Protecting America’s First Responders Act

116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1208 AN ACT To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 with respect to payments to certain public safety officers who have become permanently and totally disabled as a result of personal injuries sustained in the line of duty, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 1208 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting America’s 2 First Responders Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS 4 UNDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ 5 DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM. 6 Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 7 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amend- 8 ed— 9 (1) in subsection (b), by striking the period at 10 the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, unless the 11 claim under this subsection has been pending for 12 more than 1 year, in which case the amount payable 13 shall be the amount that would be payable if the cat- 14 astrophic injury occurred on the date on which the 15 Bureau makes a final determination that the public 16 safety officer is entitled to a benefit payment under 17 this subsection.’’; 18 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘$6,000, adjusted in accordance with sub- 20 section (h),’’; 21 (3) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘and the 22 level of the interim benefit payable immediately be- 23 fore such October 1 under subsection (c)’’ after 24 ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 25 3 † S 1208 ES (4) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(i) The amount payable under subsection (a), with 3 respect to the death of a public safety officer, shall be the 4 greater of— 5 ‘‘(1) the amount payable under that subsection 6 as of the date of death of the public safety officer; 7 or 8 ‘‘(2) the amount that would be payable under 9 that subsection if the death of the public safety offi- 10 cer occurred on the date on which the Bureau makes 11 a final determination that the public safety officer is 12 entitled to a benefit payment under that sub- 13 section.’’; and 14 (5) in subsection (m), by inserting ‘‘, (b),’’ after 15 ‘‘subsection (a)’’. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC 17 SAFETY OFFICERS’ DEATH BENEFITS PRO- 18 GRAM. 19 Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 20 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amend- 21 ed— 22 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 23 following: 24 4 † S 1208 ES ‘‘(1) ‘catastrophic injury’ means an injury, the 1 direct and proximate consequences of which— 2 ‘‘(A) permanently prevent an individual 3 from performing any gainful work; or 4 ‘‘(B) cause an individual to become— 5 ‘‘(i) paraplegic; 6 ‘‘(ii) quadriplegic; or 7 ‘‘(iii) blind;’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding 9 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘at the time of the 10 public safety officer’s fatal or catastrophic injury’’ 11 and inserting ‘‘as of the date of the public safety of- 12 ficer’s death from a fatal injury or the date of deter- 13 mination of the public safety officer’s disability from 14 a catastrophic injury’’; 15 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, including 16 an individual who, in the capacity of the individual 17 as such a member, engages in scene security or traf- 18 fic management as the primary or only duty of the 19 individual during emergency response’’ before the 20 semicolon; 21 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 22 (9) as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively; 23 and 24 5 † S 1208 ES (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(5) ‘gainful work’— 3 ‘‘(A) means any activity usually performed 4 for pay or profit, regardless of whether a profit 5 is realized; and 6 ‘‘(B) does not include work performed in a 7 situation in which, after an individual sustains 8 an injury— 9 ‘‘(i) the individual— 10 ‘‘(I) re-enters the workforce; and 11 ‘‘(II) leaves the workforce after 12 less than 90 days because of the in- 13 ability of the individual to overcome 14 the injury; 15 ‘‘(ii) because of the injury— 16 ‘‘(I) the individual is permitted, 17 in carrying out work, to— 18 ‘‘(aa) perform at a lower 19 standard of productivity or effi- 20 ciency than other similarly situ- 21 ated employees; 22 ‘‘(bb) work irregular hours; 23 or 24 6 † S 1208 ES ‘‘(cc) take frequent rest pe- 1 riods; or 2 ‘‘(II) the individual is only able 3 to work within a framework of spe- 4 cially arranged circumstances, such as 5 a circumstance in which 1 or more 6 other individuals are required to assist 7 the individual in preparing for work 8 or traveling to and from work; 9 ‘‘(iii)(I) the individual practices a 10 hobby usually performed for pay or profit, 11 regardless of whether a profit is realized; 12 and 13 ‘‘(II) the primary intent of the indi- 14 vidual in practicing the hobby described in 15 subclause (I)— 16 ‘‘(aa) is physical, mental, or emo- 17 tional rehabilitation of the individual 18 from the injury; and 19 ‘‘(bb) is not realization of profit; 20 or 21 ‘‘(iv) the individual is given the oppor- 22 tunity to work— 23 ‘‘(I) despite the injury of the in- 24 dividual; and 25 7 † S 1208 ES ‘‘(II) on the basis of— 1 ‘‘(aa) a family relationship 2 of the individual; 3 ‘‘(bb) a past association of 4 the individual with the employer 5 giving the individual the oppor- 6 tunity to work; or 7 ‘‘(cc) any other altruistic 8 reason;’’. 9 SEC. 4. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. 10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec- 11 tion— 12 (1) the term ‘‘covered beneficiary’’ means an in- 13 dividual who— 14 (A) is, or was, a child or spouse of a cov- 15 ered individual described in paragraph (3)(B); 16 and 17 (B) would have been eligible for edu- 18 cational assistance under subpart 2 of part L of 19 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 20 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) 21 if the amendments made by section 3 of this 22 Act had been in effect on the date on which the 23 determination described in paragraph (3)(B)(i) 24 of this subsection was made; 25 8 † S 1208 ES (2) the term ‘‘covered claimant’’ means an indi- 1 vidual who is a claimant on the estate of a deceased 2 covered individual— 3 (A) described in paragraph (3)(B); and 4 (B) who died on or before the date of en- 5 actment of this Act; 6 (3) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 7 (A) a beneficiary of a benefit under the 8 Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefit Program 9 that was paid— 10 (i) with respect to a death or dis- 11 ability of a public safety officer sustained 12 as the direct or proximate result of a per- 13 sonal injury sustained in the line of duty; 14 and 15 (ii) during the covered period; or 16 (B) a public safety officer who— 17 (i) was determined during the covered 18 period to be ineligible for a benefit pay- 19 ment under section 1201(b) of title I of 20 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 21 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)); 22 and 23 (ii) would have been eligible for a ben- 24 efit payment under subpart L of that title 25 9 † S 1208 ES due to the disability of the public safety of- 1 ficer if the amendments made by section 3 2 had been in effect on the date on which the 3 determination described in clause (i) was 4 made; 5 (4) the term ‘‘covered period’’ means the pe- 6 riod— 7 (A) beginning on the date of enactment of 8 title XIII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 9 (Public Law 101–647; 104 Stat. 4834); and 10 (B) ending on the day before the date of 11 enactment of the Protecting America’s First 12 Responders Act; 13 (5) the term ‘‘public safety officer’’ has the 14 meaning given the term in section 1204 of title I of 15 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 16 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284); and 17 (6) the term ‘‘Public Safety Officers’ Death 18 Benefit Program’’ means the program established 19 under part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 20 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 21 et seq.). 22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sec- 23 tions 2 and 3 shall apply to a death or disability of a public 24 10 † S 1208 ES safety officer sustained as the direct or proximate result 1 of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty— 2 (1) subject to subsection (c), during the covered 3 period; or 4 (2) on or after the date of enactment of this 5 Act. 6 (c) PAYMENT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 8 upon application of a covered individual, covered 9 beneficiary, or covered claimant, the Bureau of Jus- 10 tice Assistance shall make a lump sum payment to 11 the covered individual, covered beneficiary, or cov- 12 ered claimant in the amount equal to the difference, 13 if any, between— 14 (A) in the case of a covered individual— 15 (i) the amount of the total benefit 16 payment the covered individual would have 17 received under the Public Safety Officers’ 18 Death Benefit Program as of the date of 19 the lump sum payment, if the amendments 20 made by sections 2 and 3 had been in ef- 21 fect on the date on which the covered indi- 22 vidual— 23 11 † S 1208 ES (I) received the final benefit pay- 1 ment under the Public Safety Offi- 2 cers’ Death Benefit Program; or 3 (II) was determined to be ineli- 4 gible for a benefit payment under sec- 5 tion 1201(b) of title I of the Omnibus 6 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 7 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)); and 8 (ii) the amount of the total benefit 9 payment the covered individual received 10 under the Public Safety Officers’ Death 11 Benefit Program before the date of enact- 12 ment of this Act; 13 (B) in the case of a covered beneficiary, 14 the amount of the total benefit payment the 15 covered beneficiary would have received under 16 subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus 17 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 18 (34 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) if the amendments 19 made by section 3 of this Act had been in effect 20 on the date on which the determination de- 21 scribed in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i) of this section 22 was made; and 23 (C) in the case of a covered claimant, the 24 amount of the total benefit payment the covered 25 12 † S 1208 ES individual on whose estate the covered claimant 1 is a claimant would have received under the 2 Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefit Program 3 as of the date of the lump sum payment, if the 4 amendments made by sections 2 and 3 had 5 been in effect on the date on which the deter- 6 mination described in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i) of 7 this section was made. 8 (2) APPLICATION.—A covered individual, cov- 9 ered beneficiary, or covered claimant desiring a lump 10 sum payment under paragraph (1) shall apply to the 11 Bureau of Justice Assistance for such lump sum 12 payment not later than 3 years after the date of en- 13 actment of this Act. 14 SEC. 5. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS 15 UNDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ 16 DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM. 17 Section 1206(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 18 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) 19 is amended by striking ‘‘the Bureau may not’’ and all that 20 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘the Bureau— 21 ‘‘(1) shall use all available investigative tools, 22 including subpoenas, to— 23 ‘‘(A) expedite the processing of the benefit 24 claim; and 25 13 † S 1208 ES ‘‘(B) obtain necessary information or docu- 1 mentation from third parties, including public 2 agencies; and 3 ‘‘(2) may not abandon the benefit claim unless 4 the Bureau has used the investigative tools available 5 to the Bureau to obtain the necessary information or 6 documentation, including subpoenas.’’. 7 SEC. 6. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF 8 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS KILLED OR DIS- 9 ABLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. 10 Section 1216(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 11 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10306(b)) 12 is amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘may’’ and 13 inserting ‘‘shall’’. 14 SEC. 7. COLLECTION OF DATA ON KILLED OR DISABLED 15 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 16 Section 534(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 17 amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 19 end; 20 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(5) operate a central clearinghouse for statis- 24 tics on law enforcement officers under the Uniform 25 14 † S 1208 ES Crime Reporting Program, including data on law en- 1 forcement officers who, while performing their du- 2 ties, were— 3 ‘‘(A) feloniously killed; 4 ‘‘(B) accidentally killed; 5 ‘‘(C) feloniously assaulted; or 6 ‘‘(D) severely and permanently disabled.’’. 7 SEC. 8. GAO REPORT ON MEDICAL COSTS. 8 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘disabled 9 officer’’ means a public safety officer to whom a benefit 10 is payable under subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omni- 11 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 12 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.) based on the permanent and total 13 disability of the officer, as described in section 1201(b) 14 of that subpart (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)). 15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 16 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 17 United States shall submit to the Committee on the Judi- 18 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 19 of the House of Representatives a report that estimates 20 the average medical costs incurred by a disabled officer 21 15 † S 1208 ES over the lifetime of the officer after sustaining the injury 1 that caused the disability. 2 Passed the Senate May 16, 2019. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1208 AN ACT To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 with respect to payments to certain public safety officers who have become permanently and totally disabled as a result of personal injuries sustained in the line of duty, and for other purposes.