Grey

MEMORANDUM ***

Herman Grey appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“Commissioner”) denying his application for Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) disability benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381 -1383d. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s judgment and must uphold the Commissioner’s decision if it is supported by substantial evidence and is free of legal error. Verduzco v. Apfel, 188 F.3d 1087, 1089 (9th Cir.1999). We affirm.

We reject Grey’s contention that the Commissioner erred by denying his application for benefits because new evidence that he submitted to the Appeals Council (“AC”) established that he had a severe mental impairment. 1 The parties agree that to establish eligibility for SSI disability benefits, Grey had to prove that he *780 suffered from a severe impairment during the relevant period — between October 6, 1999, when he filed his application for benefits, and October 26, 2001, the date of the ALJ’s decision.

The evidence that Grey submitted to the AC does not demonstrate that he had a severe…