[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6571-S6573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2016
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 513, S. 2944.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2944) to require adequate reporting on the
Public Safety Officers' Benefit program, and for other
purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with
amendments, as follows:
(The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in boldface
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted are shown in
italics.)
S. 2944
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 2016''.
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.'' [after ``before the Bureau.'';] before the last
sentence;
(2) in subsection (b)--
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(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 during the 180-day period preceding the report.
``(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall
include information on--
``(i) the total number of claims, and the nature of each
claim, submitted to the Bureau;
``(ii) the number of claims for which a final determination
has been made;
``(iii) the number of claims for which a final
determination has not been reached and the basis for the
delay;
``(iv) the amount of time required to process each claim
for which a final determination has been made [and, for any
claim which could not be processed within 1 year of being
submitted to the Bureau, the basis for any delay];
``(v) the number of claims submitted that are related to
exposure due to the September 11th, 2001, terrorism attacks
and the average award amount for any such claims for which a
final determination has been made;
``(vi) the result of each claim for which a final
determination was made during the 180-day period, including
the number of claims rejected and the basis for any denial of
benefits;
``(vii) the number of claims [that were appealed] for which
a final determination was made and appealed during the 180-
day period;
``(viii) the average number of claims processed per
reviewer of the Bureau; and
[``(ix) the average amount of time each agency takes to
submit all required information and documents to the Bureau.]
``(ix) 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 5 years after the date of enactment of
the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2016,
and every 5 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.
``[(3)](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.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, the Senate reiterates its commitment
to our Nation's law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first
responders. Forty years ago, we created the Public Safety Officers'
Benefits Program, PSOB, to support first responders who made the
ultimate sacrifice. We have now passed legislation to make much needed
improvements to the claims adjudication process, which for too long has
been plagued by red tape and delays.
Today's legislation builds upon my past efforts to improve the PSOB
program. In 2003, I worked with a bipartisan group of senators to pass
the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act, which recognized that law
enforcement officers who suffer fatal heart attacks or strokes in the
line of duty also deserve benefits. In 2009, I introduced the Dale Long
Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act, which became law in
2012 and extended PSOB benefits to nonprofit Emergency Medical Service,
EMS, providers. This change covered an estimated 1,200 EMS personnel in
Vermont alone. Today's legislation will add transparency to the PSOB's
decisionmaking process and should help expedite the review of
applications for benefits.
The legislation also includes an amendment I offered in the Judiciary
Committee that improved this bill in three important ways. First, it
ensured that children are not disqualified from receiving education
benefits due to delays within the PSOB program, which can approach 10
years. At a Senate Judiciary hearing in April, a law enforcement
official described this as unconscionable. I agree. My amendment
ensures it will never happen
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again. Second, a fallen officer or first responder's family should not
have their claim denied simply because their employer fails to provide
necessary paperwork to the PSOB office. My amendment requires that the
PSOB office use every investigative tool it has to obtain what it needs
from third parties to process a claim. This will ensure that officers
and their families who are entitled to benefits are not further
victimized by delays beyond their control. Finally, as originally
drafted, this legislation only applied to claims filed after it becomes
law. I want these improvements to help those currently stuck in the
backlog, and my amendment fixed this issue.
One hundred twenty-three law enforcement officers have been killed in
the line of duty so far in 2016. These families deserve a working and
responsive PSOB program. This legislation, while only a modest step,
demonstrates our shared commitment to those officers and their
families. I urge the House of Representatives to quickly pass this
legislation and send it to the President for signature.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendments be withdrawn; that the Grassley
substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a
third time and passed; that the Grassley title amendment be agreed to;
and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendments were withdrawn.
The amendment (No. 5113) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The bill (S. 2944), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
The amendment (No. 5114) was agreed to, as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the title)
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to require adequate
reporting on the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program,
and for other purposes.''.
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