[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 419 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 10
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 419
To require adequate reporting on the Public Safety Officers' Benefits
program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 16, 2017
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Coons, Mrs.
Feinstein, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Blunt, Mr. Franken, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Leahy) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
March 9, 2017
Reported by Mr. Grassley, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require adequate reporting on the Public Safety Officers' Benefits
program, 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 ``Public Safety Officers' Benefits
Improvement Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. REPORTS.
Section 1205 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``Rules, regulations,
and procedures issued under this part may include regulations
based on standards developed by another Federal agency for
programs related to public safety officer death or disability
claims.'' before the last sentence;
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``In making''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) In making a determination under section 1201, the Bureau
shall give substantial weight to the evidence and all findings of fact
presented by a State, local, or Federal administrative or investigative
agency regarding eligibility for death or disability benefits.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(e)(1)(A) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Bureau shall make available on the public website
of the Bureau information on all death, disability, and educational
assistance claims submitted under this part that are pending as of the
date on which the information is made available.
``(B) Not less frequently than once per week, the Bureau shall make
available on the public website of the Bureau updated information with
respect to all death, disability, and educational assistance claims
submitted under this part that are pending as of the date on which the
information is made available.
``(C) The information made available under this paragraph shall
include--
``(i) for each pending claim--
``(I) the date on which the claim was submitted to
the Bureau;
``(II) the State of residence of the claimant;
``(III) an anonymized, identifying claim number;
and
``(IV) the nature of the claim; and
``(ii) the total number of pending claims that were
submitted to the Bureau more than 1 year before the date on
which the information is made available.
``(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this subsection, and every 180 days thereafter, the Bureau shall submit
to Congress a report on the death, disability, and educational
assistance claims submitted under this part.
``(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include
information on--
``(i) the total number of claims for which a final
determination has been made during the 180-day period preceding
the report;
``(ii) the amount of time required to process each claim
for which a final determination has been made during the 180-
day period preceding the report;
``(iii) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding
the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau
on or before that date for which a final determination has not
been made;
``(iv) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding
the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau
on or before the date that is 1 year before that date for which
a final determination has not been made;
``(v) for each claim described in clause (iv), a detailed
description of the basis for delay;
``(vi) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding
the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau
on or before that date relating to exposure due to the
September 11th, 2001, terrorism attacks for which a final
determination has not been made;
``(vii) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding
the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau
on or before the date that is 1 year before that date relating
to exposure due to the September 11th, 2001, terrorism attacks
for which a final determination has not been made;
``(viii) for each claim described in clause (vii), a
detailed description of the basis for delay;
``(ix) the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau
relating to exposure due to the September 11th, 2001, terrorism
attacks for which a final determination was made during the
180-day period preceding the report, and the average award
amount for any such claims that were approved;
``(x) the result of each claim for which a final
determination was made during the 180-day period preceding the
report, including the number of claims rejected and the basis
for any denial of benefits;
``(xi) the number of final determinations which were
appealed during the 180-day period preceding the report,
regardless of when the final determination was first made;
``(xii) the average number of claims processed per reviewer
of the Bureau during the 180-day period preceding the report;
``(xiii) for any claim submitted to the Bureau that
required the submission of additional information from a public
agency, and for which the public agency completed providing all
of the required information during the 180-day period preceding
the report, the average length of the period beginning on the
date the public agency was contacted by the Bureau and ending
on the date on which the public agency submitted all required
information to the Bureau;
``(xiv) for any claim submitted to the Bureau for which the
Bureau issued a subpoena to a public agency during the 180-day
period preceding the report in order to obtain information or
documentation necessary to determine the claim, the name of the
public agency, the date on which the subpoena was issued, and
the dates on which the public agency was contacted by the
Bureau before the issuance of the subpoena; and
``(xv) information on the compliance of the Bureau with the
obligation to offset award amounts under section 1201(f)(3),
including--
``(I) the number of claims that are eligible for
compensation under both this part and the September
11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (49 U.S.C. 40101
note; Public Law 107-42) (commonly referred to as the
`VCF');
``(II) for each claim described in subclause (I)
for which compensation has been paid under the VCF, the
amount of compensation paid under the VCF;
``(III) the number of claims described in subclause
(I) for which the Bureau has made a final
determination; and
``(IV) the number of claims described in subclause
(I) for which the Bureau has not made a final
determination.
``(3) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this
subsection, and 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall--
``(A) conduct a study on the compliance of the Bureau with
the obligation to offset award amounts under section
1201(f)(3); and
``(B) submit to Congress a report on the study conducted
under subparagraph (A) that includes an assessment of whether
the Bureau has provided the information required under
subparagraph (B)(ix) of paragraph (2) of this subsection in
each report required under that paragraph.
``(4) In this subsection, the term `nature of the claim' means
whether the claim is a claim for--
``(A) benefits under this subpart with respect to the death
of a public safety officer;
``(B) benefits under this subpart with respect to the
disability of a public safety officer; or
``(C) education assistance under subpart 2.''.
SEC. 3. AGE LIMITATION FOR CHILDREN.
Section 1212(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d-1(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``No child'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), no child'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Delayed approvals.--
``(A) Educational assistance application.--If a
claim for assistance under this subpart is approved
more than 1 year after the date on which the
application for such assistance is filed with the
Attorney General, the age limitation under this
subsection shall be extended by the length of the
period--
``(i) beginning on the day after the date
that is 1 year after the date on which the
application is filed; and
``(ii) ending on the date on which the
application is approved.
``(B) Claim for benefits for death or permanent and
total disability.--In addition to an extension under
subparagraph (A), if any, for an application for
assistance under this subpart that relates to a claim
for benefits under subpart 1 that was approved more
than 1 year after the date on which the claim was filed
with the Attorney General, the age limitation under
this subsection shall be extended by the length of the
period--
``(i) beginning on the day after the date
that is 1 year after the date on which the
claim for benefits is submitted; and
``(ii) ending on the date on which the
claim for benefits is approved.''.
SEC. 4. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS.
Subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``SEC. 1206. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS.
``(a) In General.--The Bureau, with all due diligence, shall
expeditiously attempt to obtain the information and documentation
necessary to adjudicate a benefit claim filed under this part,
including a claim for financial assistance under subpart 2.
``(b) Sufficient Information Unavailable.--If a benefit claim filed
under this part, including a claim for financial assistance under
subpart 2, is unable to be adjudicated by the Bureau because of a lack
of information or documentation from a third party, such as a public
agency, the Bureau may not abandon the benefit claim unless the Bureau
has utilized the investigative tools available to the Bureau to obtain
the necessary information or documentation, including subpoenas.''.
SEC. 5. PRESUMPTION THAT OFFICER ACTED PROPERLY.
Section 1202 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796a) is amended--
(1) by striking ``No benefit'' and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--No benefit''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Presumption.--In determining whether a benefit is payable
under this part, the Bureau shall--
``(1) presume that none of the limitations described in
subsection (a) apply; and
``(2) have the burden of establishing by clear and
convincing evidence that a limitation described in subsection
(a) applies.''.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this Act shall--
(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) apply to any benefit claim or application under part L
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) that is--
(A) pending before the Bureau of Justice Assistance
on the date of enactment; or
(B) received by the Bureau on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
Calendar No. 10
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 419
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require adequate reporting on the Public Safety Officers' Benefits
program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 9, 2017
Reported without amendment