[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3607 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3607
To extend public safety officer death benefits to public safety
officers whose death is caused by COVID-19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 5, 2020
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cruz, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Tillis, Mr. Coons, Mr. Daines, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Scott of Florida,
Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Moran, Mr. Schumer,
and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend public safety officer death benefits to public safety
officers whose death is caused by COVID-19, 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 ``Safeguarding America's First
Responders Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) an infectious disease pandemic known as COVID-19
exists;
(2) to date, there is much still unknown about COVID-19,
but it is known that COVID-19 and related complications may be
fatal;
(3) services provided by public safety officers are
nonetheless essential during this pandemic;
(4) due to the COVID-19 pandemic and what is currently
known about how the disease is spread, public safety officers
are uncharacteristically at risk of contracting the disease;
and
(5) although the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program
currently covers deaths resulting from infectious disease
sustained by public safety officers in carrying out their
duties, the determination of claims may be uniquely challenging
or delayed given the lack of--
(A) definitive testing and medical records at this
time; and
(B) a definitive uniform body of medical
information about how the disease is spread or its
effects.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a carefully
drawn framework wherein claims under the Public Safety Officers'
Benefits program, arising under the unique circumstances described in
subsection (a), can be processed expeditiously and under fair and clear
standards.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS.
As determined by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, unless competent
medical evidence establishes that the death of a public safety officer
(as defined in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284)) was directly and
proximately caused by something other than COVID-19, COVID-19 (or
complications therefrom) suffered by the public safety officer shall be
presumed to constitute a personal injury within the meaning of section
1201(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(a)), sustained in the line of duty by the officer
and directly and proximately resulting in death, if--
(1) the officer engaged in a line of duty action or
activity between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021;
(2) the officer was diagnosed with COVID-19 (or evidence
indicates that the officer had COVID-19) during the 45-day
period beginning on the last day of duty of the officer; and
(3) evidence indicates that the officer had COVID-19 (or
complications therefrom) at the time of the officer's death.
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