The Protecting Supplemental Security Income for Disaster Victims Act amends Social Security law to protect people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who receive settlement payments from personal injury or property damage claims. Specifically, the bill exempts settlement payments from counting as income or resources that would otherwise reduce SSI benefits, meaning recipients can keep their full benefit amounts even after receiving compensation. The legislation directly addresses victims of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment disaster and applies to any settlement payments they receive, whether those payments were made before or after the law's enactment. This change applies to SSI benefits starting the month the law is enacted, with the retroactive provision for East Palestine settlements allowing people to receive corrected benefit payments for months before the law passed. The bill effectively ensures that disaster victims receiving legal settlements won't lose their SSI benefits due to those compensation payments.
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