[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3635 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 420
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, Mr. Booker, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Coons, Mr.
Blumenthal, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
June 14, 2022
Reported by Mr. Durbin, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
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,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Public Safety Officer
Support Act of 2022''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) This means public safety officers are
routinely called to respond to stressful and potentially
traumatic situations, often putting their own lives in
danger.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS FOR POST-
TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND ACUTE STRESS
DISORDER.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(o) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress
Disorder.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Mass casualty event.--The term `mass
casualty event' means an incident resulting in
casualties to not fewer than 3 victims, including--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) an incident that exceeds the
normal resources for emergency response
available in the jurisdiction where the
incident takes place; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) an incident that results in
a sudden temporal surge of injured individuals
necessitating emergency services.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Mass shooting.--The term `mass
shooting' means a multiple homicide incident in which
not fewer than 3 victims are killed--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) with a firearm;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) within 1 event;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) in 1 or more locations in
close proximity.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Personal injury sustained in line of duty.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), as determined by the Bureau--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Exceptions.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Death or disability.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Applicability of limitations on benefits.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. GAO REPORT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> 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.</DELETED>
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) 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, ACUTE STRESS DISORDER, AND TRAUMA- AND STRESS-
RELATED DISORDERS.
(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, Acute Stress Disorder, and
Trauma- and Stress-related Disorders.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Covered disorder.--The term `covered
disorder' means post-traumatic stress disorder, acute
stress disorder, or a trauma- and stress-related
disorder.
``(B) Exposed.--The term `exposed', with respect to
an event, includes--
``(i) directly experiencing or witnessing
the event; or
``(ii) being subjected, in an intense way,
to aversive consequences of the event
(including a public safety officer collecting
human remains).
``(C) 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.
``(D) 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.
``(E) 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.
``(F) Traumatic event.--The term `traumatic event'
means an event that is--
``(i) a homicide, a suicide, or the violent
or gruesome death of another individual
(including such a death resulting from a mass
casualty event, mass fatality event, or mass
shooting);
``(ii) a harrowing circumstance posing an
extraordinary and significant danger or threat
to the life of or of serious bodily harm to any
individual (including a mass casualty event,
mass fatality event, or mass shooting); or
``(iii) an act of criminal sexual violence
committed against any individual.
``(2) Personal injury sustained in line of duty.--As
determined by the Bureau--
``(A) a covered 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 was exposed, while on duty, to
1 or more traumatic events and that exposure was a
substantial factor in the covered disorder;
``(B) a covered 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
the covered 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 was exposed, while on duty, to 1 or more
traumatic events and that exposure was a substantial
factor in the covered disorder; and
``(C) a covered disorder suffered by a public
safety officer who was exposed, while on duty, to 1 or
more traumatic events shall be presumed to constitute a
personal injury within the meaning of subsection (a),
sustained in the line of duty by the officer if that
exposure was a substantial factor in the covered
disorder.
``(3) Presumption of death or total disability.--A public
safety officer shall be presumed to have died or become
permanently and totally disabled (within the meaning of
subsection (a) or (b)) as the direct and proximate result of a
personal injury sustained in the line of duty, if (as
determined by the Bureau)--
``(A)(i) the officer took an action that--
``(I) was intended to bring about the
officer's death; and
``(II) directly and proximately resulted in
the officer's death or permanent and total
disability; and
``(ii) the officer's exposure to 1 or more
traumatic events was a substantial factor in the action
described in clause (i); or
``(B)(i) the officer took an action, within 45 days
of the end of the officer's exposure to a traumatic
event, that--
``(I) was intended to bring about the
officer's death; and
``(II) directly and proximately resulted in
the officer's death or permanent and total
disability; and
``(ii) the action described in clause (i) was not
inconsistent with a psychiatric disorder.
``(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.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
amendments made by this section shall--
(A) take effect on the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(B) apply to any matter pending, before the Bureau
of Justice Assistance or otherwise, on the date of
enactment of this Act, or filed (consistent with pre-
existing effective dates) or accruing after that date.
(2) Exception.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to any action taken by a public safety officer described
in subsection (o)(3) 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 this section, that occurred on or after January 1,
2019.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL FIXES.
(a) Subpoena Power; Employment of Hearing Officers; Authority to
Hold Hearings.--Section 806 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10225) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``The'' and all that follows
through ``Assistance'' and inserting ``The Assistant
Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice Assistance'';
(B) by striking ``by the Attorney General'';
(C) by striking ``Code)'' and inserting ``Code
(without regard to the days limitation prescribed
therein), but shall, in no event, be understood to be
(or to have the authority of) officers of the United
States)'';
(D) by striking ``such hearing examiners or
administrative law judges'' and inserting ``or
administrative law judges''; and
(E) by striking ``necessary to carry out'' and all
that follows and inserting the following: ``necessary
or convenient to assist them in carrying out their
respective powers and duties under any law administered
by or under the Office.''; and
(2) in the second sentence--
(A) by striking ``The'' and all that follows
through ``Assistance'' and inserting ``The Assistant
Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice Assistance'';
(B) by striking ``or any'' and inserting ``, or
(subject to such limitations as the appointing
authority may, in its sole discretion, impose from time
to time) any'';
(C) by inserting a comma after ``thereby''; and
(D) by striking ``examinations and'' and inserting
``examinations, and''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking ``basis.'' and
inserting ``basis;''; and
(3) in paragraph (14), by redesignating the second
subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G).
SEC. 5. 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.
Calendar No. 420
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3635
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 14, 2022
Reported with an amendment