,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #dfe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ab1 #bjai,ms4 ,duckworth 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,peters1 and ,mr4 ,blumenthal7 introduced the following bill2 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 #aifh to make reforms to the benefits for ,public ,service ,officers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,heroes ,lesley ,zerebny and ,gilbert ,vega ,first ,responders ,survivors ,support ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,amount of benefit increased ,section #abja7;a7 of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha7;a77 is amended in the matter preceding paragraph 7#a7 by striking #bej1jjj and inserting #ejj1jjj4 #c4 ,date of determination of amount of benefit 7a7 ,disability benefit ,section #abja7;b7 of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha7;b77 is amended by striking with respect to the date on which the catastrophic injury occurred and inserting with respect to the date that a determination is made to make such payment4 7b7 ,death benefit ,section #abja7;i7 of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha7;i77 is amended by striking as of the date of death of such officer and inserting as of the date that a determination is made to make such payment subsequent to an application4 #d4 ,amount of educational assistance ,section #abab7;a77#b7 of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcjb7;a77#b77 is amended by striking shall be computed on the basis set forth in section #cecb of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code and inserting shall be computed on the basis set forth in section #abai4 #e4 ,computation of educational assistance allowance ,subpart #b of part ,l of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #abai4 ,computation of educational assistance allowance 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,monthly rates ,the financial assistance to be paid on behalf of an eligible person who is pursuing a program of education consisting of institutional courses shall be computed at the rate of-- 7,a7 #b1jjj per month for full-time pursuit2 7,b7 #a1fjj per month for three-quarter-time pursuit2 or 7,c7 #a1afj per month for half-time pursuit4 7#b7 ,less than half-time basis ,the financial assistance to be paid on behalf of an eligible person pursuing a program of education on less than a half-time basis shall be computed at the rate of the lesser of-- 7,a7 the established charges for tuition and fees that the eligible educational institution involved requires to be paid by similarly circumstanced noneligible persons enrolled in the same program2 or 7,b7 #b1jjj per month for a full-time course4 7b7 ,training ,the financial assistance to be paid on behalf of an eligible person who is pursuing a full-time program of education which consists of institutional courses and alternate phases of training in a business or industrial establishment under which the training in the business or industrial establishment is strictly supplemental to the institutional portion1 shall be computed at the rate of #b1jjj per month4 7c7 ,farm cooperative 7#a7 ,definition ,in this subsection1 the term enrolled in a farm cooperative program1 relating to an eligible person1 means that the eligible person-- 7,a7 is enrolled in an eligible educational institution for a farm cooperative program consisting of institutional agricultural courses prescheduled to fall within #dd weeks of any period of #ab consecutive months2 7,b7 pursues such program on-- 7i7 a full-time basis 7consisting of a minimum of #aj clock hours per week or #ddj clock hours per year prescheduled to provide not less than #hj clock hours in any #c-month period72 7ii7 a three-quarter-time basis 7consisting of a minimum of #g clock hours per week72 or 7iii7 a half-time basis 7consisting of a minimum of #e clock hours per week72 and 7,c7 is concurrently engaged in agricultural employment which is relevant to such institutional agricultural courses1 as determined under standards prescribed by the ,attorney ,general4 7#b7 ,computation ,the financial assistance to be paid on behalf of an eligible person who is enrolled in a farm cooperative program shall be computed at the rate of-- 7,a7 #fcf per month for full-time pursuit2 7,b7 #dgg per month for three-quarter-time pursuit2 or 7,c7 #cai per month for half-time pursuit4 7#c7 ,calculation of hours ,in calculating the number of clock hours for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the ,attorney ,general shall include the time involved in field trips and individual and group instruction sponsored and conducted by the eligible educational institution through a duly authorized instructor of such institution in which the eligible person is enrolled4 7d7 ,programs in ,republic of ,philippines ,the financial assistance to be paid on behalf of an eligible person who is enrolled in a program of education at an eligible educational institution located in the ,republic of the ,philippines1 shall be computed at the rate of #j4ej for each #a4jj otherwise payable under this subpart4 7e7 ,licensing or certification 7#a7 ,definition ,in this subsection1 the term licensing or certification test means a licensing or certification test described in section #ceja7;a77#e7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,computation ,subject to paragraph 7#d71 the amount of financial assistance payable under this subpart for a licensing or certification test is the lesser of #b1jjj or the fee charged for the licensing or certification test4 7#c7 ,number of months ,the number of months of entitlement charged in the case of an eligible person for a licensing or certification test is equal to the quotient 7including any fraction7 obtained by dividing-- 7,a7 the total amount paid to the eligible person for the licensing or certification test2 by 7,b7 the full-time monthly institutional rate of the financial assistance which1 but for paragraph 7#b71 the eligible person would otherwise be paid under this subpart4 7#d7 ,limitation ,in no event shall payment of financial assistance under this subsection for a licensing or certification test exceed the amount of the amount to which an eligible individual is entitled under this subpart4 7f7 ,national tests for admission or opportunity 7#a7 ,definition ,in this subsection1 the term national test means a national test for admission or national test providing an opportunity for course credit at institutions of higher learning described in section #ceja7;a77#e7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,national tests ,subject to paragraph 7#d71 the amount of financial assistance payable under this subpart for a national test is the amount of the fee charged for the national test4 7#c7 ,number of months ,the number of months of entitlement charged in the case of an eligible person for a national test is equal to the quotient 7including any fraction7 obtained by dividing-- 7,a7 the total amount of financial assistance paid to the eligible person for the national test2 by 7,b7 the full-time monthly institutional rate of financial assistance which1 but for paragraph 7#b71 the eligible person would otherwise be paid under this subpart4 7#d7 ,limitation ,in no event shall payment of financial assistance under this subsection for a national test exceed the amount of the amount to which an eligible individual is entitled under this subpart4 7g7 ,adjustment for inflation ,amounts under this section shall be indexed annually to the college tuition and fees component of the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers4 4 #f4 ,,gao study 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit a report examining and identifying ways to improve access to and the processing of claims under the ,public ,safety ,officers' ,benefit program under part ,l of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha et seq47 to-- 7#a7 the ,committee on the ,judiciary and the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,committee on the ,judiciary and the ,committee on ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives4 7b7 ,contents ,the report submitted under subsection 7a7 shall examine-- 7#a7 factors that may hinder access to the education assistance benefit under subpart #b of part ,l of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcja et seq471 such as lack of awareness1 delays in the application process1 or the timely processing of deaths and disability claims2 and 7#b7 the extent to which eligibility for benefits and assistance under the ,public ,safety ,officers' ,benefit program under part ,l of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha et seq47 is communicated to officers upon employment and to eligible family members following the loss of a public safety officer4