John Antonioli v. Patricia Roberts Harris, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

Appellant Antonioli, a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), sued in district court for review of a final decision of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (the Secretary) decreasing his benefits. The district court granted summary judgment for the Secretary and Antonioli appealed. The issue before us is the correctness of the Secretary’s determination that the difference between the rental value of the residence where appellant lived without paying rent, and the property tax expenses he incurred, constituted unearned income. We find that the Secretary’s decision was a reasonable construction of the enabling legislation, based on a valid regulation appropriately applied, and thus we affirm.

The SSI program, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1383 , guarantees a minimum, subsistence-level income to the aged, blind and disabled. See S.Rep.No.92-1230, 92d Cong., 2d Sess., 383, 387 (1972), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News 1972, p. 4989. Otherwise eligible persons may not have income or resources in excess of statutory limits. § 1382(a). The basic entitlement, a flat rate governed by statutory formula, is paid to every eligible individual, § 1381a, but is reduced by the amount of…