,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gefh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #i1 #bjbj ,mr4 
,trone 7for himself and ,mr4            
,reschenthaler7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to amend the ,omnibus ,crime ,control  
and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh to     
authorize public safety officer death   
benefits to officers suffering from     
post-traumatic stress disorder1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,public ,safety
 ,officer ,support ,act of #bjbj4  #b4  
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,every day1 public safety        
officers1 including police officers1    
firefighters1 emergency medical         
technicians1 and others1 work to        
maintain the safety1 health1 and        
well-being of the communities they      
serve4  7#b7 ,from time to time this    
means being called to respond to        
stressful and potentially traumatic     

situations1 sometimes even putting their
 own lives in danger4  7#c7 ,this work  
not only puts them at risk for          
experiencing harm1 serious injury1 and  
severe trauma1 but also places them at  
up to #be4f times higher risk for       
developing post-traumatic stress        
disorder when compared to those without 
such experiences4  7#d7 ,psychological  
evidence indicates law enforcement      
officers experience significant         
job-related stressors and exposures that
 may confer increased risk for mental   
health morbidities 7for example         
post-traumatic stress disorder1 and     
suicidal thoughts and behaviors71 and   
hastened mortality4  7#e7 ,public safety
 officers often do not have the         
resources or support they need1 leaving 
them at higher risk for long-term mental
 health consequences4  7#f7 ,in #bjag1  
the ,department of ,justice approved    
#dha ,public ,safety ,officer ,benefit  
7,,psob7 claims1 but not one of them for
 the over #bdj public safety officers   

who died by suicide that year4  7#g7 ,as
 it currently stands1 officers who have 
died or are disabled as a result of     
suicide or post-traumatic stress        
disorder do not qualify for this        
program1 despite officers being more    
likely to die by suicide than in the    
line of duty4  #c4 ,public safety       
officer death benefits for              
post-traumatic stress disorder ,section 
#abja of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control   
and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha7 is amended by adding  
at the end the following3  7o7 ,as      
determined by the ,bureau-- 7#a7        
post-traumatic stress disorder suffered 
by a public safety officer1 and         
diagnosed by a licensed medical or      
mental health professional1 shall be    
presumed to constitute a personal injury
 within the meaning of subsection 7a71  
sustained in the line of duty by the    
officer1 if the officer1 while on duty1 
engages in situations involving         
stressful1 tensional1 or traumatic law  

enforcement1 fire suppression1 rescue1  
hazardous material response1 emergency  
medical services 7including responding  
to opioid overdoses1 or traumatic       
psychological or psychiatric distress   
calls71 prison security1 disaster       
relief1 or other emergency response     
activity2 and  7#b7 in the case that a  
public safety officer described in      
paragraph 7#a7 dies by suicide 7for     
purposes of a claim under subsection    
7a771 or is permanently and totally     
disabled as a result of post-traumatic  
stress disorder1 including as a result  
of attempted suicide 7for purposes of a 
claim under subsection 7b771 such death 
or disability shall be presumed to be a 
direct and proximate result of such     
engagement1  unless competent           
psychological or medical evidence       
establishes that the post-traumatic     
stress disorder was unrelated to the    
engagement or was directly and          
proximately caused by something other   
than the mere presence of post-traumatic

 stress disorder risk factors4 ,for     
purposes of paragraph 7#b71 a public    
safety officer shall be considered      
permanently and totally disabled as a   
result of post-traumatic stress disorder
 if the officer is unable to serve as a 
public safety officer in the same or    
substantially similar role as the       
officer was serving prior to suffering  
from post-traumatic stress disorder4  4 
#d4 ,,gao report ,on the date that is   
one year after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general
 of the ,united ,states shall submit to 
,congress a report on benefits issued   
pursuant to subsection 7o7 of section   
#abja of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control   
and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha71 as added by this     
,act1 and any recommendations to improve
 such subsection4