I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8649 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for a presumption of eligibility for benefits for certain public safety officers who died of exposure-related cancers, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 20, 2020 Mrs. WALORSKI 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 to provide for a presumption of eligibility for benefits for certain public safety officers who died of exposure-related cancers, 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 ‘‘Joshua John Comeau 4 First Responder Cancer Benefit Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Nov 11, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8649.IH H8649 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8649 IH SEC. 2. EXPOSURE-RELATED CANCER. 1 Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 2 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amend- 3 ed by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(o)(1) As determined by the Bureau, an exposure- 5 related cancer resulting in the death of a public safety offi- 6 cer shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury with- 7 in the meaning of subsection (a), sustained in the line of 8 duty by the officer and directly and proximately resulting 9 in death, if that public safety officer was exposed to or 10 in contact with any known carcinogen, or carcinogenic 11 substance or condition while at the scene of an accident, 12 a fire, or any other rescue or public safety operation. 13 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘expo- 14 sure-related cancer’ includes the following: 15 ‘‘(A) Mesothelioma. 16 ‘‘(B) Testicular cancer. 17 ‘‘(C) Multiple myeloma. 18 ‘‘(D) Leukemia. 19 ‘‘(E) Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. 20 ‘‘(F) Skin cancer. 21 ‘‘(G) Malignant melanoma. 22 ‘‘(H) Brain cancer. 23 ‘‘(I) Prostate cancer. 24 ‘‘(J) Colon cancer. 25 ‘‘(K) Stomach cancer. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Nov 11, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8649.IH H8649 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8649 IH ‘‘(L) Lung cancer. 1 ‘‘(M) Esophagus cancer. 2 ‘‘(N) Kidney cancer. 3 ‘‘(O) Bladder cancer. 4 ‘‘(P) Any other form of cancer that the Bureau 5 may determine appropriate.’’. 6 SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY. 7 The amendment made by section 2 shall apply in the 8 case of any public safety officer who died on or after Janu- 9 ary 1, 2018, as a result of an exposure-related cancer. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Nov 11, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8649.IH H8649 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS