reside in Puerto Rico, even though Spanish is the predominant language spoken in the local economy,” the OIG said.

The audit said a person applying for disability in Puerto Rico who cannot speak English “may increase his/her likelihood of receiving disability benefits.”

The agency does not currently have a system in place to keep track of the number of beneficiaries who receive disability insurance for not being able to speak English.

However, the OIG was able to identify 218 cases between 2011 and 2013 where Puerto Ricans were awarded disability due to “an inability to communicate in English.” Furthermore, 4 percent of disability hearings in Puerto Rico involved looking at the individual’s ability to speak, read, write, and understand English.

Though 95 percent of Puerto Ricans speak Spanish at home, according to the rules a Spanish-speaking nurse in Puerto Rico would be considered “unskilled,” the OIG said.

The SSA told the OIG that the rules are applied one-size-fits-all.

“SSA managers at various disability decision levels stated Social Security is a national program, and the grids must be applied to the national economy, regardless of local conditions,” the audit said.

The SSA takes into account an individual’s education level when considering awarding disability benefits if they do not qualify for medical reasons. Part of the education requirement involves looking at a person’s ability to speak English, to determine whether it limits his ability to find a job.

Last year Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) raised concerns that the Obama administration was broadly applying the education rule under the Social Security Act to allow individuals to receive disability payments solely because they cannot speak English.

He noted that the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) rolls swelled 230 percent between 2000 and 2010, while the U.S. population only grew 9.7 percent.

Former SSA judges have also testified that individuals have been approved for disability in the United States without having to prove they cannot speak English.

The hundreds of Puerto Ricans noted in the OIG’s report have received disability insurance despite a 1987 U.S. District Court ruling that appears to contradict the SSA’s policy. Benefits were denied on the grounds that “it is the ability to communicate in Spanish, not English, that is vocationally important in Puerto Rico.”

“It should be noted, however, that the court explicitly declined to apply this rationale outside of this one case,” the OIG said.

The SSA agreed with the OIG’s recommendations to figure out how many individuals have been “awarded disability based on their inability to communicate in English,” and to “evaluate the appropriateness” of applying the English-speaking rules to Puerto Rico.

The SSA is currently gathering information for a proposed regulation that “could lead to changes” to the English-speaking rule, the agency said.

“Specifically, we are soliciting public comments and supporting research on how the inability to communicate in English affects an individual’s ability to adjust to other work that exists in the national economy,” the SSA said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: briankelly; briankellycapital; connecticut; garciapadilla; governmentwaste; puertorico; socialsecurity
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To: Kaslin

meanwhile it is very hard for a white man to get disability these days


41 posted on 04/06/2015 4:56:05 PM PDT by GeronL (CLEARLY CRUZ 2016)
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To: Kaslin
"Feds Consider Puerto Ricans Disabled Because They Speak Spanish...

I am certain that this is another one those "White Privilege" deals again.

42 posted on 04/06/2015 5:41:58 PM PDT by Desron13
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To: blueunicorn6
The Democrat Party must be dismantled. They are killing the country.

And they're doing it quite deliberately.

43 posted on 04/06/2015 7:24:21 PM PDT by XenaLee (The only good commie is a dead commie)
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To: Kaslin

this has nothing to do with english or spanish or even Puerto Ricans. These SSA bureaucrats have been told to load up the disability ranks anyway they can. This is just one way they are doing it.

Cloward Piven


44 posted on 04/06/2015 8:45:31 PM PDT by joshua c (Please dont feed the liberals)
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To: stephenjohnbanker; GOPsterinMA; NFHale; sickoflibs; fieldmarshaldj; BillyBoy

Boner's piece, it looks like a dinosaur!! He thinks it's real cool.

45 posted on 04/07/2015 3:39:19 AM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Kaslin

The Social Security Administration (SSA) approved disability benefits for hundreds of Puerto Ricans because they do not speak English, despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanish-speaking territory.....I took a 65 year old to the SS office about 10-12 years ago. I was talking to the Guard and noticed all the Hispanic people coming and going. All were 20 30 years old. I asked him “At their age, what the hell are they doing here? There can’t be that many disabled Hispanics in this small County/” He just said “ They can’t speak English, so they can’t jobs, ya know?” I almost crapped my pants right there. (BTW. The white 65 year old Vet was told to come back when he made an appointment).


46 posted on 04/07/2015 4:01:37 AM PDT by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: Kaslin

The Social Security Administration (SSA) approved disability benefits for hundreds of Puerto Ricans because they do not speak English, despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanish-speaking territory.....I took a 65 year old to the SS office about 10-12 years ago. I was talking to the Guard and noticed all the Hispanic people coming and going. All were 20 30 years old. I asked him “At their age, what the hell are they doing here? There can’t be that many disabled Hispanics in this small County/” He just said “ They can’t speak English, so they can’t jobs, ya know?” I almost crapped my pants right there. (BTW. The white 65 year old Vet was told to come back when he made an appointment).


47 posted on 04/07/2015 4:02:41 AM PDT by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: Impy; All

It could also be a Miley Cyrus sex toy!


48 posted on 04/07/2015 5:05:36 AM PDT by GOPsterinMA (I'm with Steve McQueen: I live my life for myself and answer to nobody.)
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To: GOPsterinMA

Giggity?


49 posted on 04/07/2015 5:11:29 AM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: GOPsterinMA; BillyBoy; fieldmarshaldj; NFHale; stephenjohnbanker

There’s this blue Ford Focus with Missouri plates that’s been parked on my block for a while now. I guess they moved here from Missouri. It’s got all these bumper stickers “Women for Obama”, “Not a Republican” “I heart Obamacare”, “Right to Work: Wrong for Missouri”, “Power Lesbians for Hillary”, “Hail Satan” (ok I made those last 2 up). I saw these 2 girls get in, one was wearing a hoodie with “Peer Diversity Educator” or something like that written on it.

I’m having trouble resiting the urge to key that sumbitch.


50 posted on 04/07/2015 5:18:45 AM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Impy

She’s all yours!


51 posted on 04/07/2015 5:23:51 AM PDT by GOPsterinMA (I'm with Steve McQueen: I live my life for myself and answer to nobody.)
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To: Impy; All

If you do, use a quarter then spend it. Evidence gone.

You could also pour skunk urine in the heating vents of the car.


52 posted on 04/07/2015 5:26:10 AM PDT by GOPsterinMA (I'm with Steve McQueen: I live my life for myself and answer to nobody.)
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To: GOPsterinMA

Thanks for the tip!


53 posted on 04/07/2015 5:30:12 AM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Impy

Anytime! Guerrilla warfare can be an art form.


54 posted on 04/07/2015 5:32:01 AM PDT by GOPsterinMA (I'm with Steve McQueen: I live my life for myself and answer to nobody.)
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To: Kaslin

Would it not be cheaper to pay for English classes, given that disability payments are for life?


55 posted on 04/07/2015 7:12:11 AM PDT by matchgirl (An Ambassador is dead and Al Qaeda is alive.)
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To: Impy; GOPsterinMA; NFHale; sickoflibs; fieldmarshaldj; BillyBoy

I was expecting a pink elephant, but thanks : )


56 posted on 04/07/2015 8:40:48 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: Impy; GOPsterinMA; BillyBoy; fieldmarshaldj; NFHale

” There’s this blue Ford Focus with Missouri plates that’s been parked on my block for a while now.”

Call a tow company, and tell them you are with “traffic control” and ask them to tow the car. Repeat as necessary..


57 posted on 04/07/2015 8:43:40 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: Kaslin

Wow so.....90 percent of the inner city odumbi voters ought to pick up on this too.

Ted Cruz hurry up and win!


58 posted on 04/07/2015 10:36:23 AM PDT by TomasUSMC (FIGHT LIKE WW2, WIN LIKE WW2. FIGHT LIKE NAM, FINISH LIKE NAM.)
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To: TomasUSMC

Patience, the first primaries are still eight month away and the election 19 month


59 posted on 04/07/2015 12:18:38 PM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: matchgirl

I would think so, but since when do liberals use their brain?


60 posted on 04/07/2015 12:20:11 PM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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