[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3393-H3395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MYCHAL JUDGE POLICE AND FIRE CHAPLAINS PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' BENEFIT 
                              ACT OF 2002

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 3297) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to ensure that chaplains killed in the line of duty 
receive public safety officer death benefits, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3297

       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 ``Mychal Judge Police and Fire 
     Chaplains Public Safety Officers' Benefit Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. BENEFITS FOR CHAPLAINS.

       (a) In General.--Section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control 
     and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as (3) 
     through (8), respectively;
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) `chaplain' means any individual serving as an 
     officially recognized or designated member

[[Page H3394]]

     of a legally organized volunteer fire department or legally 
     organized police department, or an officially recognized or 
     designated public employee of a legally organized fire or 
     police department who was responding to a fire, rescue, or 
     police emergency;''; and
       (3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8), as redesignated 
     by paragraph (1), by inserting after ``firefighter,'' the 
     following: ``as a chaplain,''.
       (b) Eligible Beneficiaries.--Section 1201(a) of such Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 3796(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(4) if there is no surviving spouse or surviving child, 
     to the individual designated by such officer as beneficiary 
     under such officer's most recently executed life insurance 
     policy, provided that such individual survived such officer; 
     or''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on September 11, 2001, and shall apply to 
     injuries or deaths that occur in the line of duty on or after 
     such date.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Nadler) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3297, the bill 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the events of September 11 have brought to life the 
heroism displayed by our public safety officers and those who assist 
them in the line of duty. This tragedy has also created many unique and 
unfortunate situations that have not been fully contemplated prior to 
September 11. In these cases, we have a responsibility as a Congress to 
act so that our laws treat fairly those who die in the line of duty.
  Father Mychal F. Judge, a priest who years earlier had consoled the 
families of TWA Flight 800 after it exploded off of Long Island and who 
had gone on a recent peace mission to Northern Ireland, had been a 
chaplain with the New York City Fire Department since 1992. He was 
ministering to the victims at the World Trade Center when a rain of 
debris showered upon him, resulting in his death.
  This legislation is given a short name in recognition of Father Judge 
and his efforts while addressing two concerns which his situation has 
brought to light. Under current law, the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
is directed to make payment of monetary benefits to the survivors of 
public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty. This bill 
addresses any ambiguity in existing law by specifically naming 
chaplains who are in service as being eligible for the same benefits as 
other public service officers.
  Under current law, benefits may only be paid to the spouse, child or 
parent of the deceased. H.R. 3297 allows benefits to be paid to 
whomever the chaplain has designated as the beneficiary of his or her 
life insurance policy in the event that the deceased has no living 
spouse, child or parent. In the case of Father Judge, the benefit would 
go to his two surviving sisters.
  I urge all Members to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3297, the Mychal Judge Police 
and Fire Chaplains Public Safety Officers' Benefit Act of 2002. I 
worked closely with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) on this 
bill to extend the Public Safety Officers Program, PSOP, to chaplains; 
and I want to thank him, as well as the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Chairman Sensenbrenner), the ranking member, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers), and the House leadership for bringing this bill 
to the floor.
  Father Mychal Judge was the pastor of the Church of St. Francis of 
Assisi on West 31st Street in Manhattan and the official chaplain of 
the New York City Fire Department. On September 11 of last year when 
the first plane hit Tower 1 of the World Trade Center, Father Mike, as 
he was known, joined his fellow firefighters by rushing to the scene. 
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani later said he saw the chaplain at the 
World Trade Center and asked him to pray for us. Father Judge was 
selflessly doing his duty when he was killed by falling pieces of the 
Trade Center Tower. Today is the 9-month anniversary of the attack, and 
I think it quite fitting that today we honor Father Michael Judge and 
the many other public safety officers who made the ultimate sacrifice 
that fateful day in September. Clearly, Father Judge provided heroic 
service to our Nation and ought to be eligible for the PSOP program.
  As you know, the PSOP program provides financial assistance, 
counseling and the recognition of a grateful Nation to the spouses, 
children or parents of public safety officers killed or permanently 
injured or those permanently or totally disabled as a result of 
traumatic injuries sustained in the line of duty.
  Father Judge is one of several chaplains who have died in the line of 
duty since the PSOP program was created. This bill would acknowledge 
their service to our country by clarifying their eligibility in the 
PSOP program and by enabling the designated beneficiaries to access the 
benefits provided by the program.
  These changes would help individuals, like Father Judge, who as a 
Franciscan Brother could not have a spouse and child, but who did leave 
two sisters. Under current law, siblings are not eligible. Similarly, 
this legislation would help other heroes who perished in the line of 
duty on September 11 and left behind loved ones, for example fiances, 
who are not covered by the existing law.
  This legislation passed the House Committee on the Judiciary and the 
full Senate unanimously and without controversy. It is endorsed by the 
National Association of Police Organizations, the International 
Association of Fire Fighters, and the American Federation of State, 
County and Municipal Employees.
  Again I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman 
Sensenbrenner); the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers); the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey); 
the minority leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt); and, 
of course, my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), 
for working so tirelessly to bring this bill to the floor. I also want 
to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Queens, New York (Mr. 
Crowley), for bringing this problem to our attention way back in 
September and for his steadfast support of our firefighters in New 
York.
  I also would like to thank Senator Leahy for championing the 
companion bill in the Senate, as well as the NAPO, the IAFF and AFSCME 
for advocating this legislation on behalf of public safety officers all 
across this country.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this necessary and important 
legislation. It is a fitting tribute to Father Mychal Judge and the 
more than 400 public safety officers who gave their lives protecting 
American citizens during the worst attack ever on American soil.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968, the families of any police officer, federal law 
enforcement officer, parole officer and firefighter, killed in the line 
of duty are entitled to compensation. These unsung heros will have the 
assurance of knowing that in the event of their death in the line of 
duty their lived ones will be taken care of with the one-time $250,000 
federal death benefit. The families of police and fire chaplains should 
be entitled to this same benefit.
  When I first came to Congress in 1993, I was approached by a 
constituent, Rockford Police Chaplain Father William Wentink, who asked 
that I consider working to include in this benefit police and fire 
chaplains killed in the line of duty.
  Police and fire chaplains share the same on-the-job dangers as their 
colleagues. These men and women go to work every day and perform their 
duties diligently and quietly, responding to the same crime and fire 
scenes as their co-workers. Most chaplains are volunteers.

[[Page H3395]]

  This year, H.R. 3297 is named for one of our fallen heros, Father 
Mychal Judge, who, in response to the vicious September 11th terrorist 
attacks, died while serving his city and his nation in his capacity of 
a fire chaplain in the New York Fire Department. However, Father Mychal 
is not the first police or fire chaplain killed in the line-of-duty. We 
should not forget the two others who fell before him: First, William 
Paris, with the Detroit Police Department back in the early 1970s, who 
was killed when a criminal in a barricade situation demanded to speak 
to a chaplain. He was gunned down by the perpetrator; second, the 
Reverend Bruce Bryan, a police chaplain from Carson, California who was 
killed while on duty. Reverend Bryan was shot four times execution-
style by a person that he and a deputy sheriff were driving home.
  Mr. Speaker, the tragic events of September 11th have changed the 
hearts and minds of the vast majority of people in this great country. 
No longer are we asking our brave emergency services personnel to react 
to random, but dangerous problems. We have asked them to step up and 
take on those actions caused by terrorist attackers. We should not--we 
cannot--let another Congress go by without addressing this very 
important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, with that I also want to wholeheartedly thank Chairman 
Sensenbrenner and Representative Nadler, who, along with the diligent 
work of their staffers, have helped make this near decade-long goal a 
reality.
  I urge all Members to support this legislation.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3297.
  The Public Safety Officers' Benefit program was created in 1976 to 
assist in the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers, 
firefighters and emergency medical technicians. But it is much more 
than a tool for attracting and keeping qualified public safety 
officers. It is a way of doing what is right by the men and women who 
selflessly risk their lives every day to protect each and every one of 
us.
  The death benefit provides a one-time, lump sum payment of $259,038 
payable to the surviving spouse, children or parents of a public safety 
officer killed in the line of duty.
  H.R. 3297 makes a common sense, and compassionate, change, allowing 
for an individual named on a life insurance policy to receive the 
benefit if a deceased officer leaves no surviving child or spouse.
  Policy officers, firefighters and EMT's put themselves in harm's way 
every day without stopping to consider the race, religion or family 
life of the people they are attempting to save. We owe it to them to do 
the same as we provide much-needed financial assistance to the loved 
ones they leave behind.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2002, 
Reverend Mychal Judge responded to the attack on the World Trade Center 
as a New York City Fire Department chaplain. He braved the fire, 
falling debris, and chaos on the scene to administer last rites to 
victims in the lobby. Father Judge paid the ultimate price for his 
heroic actions; he too lost his life on that tragic day.
  Under the existing Public Safety Officer Benefit program, chaplains 
of fire and police departments are not eligible for public safety 
officer benefits. While no amount of money can replace their fallen 
brother, Father Judge's two surviving sisters currently cannot receive 
benefits from this program. This bill, H.R. 3297, will extend Federal 
death benefits to officially designated chaplains of volunteer and 
professional police and fire departments that were killed in the line 
of duty. This will broaden the number of eligible beneficiaries.
  The bill also addresses the issue of deceased public safety officers 
without immediate families. Nine public safety officers died on 
September 11 without spouses, children, or surviving parents. H.R. 3297 
will expand the Public Safety Officer program to extend death benefits 
to the beneficiary named on the deceased officer's life insurance 
policy. All expanded benefits will be effective as of September 11, 
2001. Benefits are intended to pay for burial of the fallen officer and 
grief counseling services for the family.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully support H.R. 3297 to extend the current Federal 
death benefits to the families of chaplains killed while responding to 
police and fire emergencies. I cannot think of a finer way to honor the 
brave officers that lost their lives on September 11, and in other 
emergency situations. Therefore, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
support of H.R. 3297 to remember the public safety officers that have 
lost their lives in service to our great Nation by voting in favor of 
the bill.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3297, 
amending the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
ensure that chaplains killed in the line of duty receive public safety 
officer death benefits.
  On September 11th, our Nation witnessed the best and the worst of 
humanity. The despicable and cowardly terrorist acts were valiantly 
countered with the incredible heroism and courage of our firefighters, 
law enforcement officers, emergency personnel, and our fellow citizens. 
On that day, as in emergencies before and since, men of the cloth such 
as Father Mychal F. Judge were also present to give comfort to victims 
and rescuers alike.
  Sadly, Father Judge was the first confirmed death on that day of 
infamy. Accordingly, it is incumbent upon our Nation to honor heroes of 
faith such as Father Judge by bestowing upon them public safety officer 
status. I believe that it is a fitting tribute to their memory. 
Accordingly, I urge my fellow colleagues to fully support this 
important measure.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
this vital legislation. I personally want to extend my sympathy and the 
sympathy of the citizens of the eighteenth congressional district of 
Texas for the families that lost loved ones. In particular my 
condolences go to the family of Mychal Judge, the New York Fire 
Department priest who died in the Twin Towers catastrophe and who the 
bill is named after. My colleague, the gentleman from New York, Mr. 
Nadler sponsored this bill in the Judiciary Committee.
  His reasons for introducing this legislation were noble. The 
legislation should clear up confusion about whether chaplains qualify 
for Federal benefits. This legislation will provide that if there is no 
surviving spouse or surviving child, any such benefits shall be paid to 
the person designated by such officer as a beneficiary under that 
officer's most recently executed life insurance policy, provided that 
such person survived such officer. Current law restricts such 
beneficiaries to the spouse, child, or parent. I implore the members of 
this august body to pass H.R. 3297.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dan Miller of Florida). The question is 
on the motion offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 
3297, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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