Protecting America’s First Responders Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2812 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. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2019 Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting America’s 4 First Responders Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2812 IH SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS 1 UNDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ 2 DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM. 3 Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 4 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amend- 5 ed— 6 (1) in subsection (b), by striking the period at 7 the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, unless the 8 claim under this subsection has been pending for 9 more than 1 year, in which case the amount payable 10 shall be the amount that would be payable if the cat- 11 astrophic injury occurred on the date on which the 12 Bureau makes a final determination that the public 13 safety officer is entitled to a benefit payment under 14 this subsection.’’; 15 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and 16 inserting ‘‘$6,000, adjusted in accordance with sub- 17 section (h),’’; 18 (3) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘and the 19 level of the interim benefit payable immediately be- 20 fore such October 1 under subsection (c)’’ after 21 ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 22 (4) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 23 following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2812 IH ‘‘(i) The amount payable under subsection (a), with 1 respect to the death of a public safety officer, shall be the 2 greater of— 3 ‘‘(1) the amount payable under that subsection 4 as of the date of death of the public safety officer; 5 or 6 ‘‘(2) the amount that would be payable under 7 that subsection if the death of the public safety offi- 8 cer occurred on the date on which the Bureau makes 9 a final determination that the public safety officer is 10 entitled to a benefit payment under that sub- 11 section.’’; and 12 (5) in subsection (m), by inserting ‘‘, (b),’’ after 13 ‘‘subsection (a)’’. 14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC 15 SAFETY OFFICERS’ DEATH BENEFITS PRO- 16 GRAM. 17 Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 18 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amend- 19 ed— 20 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 21 following: 22 ‘‘(1) ‘catastrophic injury’ means an injury, the 23 direct and proximate consequences of which— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2812 IH ‘‘(A) permanently prevent an individual 1 from performing any gainful work; or 2 ‘‘(B) cause an individual to become— 3 ‘‘(i) parapalegic; 4 ‘‘(ii) quadriplegic; or 5 ‘‘(iii) blind;’’; 6 (2) in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding 7 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘at the time of the 8 public safety officer’s fatal or catastrophic injury’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘as of the date of the public safety of- 10 ficer’s death from a fatal injury or the date of deter- 11 mination of the public safety officer’s disability from 12 a catastrophic injury’’; 13 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, including 14 an individual who, in the capacity of the individual 15 as such a member, engages in scene security or traf- 16 fic management as the primary or only duty of the 17 individual during emergency response’’ before the 18 semicolon; 19 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 20 (9) as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively; 21 and 22 (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol- 23 lowing: 24 ‘‘(5) ‘gainful work’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2812 IH ‘‘(A) means any activity usually performed 1 for pay or profit, regardless of whether a profit 2 is realized; and 3 ‘‘(B) does not include work performed in a 4 situation in which, after an individual sustains 5 an injury— 6 ‘‘(i) the individual— 7 ‘‘(I) re-enters the workforce; and 8 ‘‘(II) leaves the workforce after 9 less than 90 days because of the in- 10 ability of the individual to overcome 11 the injury; 12 ‘‘(ii) because of the injury— 13 ‘‘(I) the individual is permitted, 14 in carrying out work, to— 15 ‘‘(aa) perform at a lower 16 standard of productivity or effi- 17 ciency than other similarly situ- 18 ated employees; 19 ‘‘(bb) work irregular hours; 20 or 21 ‘‘(cc) take frequent rest pe- 22 riods; or 23 ‘‘(II) the individual is only able 24 to work within a framework of spe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2812 IH cially arranged circumstances, such as 1 a circumstance in which one or more 2 other individuals are required to assist 3 the individual in preparing for work 4 or travelling to and from work; 5 ‘‘(iii)(I) the individual practices a 6 hobby usually performed for pay or profit, 7 regardless of whether a profit is realized; 8 and 9 ‘‘(II) the primary intent of the indi- 10 vidual in practicing the hobby described in 11 subclause (I)— 12 ‘‘(aa) is physical, mental, or emo- 13 tional rehabilitation of the individual 14 from the injury; and 15 ‘‘(bb) is not realization of profit; 16 or 17 ‘‘(iv) the individual is given the oppor- 18 tunity to work— 19 ‘‘(I) despite the injury of the in- 20 dividual; and 21 ‘‘(II) on the basis of— 22 ‘‘(aa) a family relationship 23 of the individual; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2812 IH ‘‘(bb) a past association of 1 the individual with the employer 2 giving the individual the oppor- 3 tunity to work; or 4 ‘‘(cc) any other altruistic 5 reason;’’. 6 SEC. 4. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec- 8 tion— 9 (1) the term ‘‘covered beneficiary’’ means an in- 10 dividual who— 11 (A) is, or was, a child or spouse of a cov- 12 ered individual described in paragraph (3)(B); 13 and 14 (B) would have been eligible for edu- 15 cational assistance under subpart 2 of part L of 16 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 17 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) 18 if the amendments made by section 3 of this 19 Act had been in effect on the date on which the 20 determination described in paragraph (3)(B)(i) 21 of this subsection was made; 22 (2) the term ‘‘covered claimant’’ means an indi- 23 vidual who is a claimant on the estate of a deceased 24 covered individual— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2812 IH (A) described in paragraph (3)(B); and 1 (B) who died on or before the date of en- 2 actment of this Act; 3 (3) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 4 (A) a beneficiary of a benefit under the 5 Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefit Program 6 that was paid— 7 (i) with respect to a death or dis- 8 ability of a public safety officer sustained 9 as the direct or proximate result of a per- 10 sonal injury sustained in the line of duty; 11 and 12 (ii) during the covered period; or 13 (B) a public safety officer who— 14 (i) was determined during the covered 15 period to be ineligible for a benefit pay- 16 ment under section 1201(b) of title I of 17 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 18 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)); 19 and 20 (ii) would have been eligible for a ben- 21 efit payment under subpart L of that title 22 due to the disability of the public safety of- 23 ficer if the amendments made by section 3 24 had been in effect on the date on which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2812 IH determination described in clause (i) was 1 made; 2 (4) the term ‘‘covered period’’ means the pe- 3 riod— 4 (A) beginning on the date of enactment of 5 title XIII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 6 (Public Law 101–647; 104 Stat. 4834); and 7 (B) ending on the day before the date of 8 enactment of the Protecting America’s First 9 Responders Act; 10 (5) the term ‘‘public safety officer’’ has the 11 meaning given the term in section 1204 of title I of 12 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 13 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284); and 14 (6) the term ‘‘Public Safety Officers’ Death 15 Benefit Program’’ means the program established 16 under part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 17 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 18 et seq.). 19 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sec- 20 tions 2 and 3 shall apply to a death or disability of a public 21 safety officer sustained as the direct or proximate result 22 of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty— 23 (1) subject to subsection (c), during the covered 24 period; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2812 IH (2) on or after the date of enactment of this 1 Act. 2 (c) PAYMENT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 4 upon application of a covered individual, covered 5 beneficiary, or covered claimant, the Bureau of Jus- 6 tice Assistance shall make a lump sum payment to 7 the covered individual, covered beneficiary, or cov- 8 ered claimant in the amount equal to the difference, 9 if any, between— 10 (A) in the case of a covered individual— 11 (i) the amount of the total benefit 12 payment the covered individual would have 13 received under the Public Safety Officers’ 14 Death Benefit Program as of the date of 15 the lump sum payment, if the amendments 16 made by sections 2 and 3 had been in ef- 17 fect on the date on which the covered indi- 18 vidual— 19 (I) received the final benefit pay- 20 ment under the Public Safety Offi- 21 cers’ Death Benefit Program; or 22 (II) was determined to be ineli- 23 gible for a benefit payment under sec- 24 tion 1201(b) of title I of the Omnibus 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2812 IH Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)); and 2 (ii) the amount of the total benefit 3 payment the covered individual received 4 under the Public Safety Officers’ Death 5 Benefit Program before the date of enact- 6 ment of this Act; 7 (B) in the case of a covered beneficiary, 8 the amount of the total benefit payment the 9 covered beneficiary would have received under 10 subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus 11 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 12 (34 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) if the amendments 13 made by section 3 of this Act had been in effect 14 on the date on which the determination de- 15 scribed in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i) of this section 16 was made; and 17 (C) in the case of a covered claimant, the 18 amount of the total benefit payment the covered 19 individual on whose estate the covered claimant 20 is a claimant would have received under the 21 Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefit Program 22 as of the date of the lump sum payment, if the 23 amendments made by sections 2 and 3 had 24 been in effect on the date on which the deter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2812 IH mination described in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i) of 1 this section was made. 2 (2) APPLICATION.—A covered individual desir- 3 ing a lump sum payment under paragraph (1) shall 4 apply to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for such 5 lump sum payment not later than 3 years after the 6 date of enactment of this Act. 7 SEC. 5. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS 8 UNDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ 9 DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM. 10 Section 1206(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 11 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) 12 is amended by striking ‘‘the Bureau may not’’ and all that 13 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘the Bureau— 14 ‘‘(1) shall use all available investigative tools, 15 including subpoenas, to— 16 ‘‘(A) expedite the processing of the benefit 17 claim; and 18 ‘‘(B) obtain necessary information or docu- 19 mentation from third parties, including public 20 agencies; and 21 ‘‘(2) may not abandon the benefit claim unless 22 the Bureau has used the investigative tools available 23 to the Bureau to obtain the necessary information or 24 documentation, including subpoenas.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2812 IH SEC. 6. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF 1 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS KILLED OR DIS- 2 ABLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. 3 Section 1216(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 4 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10306(b)) 5 is amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘may’’ and 6 inserting ‘‘shall’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2812.IH H2812 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS