[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3635 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3635
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
authorize public safety officer death benefits to officers suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 10, 2022
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Tillis, Mr.
Kaine, Ms. Collins, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. Booker) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
authorize public safety officer death benefits to officers suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Public Safety Officer Support Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Every day, public safety officers, including police
officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and
others, work to maintain the safety, health, and well-being of
the communities they serve.
(2) This means public safety officers are routinely called
to respond to stressful and potentially traumatic situations,
often putting their own lives in danger.
(3) This work not only puts public safety officers at risk
for experiencing harm, serious injury, and cumulative and acute
trauma, but also places them at up to 25.6 times higher risk
for developing post-traumatic stress disorder when compared to
individuals without such experiences.
(4) Psychological evidence indicates that law enforcement
officers experience significant job-related stressors and
exposures that may confer increased risk for mental health
morbidities (such as post-traumatic stress disorder and
suicidal thoughts, ideation, intents, and behaviors) and
hastened mortality.
(5) Public safety officers often do not have the resources
or support they need, leaving them at higher risk for long-term
mental health consequences.
(6) Whereas, although the Department of Defense already
considers servicemember suicides to be line-of-duty deaths and
provides Federal support to eligible surviving families, the
Federal Government does not recognize public safety officer
suicides as deaths in the line of duty.
(7) In 2017, the Department of Justice approved 481 claims
under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program under
subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.), but not one
of them for the more than 240 public safety officers who died
by suicide that year.
(8) Public safety officers who have died or are disabled as
a result of suicide or post-traumatic stress disorder do not
qualify for the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program,
despite the fact that public safety officers are more likely to
die by suicide than from any other line-of-duty cause of death.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
DISORDER AND ACUTE STRESS DISORDER.
(a) In General.--Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(o) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Mass casualty event.--The term `mass casualty
event' means an incident resulting in casualties to not
fewer than 3 victims, including--
``(i) an incident that exceeds the normal
resources for emergency response available in
the jurisdiction where the incident takes
place; and
``(ii) an incident that results in a sudden
temporal surge of injured individuals
necessitating emergency services.
``(B) Mass fatality event.--The term `mass fatality
event' means an incident resulting in the fatalities of
not fewer than 3 individuals at 1 or more locations
close to one another with a common cause.
``(C) Mass shooting.--The term `mass shooting'
means a multiple homicide incident in which not fewer
than 3 victims are killed--
``(i) with a firearm;
``(ii) within 1 event; and
``(iii) in 1 or more locations in close
proximity.
``(2) Personal injury sustained in line of duty.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), as determined by the Bureau--
``(i) post-traumatic stress disorder or
acute stress disorder suffered by a public
safety officer, and diagnosed by a licensed
medical or mental health professional, shall be
presumed to constitute a personal injury within
the meaning of subsection (a), sustained in the
line of duty by the officer, if the officer,
while on duty, engages in situations involving
stressful, tensional, or traumatic law
enforcement, fire suppression, rescue,
hazardous material response, emergency medical
services (including responding to opioid
overdoses, or traumatic psychological or
psychiatric distress calls), prison security,
disaster relief, or other emergency response
activity;
``(ii) post-traumatic stress disorder or
acute stress disorder suffered by a public
safety officer who has contacted or attempted
to contact the employee assistance program of
the agency or entity that the officer serves, a
licensed medical or mental health professional,
suicide prevention services, or another mental
health assistance service in order to receive
help, treatment, or diagnosis for post-
traumatic stress disorder or acute stress
disorder, shall be presumed to constitute a
personal injury within the meaning of
subsection (a), sustained in the line of duty
by the officer, if the officer, while on duty,
engages in situations involving stressful,
tensional, or traumatic law enforcement, fire
suppression, rescue, hazardous material
response, emergency medical services (including
responding to opioid overdoses, or traumatic
psychological or psychiatric distress calls),
prison security, disaster relief, or other
emergency response activity; and
``(iii) post-traumatic stress disorder or
acute stress disorder suffered by a public
safety officer who engages in a response to a
mass casualty incident, mass death incident, or
mass shooting involving stressful, tensional,
or traumatic law enforcement, fire suppression,
rescue, hazardous material response, prison
security, disaster relief, or other emergency
response activity shall be presumed to
constitute a personal injury within the meaning
of subsection (a), sustained in the line of
duty by the officer.
``(B) Exceptions.--
``(i) Disorder unrelated to engagement.--
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the Bureau
establishes, by clear and convincing evidence,
and based on competent psychological or medical
evidence, that the post-traumatic stress
disorder or acute stress disorder was
completely unrelated to engagement in
situations described in clause (i), (ii), or
(iii) of that subparagraph.
``(ii) Other direct and proximate cause.--
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if competent
psychological or medical evidence establishes
that the post-traumatic stress disorder or
acute stress disorder was directly and
proximately caused by something other than the
mere presence of post-traumatic stress disorder
or acute stress disorder risk factors.
``(3) Death or disability.--
``(A) In general.--
``(i) Death by suicide of any officer.--For
purposes of a claim under subsection (a), if a
public safety officer described in clause (i),
(ii), or (iii) of paragraph (2)(A) of this
subsection dies by suicide, that death shall be
presumed to be a direct and proximate result of
the post-traumatic stress disorder or acute
stress disorder suffered by the public safety
officer.
``(ii) Disability of diagnosed officers.--
For purposes of a claim under subsection (b),
if a public safety officer described in
paragraph (2)(A)(i) of this subsection is
permanently and totally disabled as a result of
the post-traumatic stress disorder or acute
stress disorder suffered by the public safety
officer, including as a result of attempted
suicide, that disability shall be presumed to
be a direct and proximate result of the post-
traumatic stress disorder or acute stress
disorder suffered by the public safety officer.
``(iii) Disability of non-diagnosed
officers due to attempted suicide.--For
purposes of a claim under subsection (b), if a
public safety officer described in clause (ii)
or (iii) of paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection
is permanently and totally disabled as a result
of attempted suicide, that disability shall be
presumed to be a direct and proximate result of
the post-traumatic stress disorder or acute
stress disorder suffered by the public safety
officer.
``(B) Permanent and total disability.--For purposes
of clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), an
individual shall be considered permanently and totally
disabled as a result of an attempted suicide or of
post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder
if the individual is unable to serve as a public safety
officer in the same or a substantially similar role as
the individual was serving prior to the attempted
suicide or prior to suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder or acute stress disorder, respectively.
``(4) Applicability of limitations on benefits.--
``(A) Intentional actions.--Section 1202(a)(1)
shall not apply to any claim for a benefit under this
part that is payable in accordance with this
subsection.
``(B) Substance use.--Section 1202(a)(2) shall not
preclude the payment of a benefit under this part if
the benefit is otherwise payable in accordance with
this subsection.''.
(b) Retroactive Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection
(a) shall take effect as if enacted on January 1, 2019, and shall apply
to any public safety officer who dies or is permanently and totally
disabled on or after that date.
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report that details benefits issued pursuant to subsection (o) of
section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281), as added by section 3, and includes any
recommendations to improve that subsection.
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