[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8724 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8724

To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish First Responders Day 
             as a Federal holiday, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2020

 Mr. Rush (for himself and Mr. Norman) introduced the following bill; 
      which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish First Responders Day 
             as a Federal holiday, 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; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``First Responders 
Day Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) During times of national crisis, first responders have 
        consistently been a source of aid, hope, and comfort for all 
        Americans.
            (2) The National Fire Protection Association estimates that 
        there are 1,150,000 either career or volunteer firefighters in 
        the United States.
            (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
        estimate that there were 240,800 full-time Emergency Management 
        Services (EMS) workers as of 2018, including paramedics and 
        emergency medical technicians.
            (4) According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 
        Criminal Justice Information Services division, there were 
        670,279 law enforcement officers in the United States as of 
        2017.
            (5) 446 firefighters, paramedics, and police officers were 
        killed while selflessly attempting to save others on September 
        11, 2001.
            (6) As of September 2020, 227 members of the Fire 
        Department of the city of New York have lost their lives due to 
        illnesses related to their heroic work at Ground Zero during or 
        in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
            (7) According to CBS 2 New York, two-thirds of Ground Zero 
        first responders have at least one certified health condition 
        in connection to their service.
            (8) Since 2010, there have been 670 firefighter deaths in 
        the line of duty, according to the National Fire Protection 
        Association.
            (9) Research from the CDC in 2017 found a 14 percent higher 
        rate of deaths from cancer for firefighters in comparison to 
        the general population.
            (10) The exposure to traumatic events in the line of duty 
        has led to an estimated 15 percent of police officers 
        experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the 
        United States Department of Justice's Office of Community 
        Policing Service's newsletter, The Dispatch.
            (11) A 2018 survey of 7,000 firefighters in New York and 
        California found that 19 percent had experienced suicidal 
        thoughts, and 65 percent are haunted by traumatic situations in 
        the line of duty, highlighting the emotional toll of these 
        essential and lifesaving jobs.
            (12) Firefighters have been bravely battling the fatal and 
        destructive wildfires in the Western States, which have killed 
        dozens of people, burned over 3,200,000 acres of land, and 
        destroyed 4,200 structures in California in 2020 alone.
            (13) The over 16,000 firefighters working to contain the 28 
        major fires in California have been on the front lines of this 
        crisis, working around the clock to salvage any lives, land, 
        and property that they can.
            (14) Firefighters have battled physical and emotional 
        exhaustion, and in some instances given their lives, while 
        combating the destructive wildfires on the West Coast.
            (15) The mental burden carried by police officers and 
        firefighters is somberly demonstrated by the statistic that, in 
        2017, there were more firefighter and police officer deaths by 
        suicide than in the line of duty, according to the Ruderman 
        Family Foundation.
            (16) As of September 2020, there have been at least 100 
        confirmed police officer deaths as a result of contracting 
        COVID-19 in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down 
        Memorial Page.
            (17) EMS workers provide critical and lifesaving care, 
        often at great risk to themselves.
            (18) The CDC notes that EMS workers are at risk for 
        physical injury and exposure to blood and harmful bodily 
        fluids.
            (19) The CDC estimates that 21,200 EMS were treated in 
        emergency rooms for work-related illnesses and injuries in 
        2017.
            (20) The serious dangers faced by EMS workers during the 
        COVID-19 pandemic are highlighted by the 36 reported EMS worker 
        deaths from COVID-19 as of September 17, 2020, according to 
        EMS1, an online resource for EMTs and Paramedics.
            (21) It is the sense of Congress that the sacrifices made 
        by first responders and frontline workers warrants the 
        designation of making October 28th a national holiday entitled 
        ``First Responders Day''.

SEC. 2. FIRST RESPONDERS DAY.

    Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to Columbus Day, the following:
            ``First Responders Day.''.
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