[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1511 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1511

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty one


                                 An Act


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 with 
 respect to payments to certain public safety officers who have become 
   permanently and totally disabled as a result of personal injuries 
         sustained 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 ``Protecting America's First 
Responders Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS UNDER PUBLIC SAFETY 
OFFICERS' DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM.
    Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
            (A) by striking ``the Bureau shall pay''; and
            (B) by inserting ``, and calculated in accordance with 
        subsection (i), shall be payable by the Bureau'' after 
        ``subsection (h)''.
        (2) in subsection (b)--
            (A) by striking ``the Bureau shall pay the same benefit'' 
        and inserting ``a benefit shall be payable'';
            (B) by striking ``that is payable under subsection (a) with 
        respect to the date on which the catastrophic injury 
        occurred,'' and inserting ``in the same amount that would be 
        payable, as of the date such injury was sustained (including'';
            (C) by inserting ``, and calculated in accordance with 
        subsection (i)), if such determination were a determination 
        under subsection (a)'' before ``: Provided, That''; and
            (D) by striking ``necessary:'' and all that follows and 
        inserting ``necessary.'';
        (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``$3,000'' and inserting 
    ``$6,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (h),'';
        (4) in subsection (h), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and 
    inserting ``subsections (a) and (b) and the level of the interim 
    benefit payable immediately before such October 1 under subsection 
    (c)'';
        (5) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the following:
    ``(i) The amount payable under subsections (a) and (b), with 
respect to the death or permanent and total disability of a public 
safety officer, shall be the greater of--
        ``(1) the amount payable under the relevant subsection as of 
    the date of death or of the catastrophic injury of the public 
    safety officer; or
        ``(2) in any case in which the claim filed thereunder has been 
    pending for more than 365 days at the time of final determination 
    by the Bureau, the amount that would be payable under the relevant 
    subsection if the death or the catastrophic injury of the public 
    safety officer had occurred on the date on which the Bureau makes 
    such final determination.''; and
        (6) in subsection (m), by inserting ``, (b),'' after 
    ``subsection (a)''.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS WITH RESPECT TO PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' DEATH 
BENEFITS PROGRAM.
    Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), 
    (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), 
    (13), and (14), respectively;
        (2) by striking paragraph (4), as so redesignated, and 
    inserting:
        ``(4) `catastrophic injury' means an injury, the direct and 
    proximate result of which is to permanently render an individual 
    functionally incapable (including through a directly and 
    proximately resulting neurocognitive disorder), based on the state 
    of medicine on the date on which the claim is determined by the 
    Bureau, of performing work, including sedentary work: Provided, 
    That, if it appears that a claimant may be functionally capable of 
    performing work--
            ``(A) the Bureau shall disregard work where any 
        compensation provided is de minimis, nominal, honorary, or mere 
        reimbursement of incidental expenses, such as--
                ``(i) work that involves ordinary or simple tasks, that 
            because of the claimed disability, the claimant cannot 
            perform without significantly more supervision, 
            accommodation, or assistance than is typically provided to 
            an individual without the claimed disability doing similar 
            work;
                ``(ii) work that involves minimal duties that make few 
            or no demands on the claimant and are of little or no 
            economic value to the employer; or
                ``(iii) work that is performed primarily for 
            therapeutic purposes and aids the claimant in the physical 
            or mental recovery from the claimed disability; and
            ``(B) the claimant shall be presumed, absent clear and 
        convincing medical evidence to the contrary as determined by 
        the Bureau, to be functionally incapable of performing such 
        work if the direct and proximate result of the injury renders 
        the claimant--
                ``(i) blind;
                ``(ii) parapalegic; or
                ``(iii) quadriplegic;'';
        (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking ``at the 
    time of the public safety officer's fatal or catastrophic injury'' 
    and inserting ``at the time of the public safety officer's death or 
    fatal injury (in connection with any claim predicated upon such 
    death or injury) or the date of the public safety officer's 
    catastrophic injury or of the final determination by the Bureau of 
    any claim predicated upon such catastrophic injury'';
        (4) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by inserting ``, 
    including an individual who, as such a member, engages in scene 
    security or traffic management as the primary or only duty of the 
    individual during emergency response'' before the semicolon;
        (5) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated by striking 
    ``delinquency).,'' and inserting ``delinquency),'';
        (6) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated, by inserting ``, and 
    includes (as may be prescribed by regulation hereunder) a legally 
    organized volunteer fire department that is a nonprofit entity and 
    provides services without regard to any particular relationship 
    (such as a subscription) a member of the public may have with such 
    a department'' before the semicolon;
        (7) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated,--
            (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting:
            ``(A) an individual serving a public agency in an official 
        capacity, with or without compensation, as a law enforcement 
        officer, as a firefighter, or as a chaplain: Provided, That 
        (notwithstanding section 1205(b)(2) or (3)) the Bureau shall, 
        absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary as 
        determined by the Bureau, deem the actions outside of 
        jurisdiction taken by any such law enforcement officer or 
        firefighter, to have been taken while serving such public 
        agency in such capacity, in any case in which the principal 
        legal officer of such public agency, and the head of such 
        agency, together, certify that such actions--
                ``(i) were not unreasonable;
                ``(ii) would have been within the authority and line of 
            duty of such law enforcement officer or such firefighter to 
            take, had they been taken in a jurisdiction where such law 
            enforcement officer or firefighter was authorized to act, 
            in the ordinary course, in an official capacity; and
                ``(iii) would have resulted in the payment of full 
            line-of-duty death or disability benefits (as applicable), 
            if any such benefits typically were payable by (or with 
            respect to or on behalf of) such public agency, as of the 
            date the actions were taken;'';
            (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) 
        as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F), respectively;
            (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(B) a candidate officer who is engaging in an activity or 
        exercise that itself is a formal or required part of the 
        program in which the candidate officer is enrolled or admitted, 
        as provided in this section;''; and
            (D) by striking subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(E) a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew who, as 
        authorized or licensed by law and by the applicable agency or 
        entity, is engaging in rescue activity or in the provision of 
        emergency medical services: Provided, That (notwithstanding 
        section 1205(b)(2) or (3)) the Bureau shall, absent clear and 
        convincing evidence to the contrary as determined by the 
        Bureau, deem the actions outside of jurisdiction taken by any 
        such member to have been thus authorized or licensed, in any 
        case in which the principal legal officer of such agency or 
        entity, and the head of such agency or entity, together, 
        certify that such actions--
                ``(i) were not unreasonable;
                ``(ii) would have been within the authority and line of 
            duty of such member to take, had they been taken in a 
            jurisdiction where such member was authorized or licensed 
            by law and by a pertinent agency or entity to act, in the 
            ordinary course; and
                ``(iii) would have resulted in the payment of full 
            line-of-duty death or disability benefits (as applicable), 
            if any such benefits typically were payable by (or with 
            respect to or on behalf of) such applicable agency or 
            entity, as of the date the action was taken;'';
        (8) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so redesignated, the 
    following new paragraphs:
        ``(1) `action outside of jurisdiction' means an action, not in 
    the course of any compensated employment involving either the 
    performance of public safety activity or the provision of security 
    services, by a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a 
    rescue squad or ambulance crew that--
            ``(A) was taken in a jurisdiction where--
                ``(i) the law enforcement officer or firefighter then 
            was not authorized to act, in the ordinary course, in an 
            official capacity; or
                ``(ii) the member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew 
            then was not authorized or licensed to act, in the ordinary 
            course, by law or by the applicable agency or entity;
            ``(B) then would have been within the authority and line of 
        duty of--
                ``(i) a law enforcement officer or a firefighter to 
            take, who was authorized to act, in the ordinary course, in 
            an official capacity, in the jurisdiction where the action 
            was taken; or
                ``(ii) a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew to 
            take, who was authorized or licensed by law and by a 
            pertinent agency or entity to act, in the ordinary course, 
            in the jurisdiction where the action was taken; and
            ``(C) was, in an emergency situation that presented an 
        imminent and significant danger or threat to human life or of 
        serious bodily harm to any individual, taken--
                ``(i) by a law enforcement officer--

                    ``(I) to prevent, halt, or respond to the immediate 
                consequences of a crime (including an incident of 
                juvenile delinquency); or
                    ``(II) while engaging in a rescue activity or in 
                the provision of emergency medical services;

                ``(ii) by a firefighter--

                    ``(I) while engaging in fire suppression; or
                    ``(II) while engaging in a rescue activity or in 
                the provision of emergency medical services; or

                ``(iii) by a member of a rescue squad or ambulance 
            crew, while engaging in a rescue activity or in the 
            provision of emergency medical services;
        ``(2) `candidate officer' means an individual who is enrolled 
    or admitted, as a cadet or trainee, in a formal and officially 
    established program of instruction or of training (such as a police 
    or fire academy) that is specifically intended to result upon 
    completion, in the--
            ``(A) commissioning of such individual as a law enforcement 
        officer;
            ``(B) conferral upon such individual of official authority 
        to engage in fire suppression (as an officer or employee of a 
        public fire department or as an officially recognized or 
        designated member of a legally organized volunteer fire 
        department); or
            ``(C) granting to such individual official authorization or 
        license to engage in a rescue activity, or in the provision of 
        emergency medical services, as a member of a rescue squad, or 
        as a member of an ambulance crew that is (or is a part of) the 
        agency or entity that is sponsoring the individual's enrollment 
        or admission;
        ``(3) `blind' means an individual who has central visual acuity 
    of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting 
    lens or whose eye is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of 
    vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends 
    an angle no greater than 20 degrees;''; and
        (9) in the matter following paragraph (10), as so redesignated, 
    by inserting the following new paragraphs:
        ``(11) `neurocognitive disorder' means a disorder that is 
    characterized by a clinically significant decline in cognitive 
    functioning and may include symptoms and signs such as disturbances 
    in memory, executive functioning (that is, higher-level cognitive 
    processes, such as, regulating attention, planning, inhibiting 
    responses, decision-making), visual-spatial functioning, language, 
    speech, perception, insight, judgment, or an insensitivity to 
    social standards; and
        ``(12) `sedentary work' means work that--
            ``(A) involves lifting articles weighing no more than 10 
        pounds at a time or occasionally lifting or carrying articles 
        such as docket files, ledgers, or small tools; and
            ``(B) despite involving sitting on a regular basis, may 
        require walking or standing on an occasional basis.''.
SEC. 4. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS UNDER PUBLIC SAFETY 
OFFICERS' DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM.
    Section 1206(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) is amended by striking ``the 
Bureau may not'' and all that follows and inserting the following: 
``the Bureau--
        ``(1) may use available investigative tools, including 
    subpoenas, to--
            ``(A) adjudicate or to expedite the processing of the 
        benefit claim, if the Bureau deems such use to be necessary to 
        adjudicate or conducive to expediting the adjudication of such 
        claim; and
            ``(B) obtain information or documentation from third 
        parties, including public agencies, if the Bureau deems such 
        use to be necessary to adjudicate or conducive to expediting 
        the adjudication of a claim; and
        ``(2) may not abandon the benefit claim unless the Bureau has 
    used investigative tools, including subpoenas, to obtain the 
    information or documentation deemed necessary to adjudicate such 
    claim by the Bureau under subparagraph (1)(B).''.
SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC SAFETY 
OFFICERS.
    Section 1216(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10306(b)) is amended, in the first 
sentence, by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall (unless prospective 
assistance has been provided)''.
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
     Section 1205(e)(3)(B) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285(e)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 
``subparagraph (B)(ix)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (I)''.
SEC. 7. SUBPOENA POWER.
    Section 806 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10225) is amended--
        (1) by inserting ``Attorney General, the'' before the ``Bureau 
    of Justice Assistance'';
        (2) by striking ``may appoint'' and inserting ``may appoint (to 
    be assigned or employed on an interim or as-needed basis) such 
    hearing examiners (who shall, if so designated by the Attorney 
    General, be understood to be comprised within the meaning of 
    ``special government employee'' under section 202 of title 18, 
    United States Code)'';
        (3) by striking ``under this chapter. The'' and inserting ``or 
    other law. The Attorney General, the''; and
        (4) by inserting ``conduct examinations'' after ``examine 
    witnesses,''.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
    (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (b) Applicability.--
        (1) Certain injuries.--The amendments made to paragraphs (2) 
    and (7) of section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
    Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) shall apply with respect 
    to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2008.
        (2) Matters pending.--Except as provided in paragraph (1), the 
    amendments made by this Act shall apply to any matter pending, 
    before the Bureau or otherwise, on the date of enactment of this 
    Act, or filed (consistent with pre-existing effective dates) or 
    accruing after that date.
    (c) Effective Date for WTC Responders.--
        (1) Certain new claims.--Not later than two years after the 
    effective date of this Act, a WTC responder may file a claim, under 
    section 1201(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
    Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)), that is predicated on a 
    personal injury sustained in the line of duty by such responder as 
    a result of the September 11, 2001, attacks, where--
            (A) no claim under such section 1201(b) so predicated has 
        previously been filed; or
            (B) a claim under such section 1201(b) so predicated had 
        previously been denied, in a final agency determination, on the 
        basis (in whole or in part) that the claimant was not totally 
        disabled.
        (2) Claims for a deceased wtc responder.--Not later than two 
    years after the effective date of this Act, a claim may be filed, 
    constructively under section 1201(a) of title I of the Omnibus 
    Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(a)), 
    where a WTC responder who otherwise could have filed a claim 
    pursuant to paragraph (1) has died before such effective date (or 
    dies not later than 365 days after such effective date), or where a 
    WTC responder has filed such a claim but dies while it is pending 
    before the Bureau: Provided, That--
            (A) no claim under such section 1201(a) otherwise shall 
        have been filed, or determined, in a final agency 
        determination; and
            (B) if it is determined, in a final agency determination, 
        that a claim under such paragraph (1) would have been payable 
        had the WTC responder not died, then the WTC responder shall 
        irrebutably be presumed (solely for purposes of determining to 
        whom benefits otherwise pursuant to such paragraph (1) may be 
        payable under the claim filed constructively under such section 
        1201(a)) to have died as the direct and proximate result of the 
        injury on which the claim under such paragraph (1) would have 
        been predicated.
        (3) Difference in benefit pay.--In the event that a claim under 
    section 1201(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
    Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)) and predicated on an 
    injury sustained in the line of duty by a WTC responder as a result 
    of the September 11, 2001, attacks was approved, in a final agency 
    determination, before the effective date of this Act, the Bureau 
    shall, upon application filed (not later than three years after 
    such effective date of this Act) by the payee (or payees) indicated 
    in subparagraphs (A) or (B), pay a bonus in the amount of the 
    difference (if any) between the amount that was paid pursuant to 
    such determination and the amount that would have been payable had 
    the amendments made by this Act, other than those indicated in 
    subsection (b)(1), been in effect on the date of such 
    determination--
            (A) to the WTC responder, if living on the date the 
        application is determined, in a final agency determination; or
            (B) if the WTC responder is not living on the date 
        indicated in subparagraph (A), to the individual (or 
        individuals), if living on such date, to whom benefits would 
        have been payable on such date under section 1201(a) of such 
        title I (34 U.S.C. 10281(a)) had the application been, instead, 
        a claim under such section 1201(a).
        (4) Special limited rule of construction.--A claim filed 
    pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be determined as though the 
    date of catastrophic injury of the public safety officer were the 
    date of enactment of this Act, for purposes of determining the 
    amount that may be payable.
SEC. 9. SAFEGUARDING AMERICA'S FIRST RESPONDERS.
    Section 3 of Safeguarding America's First Responders Act of 2020 
(Public Law 116-157) is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``between January 1, 
    2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period 
    beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination date'' 
    and
        (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``between January 1, 
    2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period 
    beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination date''; 
    and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Termination Date.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`termination date' means the earlier of--
        ``(1) the date on which the public health emergency declared by 
    the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the 
    Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, 
    with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), expires; and
        ``(2) December 31, 2023.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.