,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #beb #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fidc ,report ,no4 #aag-cce ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #g1 #bjbb,mr4 ,trone 7for himself and ,mr4 ,reschenthaler7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,may #ah1 #bjbb;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,ms4 ,craig1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 ,mr4 ,hudson1 ,mr4 ,garbarino1 ,ms4 ,stefanik1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,miss ,gonzlez-,coln1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,crenshaw1 ,mr4 ,schneider1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,ms4 ,herrell1 ,mrs4 ,mc,bath1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,ruppersberger1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,pappas1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4 ,bacon1 ,mr4 ,cole1 ,ms4 ,wild1 ,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester1 ,mr4 ,rogers of ,kentucky1 ,mr4 ,phillips1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mrs4 ,trahan1 ,mr4 ,keating1 ,mrs4 ,lesko1 ,mrs4 ,beatty1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,california1 ,ms4 ,porter1 ,mr4 ,moulton1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,ms4 ,schrier1 ,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,nehls1 ,mr4 ,jeffries1 ,ms4 ,underwood1 ,mr4 ,rutherford1 ,mr4 ,swalwell1 ,mr4 ,timmons1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,mr4 ,perlmutter1 and ,mr4 ,larson of ,connecticut ,may #ah1 #bjbb,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,march #g1 #bjbb ,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 disorder or acute stress disorder1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,public ,safety ,officer ,support ,act of #bjbb4 #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 ,this means public safety officers are routinely called to respond to stressful and potentially traumatic situations1 often putting their own lives in danger4 7#c7 ,this work not only puts public safety officers at-risk for experiencing harm1 serious injury1 and cumulative and acute trauma1 but also places them at up to #be4f times higher risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder when compared to individuals without such experiences4 7#d7 ,psychological evidence indicates that law enforcement officers experience significant job-related stressors and exposures that may confer increased risk for mental health morbidities 7such as post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts1 ideation1 intents1 and behaviors7 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 ,whereas1 although the ,department of ,defense already considers servicemember suicides to be line-of-duty deaths and provides ,federal support to eligible surviving families1 the ,federal ,government does not recognize public safety officer suicides as deaths in the line of duty4 7#g7 ,in #bjag1 the ,department of ,justice approved #dha claims under the ,public ,safety ,officers' ,benefits ,program under subpart #a of part ,l of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha et seq471 but not one of them for the more than #bdj public safety officers who died by suicide that year4 7#h7 ,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 ,program1 despite the fact that public safety officers are more likely to die by suicide than from any other line-of-duty cause of death4 #c4 ,public safety officer death benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder 7a7 ,in general ,section #abja of title ,i 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 ,post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7,a7 ,mass casualty event ,the term mass casualty event means an incident resulting in casualties to not fewer than #c victims1 including-- 7i7 an incident that exceeds the normal resources for emergency response available in the jurisdiction where the incident takes place2 and 7ii7 an incident that results in a sudden temporal surge of injured individuals necessitating emergency services4 7,b7 ,mass fatality event ,the term mass fatality event means an incident resulting in the fatalities of not fewer than #c individuals at #a or more locations close to one another with a common cause4 7,c7 ,mass shooting ,the term mass shooting means a multiple homicide incident in which not fewer than #c victims are killed-- 7i7 with a firearm2 7ii7 within #a event2 and 7iii7 in #a or more locations in close proximity4 7,d7 ,exposed ,the term exposed includes-- 7i7 directly experiencing or witnessing an event2 or 7ii7 being subjected1 in an intense way1 to aversive consequences of the event 7including a public safety officer collecting human remains74 7,e7 ,traumatic event ,the term traumatic eventmeans1 in the case of a public safety officer exposed to an event1 an event that is-- 7i7 a homicide1 suicide1 or the violent or gruesome death of another individual 7including such a death resulting from a mass casualty event1 mass fatality event1 or mass shooting72 7ii7 a harrowing circumstance posing an extraordinary and significant danger or threat to the life of or of serious bodily harm to any individual 7including such a circumstance as a mass casualty event1 mass fatality event1 or mass shooting72 or 7iii7 an act of criminal sexual violence committed against any individual4 7#b7 ,personal injury sustained in line of duty ,as determined by the ,bureau-- 7,a7 post-traumatic stress disorder1 acute stress disorder1 or trauma and stress related disorders suffered by a public safety officer 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 officer was exposed1 while on duty1 to one or more traumatic events and such exposure was a substantial factor in the disorder2 7,b7 post-traumatic stress disorder1 acute stress disorder1 or trauma and stress related disorders1 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 serves1 a licensed medical or mental health professional1 suicide prevention services1 or another mental health assistance service in order to receive help1 treatment1 or diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder1 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 was exposed1 while on duty1 to one or more traumatic events and such exposure was a substantial factor in the disorder2 and 7,c7 post-traumatic stress disorder1 acute stress disorder1 or trauma and stress related disorders1 suffered by a public safety officer who was exposed1 while on duty1 to one or more traumatic events shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury within the meaning of subsection 7a71 sustained in the line of duty by the officer if such exposure was a substantial factor in the disorder4 7#c7 ,presumption of death or total disability ,a public safety officer shall be presumed to have died or become permanently and totally disabled 7within the meaning of subsection 7a7 or 7b77 as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty1 if 7as determined by the ,bureau7 the officer either-- 7,a7 took an action1 which action was intended to bring about the officer's death and directly and proximately resulted in such officer's death or permanent and total disability and exposure to one or more traumatic events was a substantial factor in the action taken by the officer2 or 7,b7 took an action within #de days of the end of exposure to a traumatic event1 which action was intended to bring about the officer's death and directly and proximately resulted in such officer's death or permanent and total disability1 if such action was not inconsistent with a psychiatric disorder4 7#d7 ,applicability of limitations on benefits 7,a7 ,intentional actions ,section #abjb7;a77#a7 shall not apply to any claim for a benefit under this part that is payable in accordance with this subsection4 7,b7 ,substance use ,section #abjb7;a77#b7 shall not preclude the payment of a benefit under this part if the benefit is otherwise payable in accordance with this subsection4 4 7b7 ,retroactive applicability 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the amendments made by this section shall-- 7,a7 take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act2 and 7,b7 apply to any matter pending1 before the ,bureau of ,justice ,assistance or otherwise1 on the date of enactment of this ,act1 or filed 7consistent with pre-existing effective dates7 or accruing after that date4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to any action taken by a public safety officer described in paragraph 7#c7 of section #abja7o7 of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7as added by this ,act7 that occurred on or after ,january #a1 #bjai4 #d4 ,technical fixes 7a7 ,subpoena power2 employment of hearing officers2 authority to hold hearings ,section #hjf of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh is amended by-- 7#a7 striking by the ,attorney ,general2 7#b7 inserting ,assistant before ,attorney everywhere it appears2 7#c7 striking ,code7 and inserting ,code 7without regard to the days limitation prescribed therein71 but shall1 in no event1 be understood to be 7or to have the authority of7 officers of the ,united ,states72 7#d7 striking necessary to carry out and inserting necessary or convenient to assist them in carrying out2 7#e7 striking or any and inserting 1 or 7subject to such limitations as the appointing authority may1 in its sole discretion1 impose from time to time7 any2 7#f7 inserting a comma after thereby2 7#g7 striking duties under this title and inserting duties under any law administered by or under the ,office2 7#h7 striking such hearing examiners the second place it appears2 and 7#i7 striking examinations and and inserting examinations1 and4 7b7 ,definitions ,section #abjd of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#aa71 by striking 2 and and inserting 22 7#b7 in paragraph 7#ab77;,b71 by striking basis4 and inserting basis22 and 7#c7 in paragraph 7#ad71 by redesignating the second subparagraph 7,f7 as subparagraph 7,g74 #e4 ,,gao report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report that details benefits issued pursuant to subsection 7o7 of section #abja of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajbha71 as added by section #c1 and includes any recommendations to improve that subsection4 ,may #ah1 #bjbb,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed