[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2441 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2441

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide adequate benefits for public safety officers injured or killed 
              in the line of duty, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2009

 Mr. Melancon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
 and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide adequate benefits for public safety officers injured or killed 
              in the line of duty, 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 ``First Responders Support Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. EXPANDING DISABILITY BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1201 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``$250,000'' and inserting 
                ``$350,000''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (h)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (h)(1)'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``permanently and totally''; and
                    (B) by striking ``, to the extent that 
                appropriations are provided'' and all that follows and 
                inserting ``a benefit in an amount determined in 
                accordance with subsection (h)(2) to such officer.''; 
                and
            (3) in subsection (h)--
                    (A) by striking ``the effective date of this 
                subsection'' and inserting ``the date of enactment of 
                the First Responders Support Act of 2009'';
                    (B) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(h)''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2)(A) Subject to subsection (b) and subparagraph (B) of this 
paragraph, the amount of a benefit paid under subsection (b) to a 
public safety officer who has become disabled as the direct result of a 
catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty shall be in an amount 
equal to the benefit that is payable under subsection (a) in the 
applicable year multiplied by the level of disability of the public 
safety officer, as determined in accordance with subparagraph (C).
    ``(B) No benefit shall be paid under subsection (b) if the level of 
disability of the public safety officer is less than 50 percent.
    ``(C)(i) The Director shall adopt and apply a schedule of levels of 
disability of public safety officers associated with specific injuries 
or combinations of injuries, based upon the average impairments of 
earning capacity resulting from the injuries concerned.
    ``(ii) For purposes of the schedule required by this subparagraph, 
the levels of disability eligible for benefits shall be--
            ``(I) based on the average impairment of earning capacity 
        resulting from the injuries; and
            ``(II) set at 50, 75, and 100 percent of disability with a 
        minimum threshold of 50 percent.''.
    (b) Definition of Catastrophic Injury.--Section 1204(1) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(1)) 
is amended by striking ``permanently prevent an individual from 
performing any gainful work'' and inserting ``sufficiently diminishes 
the ability of an individual to perform substantially gainful work (for 
purposes of this paragraph marginal employment shall not be considered 
gainful work)''.
    (c) Expediting Benefits.--Section 1201 of the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(n) Not later than 12 months after the date on which a claimant 
submits all information required for a claim under this subpart, the 
Bureau shall determine whether the claimant is eligible to receive a 
benefit under this subpart.''.
    (d) Regulations.--Not later than 9 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate 
regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General, in addition to any other amounts 
otherwise authorized to be appropriated, $6,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2010 through 2014 to hire employees for the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance and obtain the technology and equipment necessary to 
expedite the processing of claims and make disability determinations 
under subpart 1 of part L of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.), as amended by this section.

SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1212(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d-1(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
    ``(2)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (3), and subject to 
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, financial assistance under this 
subpart shall--
            ``(i) consist of direct payments to an eligible dependent; 
        and
            ``(ii) be paid at the monthly rate of not more than $1,500.
    ``(B) The Director shall promulgate regulations to establish the 
amount of financial assistance under subparagraph (A) for an eligible 
dependent, which shall be based on the portion of the normal full-time 
academic workload for the course of study, as determined by the 
eligible educational institution, that the eligible dependent is 
pursuing.
    ``(C) On October 1 of each fiscal year beginning after the date of 
enactment of the First Responders Support Act of 2009, the Director 
shall adjust the level of the benefit payable during that fiscal year 
under subparagraph (A)(ii), to reflect the annual percentage change in 
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period ending on 
June 1 immediately preceding such October 1.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``to which the 
        eligible dependent would otherwise be entitled to receive'' and 
        inserting ``that the eligible dependent receives''.
    (b) Children.--Section 1212(a)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d-1(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``a totally and 
        permanently disabling injury'' and inserting ``the officer's 
        catastrophic injury'';
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); 
        and
            (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
            ``(B) the child of the spouse of an officer described in 
        subparagraph (A) at the time of the officer's death or on the 
        date of the officer's catastrophic injury; or''.

SEC. 4. PRIORITIZATION OF CLAIMS.

    Section 1205 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) The Bureau shall adopt and apply a system of 
prioritization of claims for benefits under this part based on the 
severity of the claim and the likelihood of approval of the claim.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, a claim for a death benefit 
or 100 percent disability shall be considered more severe and given 
priority.''.

SEC. 5. CREDIT FOR CONTINUING CARE OF FIRST RESPONDERS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) 
is amended by redesignating section 36 as section 37 and by inserting 
after section 35 the following new section:

``SEC. 36. CONTINUING CARE FOR INJURED FIRST RESPONDERS.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--There shall be allowed as a credit 
against the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount 
equal to the qualified medical expenses paid or incurred during such 
taxable year by a qualified injured first responder or a family member 
of a qualified injured first responder.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) In general.--The amount of the credit allowed under 
        subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed $7,500.
            ``(2) Limitation based on adjusted gross income.--The 
        amount of the credit allowed by subsection (a) (determined 
        without regard to this subsection) shall be reduced (but not 
        below zero) by 5 percent of so much of the taxpayer's adjusted 
        gross income as exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a 
        joint return).
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Qualified injured first responder.--The term 
        `qualified injured first responder' means any public safety 
        officer who has suffered an injury that substantially 
        diminishes the ability of the public safety officer to perform 
        gainful work while performing an official duty as a public 
        safety officer.
            ``(2) Family member.--The term `family member' includes 
        family members described in section 267(c)(4).
            ``(3) Qualified medical expenses.--The term `qualified 
        medical expenses' means expenses paid or incurred, not 
        compensated for by insurance or otherwise, for medical care 
        (within the meaning of section 213(d)) in connection with an 
        injury of a qualified injured first responder which was 
        incurred while the qualified injured first responder was 
        performing an official duty as a public safety officer.
            ``(4) Public safety officer.--The term `public safety 
        officer' has the meaning given such term by section 1204(9) of 
        the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
    ``(d) No Double Benefit.--No credit or deduction shall be allowed 
under this chapter with respect to any expenses which are taken into 
account under this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 31, United 
        States Code, is amended by striking ``or 6428'' and inserting 
        ``, 36, or 6428''.
            (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        is amended by striking the item relating to section 36 and 
        inserting the following new items:

``Sec. 36. Continuing care for injured first responders.
``Sec. 37. Overpayments of tax.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.

SEC. 6. EXPANDING COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Bureau 
        of Justice Assistance;
            (2) the term ``eligible organization'' means an 
        organization that provides free or reduced cost mental health 
        services or counseling to public safety officers seriously 
        injured in the line of duty and the family members of public 
        safety officers killed or seriously injured in the line of 
        duty;
            (3) the term ``public safety officer'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control 
        and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b); and
            (4) the term ``reduced cost'', relating to mental health 
        services or counseling, means that the organization providing 
        the services or counseling charges not more than 50 percent of 
        the amount that the organization would otherwise charge for the 
        services or counseling.
    (b) Authorization to Make Grants.--The Director may make grants to 
eligible organizations to provide mental health services or counseling 
to public safety officers seriously injured in the line of duty and the 
family members of public safety officers killed or seriously injured in 
the line of duty.
    (c) Application.--An eligible organization desiring a grant under 
this section shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, 
and accompanied by such information as the Director may establish.
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