[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 93 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2474-S2476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Safeguarding America's First Responders Act

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I come to the floor to discuss a piece 
of legislation that Senator Booker and I worked on to help public 
safety officers.
  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, over 100 first responders have 
lost their lives to this virus. Unlike the rest of us, these brave men 
and women, by the very nature of their work, haven't been able to stay 
home or social distance. In firehouses across the country, firefighters 
have had to continue sharing confined spaces and respond to emergencies 
in cramped trucks. Police officers have had to continue to respond to 
911 calls and also interact with the public in very close quarters. 
While most of us are avoiding COVID at all costs, State and county EMT 
crews have been transporting the infected and others to hospitals for 
emergency care.
  While I am inspired by the bravery of these first responders, I am 
not at all surprised by the actions they take to protect the people 
they serve. First responders always answer the calls to action, 
selflessly placing others before themselves. So, in recognition of the 
many sacrifices they make, Congress established the Public Safety 
Officers' Benefits Program a long time ago, in 1976. This law provides 
first responders with onetime payments if they die or are totally 
disabled on duty.
  Let me be very clear. Nothing can ever put a family back together who 
has lost a loved one, but the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program 
provides some economic relief to grieving families and gives peace of 
mind to the first responders themselves in their knowing that their 
families will not be left destitute if tragedy is to befall them.
  Unfortunately, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program wasn't 
designed to deal with a global pandemic of this type or magnitude that 
we were made aware of in the United States in late January. Under the 
existing statute then, to be awarded benefits, first responders had to 
be able to prove that they contracted COVID on duty. From the reports 
we get, it is kind of hard to tell where one comes in contact with it. 
So the last thing a grieving family needs to be worried about then, 
after experiencing the loss of a loved one, is whether the family will 
be able to successfully prove that its loved one contracted COVID in 
the line of duty and that it qualifies for the loss of life under the 
1976 law.
  Almost as soon as the nationwide stay-at-home order was instituted, I 
began working with Senator Booker to craft language to create a 
presumption that would allow families to receive benefits without 
having to prove that their loved ones contracted a deadly virus on 
duty. Senator Booker and I were determined to get this done as soon as 
possible because we understood that families who have lost loved ones 
will soon begin filing for benefits. We know that the number is about 
100 at this point.
  Our bill is entitled ``Safeguarding America's First Responders Act,'' 
or SAFR, pronounced ``safer'' for short. The bill was introduced on May 
5, which was 1 day after the Senate returned to session.
  This bill is the product of several weeks of friendly negotiations 
and input from fire groups and police groups. The bill garnered a total 
of 22 bipartisan cosponsors, including the entire New York and New 
Jersey delegations. Last Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed our 
bill. It now is in the House, where we hope it will receive immediate 
consideration. I know our colleagues in the House are deeply concerned 
about our first responders, and I would expect this to have a 
successful effort over there. I have been working with Congressman 
Pascrell and others on several other reforms for the Public Safety 
Officers' Benefits Program, so I think it has been well received over 
there by some outstanding people who can carry it to victory.
  There is no excuse for this bill not to receive a vote as soon as 
possible. It is the only bill of its kind that has the support of the 
International Association of Firefighters, of the International 
Association of Fire Chiefs, and of several State and Federal police 
groups. It was coauthored by Senator Booker and features the support of 
11 Democrats and 10 Republican Senators as original cosponsors, 
including the Senate minority leader. SAFR, this bill, also has the 
support of the Department of Justice, which stands ready to pay out 
benefits to grieving families but is limited by statute as to what it 
can do under existing law--hence, the importance of this legislation.
  Simply put, this bill is a no-brainer. I urge Speaker Pelosi to 
schedule a vote on SAFR as soon as the House returns to session.
  It is now my privilege to thank Senator Booker and to yield to my 
colleague from New Jersey, who worked so hard to get this done as well.
  Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, let me just say, right at the top, how 
grateful I am to stand on the Senate floor again with Senator Chuck 
Grassley. He has been one of the great partners I have had in my short 
time in the Senate, and I am honored to have gotten a lot of good work 
done and good law passed. I thank him and his entire staff. They were 
all tremendous to work with and went above and beyond for us to get 
this done at a very quick pace. I thank our colleagues for acting with 
the urgency that this issue demands.
  I am excited that this bill was able to pass, for it will ensure that 
the families of first responders who lose their lives to the 
coronavirus will be taken care of under the Public Safety Officers' 
Benefits Program. We expect now that over 100 of these death benefit 
claims will be submitted to the Department of Justice in the coming 
days and weeks, and we cannot leave these grieving families to fight 
alone for the benefits they need and deserve. As Senator Grassley very 
pointedly put it, we hope that the House of Representatives will pick 
up this legislation for immediate consideration.
  While COVID-19 has changed daily life across this country, for so 
many of us, I am grateful that my colleague and so many of my 
colleagues understand that our firefighters, our EMTs, our police 
officers, and our other emergency service personnel continue to put 
their lives on the line to protect our communities and have done so at 
significant and increased risk to themselves and their families.
  In hard-hit areas across our Nation, we see first responders stepping 
up to enormous risk. Being a first responder during this pandemic is 
not a job; it is an all-consuming mission and, unfortunately, a 
tremendous sacrifice. It is responding to a call and knowing that, just 
by stepping inside someone's home, you are running a high risk of 
exposing yourself to the virus. It is wondering whether your personal 
protective gear--or PPE--that you have on is enough. In many cases, it 
is wondering whether your PPE is even real, with there being so many of 
our first responders, unfortunately, using whatever they can scrounge 
up. Whether it is the buying of foreign masks that are not designed for 
use in the United States or the buying of them from unknown vendors, 
they are doing what they can to protect themselves as they go about 
their urgent mission.

[[Page S2475]]

  When they remove their PPE, there is a concern with their gloves or 
goggles or gown as they take them off piece by piece. They strain to 
remember what they touched, washing their hands repeatedly but 
wondering and worrying if it is enough. When performing lifesaving 
procedures like CPR, which may aerosolize the virus, you hope that the 
PPE you are wearing is enough to protect you. These are the daily, 
hourly, moment-by-moment concerns our first responders have.
  Senator Grassley has worked with first responders in so many ways, 
and he knows the challenges this brings, from having to meticulously 
clean every surface of an ambulance, cleaning the squad houses, police 
stations, knowing that the virus could be lingering there, and when 
they are going home, undressing in the basement, garage, or even 
outside their homes, heading straight into the house for a shower but 
still worrying if it is enough to protect their family.
  We know that many of these first responders aren't actually going 
home to their families. They are separating themselves for periods of 
time because they live in fear of spreading the disease to a spouse, 
child, or parent. There is emotional stress and strain when responding 
to a call, doing everything they can to save someone from this virus. 
But we know our first responders are often seeing death in areas of the 
country at a rate and at levels that they have never experienced 
before. This all adds to the fear and anxiety, the worry about their 
families, and the worry about their communities.
  Our first responders are doing what very few of us will ever have to 
do. They put their lives, their health, and often the health of their 
families on the line to protect their communities. They have always 
helped, but now, in the time of coronavirus, their sacrifices are 
intensified.
  The very least we can do is to ensure that they don't have to worry 
about what will happen to their loved ones if something should happen 
to them. The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program that Senator 
Grassley mentioned was created to provide death and disability benefits 
to families of law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS, and other 
first responders who are killed in the line of duty. Their benefits 
come in the form of financial support, as well as educational 
scholarships, for surviving spouses and children.
  As Senator Grassley said, it cannot replace the life that is lost, 
but it is something that could give comfort to those families and even 
to the first responders who themselves are being put in grave danger.
  Infectious disease is currently covered under the program, though the 
officer's family or department is required to provide evidence that the 
disease they contracted occurred while on duty. Providing that evidence 
can be straightforward, when the first responder came into contact with 
a dirty needle, for example, and then was infected by something that 
caused their death.
  The problem with COVID-19 is that it presents an entirely different 
challenge. While the Department of Justice works to ensure that 
families who have members who are killed by COVID-19 are covered, we 
must eliminate the instances when families are asked to prove what is 
unprovable, to prove that somehow they caught this while they were in 
the hours of their duties. This is why our bill makes urgently needed 
changes to the PSOB program to reflect the unique threat that COVID-19 
poses to first responders in putting their lives on the line in this 
crisis.
  Many first responders have already made the ultimate sacrifice. I am 
so grateful that Senator Grassley mentioned that. In New Jersey alone, 
29 first responders have lost their lives to coronavirus just in the 
past 7 weeks. We know this crisis is ongoing in our country.
  The bill that Chuck Grassley and our team wrote creates a presumption 
that, if a first responder contracts COVID-19 during this pandemic and 
tragically dies, their death will be treated as a line-of-duty death 
without the need to affirmatively prove their illness was contracted 
while on the job. When this bill is passed by the House and signed by 
the President, this presumption will be retroactive to January 1, 2020. 
It will last until the end of 2021. The bill ensures that the families 
of first responders have the support they need and deserve when they 
face unimaginable loss.
  Twenty-seven years ago, New Jerseyan John Careccia watched as two 
EMTs saved his son's life. That same year, he became a volunteer EMT so 
that he could pay it forward. Since then, he has worked as an EMT and 
served as the chief and training director at the Woodbridge Township 
Ambulance and Rescue Squad in Woodbridge, NJ.
  John passed away on April 17, after contracting COVID-19. He is 
survived by his children, Toni, Roseanne, and John, and his 10 
grandchildren.
  John's loved ones shared in his obituary that he ``will be remembered 
for his contagious laugh, big heart and greeting you with `hey guy.' He 
loved to spend time with his family and always had a story to tell. His 
favorite place to eat was the Reo Diner. He always chose to bring a 
chocolate cream pie for his dessert contribution to any family 
gathering.''
  His family asked that in lieu of flowers being sent, ``John would 
hope that you will perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone in 
his name.''
  Charles ``Rob'' Roberts joined the Glen Ridge, NJ, Police Department 
in 2000. He lived in Glen Ridge with his wife, Alice. Together they 
raised their three children, Shea, Natalie, and Gavin, right there in 
Glen Ridge.
  Officer Roberts contracted COVID-19 in the line of duty in April and 
was rushed to Mountainside Medical Center after being resuscitated in 
his home by his fellow officers and members of the volunteer ambulance 
squad. On May 11, Officer Roberts passed away at the age of 45.
  Last week, hundreds of residents of his town of Glen Ridge stood on 
their front lawns and sidewalks to pay tribute to Officer Roberts' 
life, his service, his love of community and family.
  In a New York Times article published after his passing, many of 
Officer Roberts' colleagues and neighbors shared stories about his 
kindness and his calm demeanor in the face of challenges. Quoting from 
the article:

       There was the couple who remembered how calm he was when he 
     helped deliver their baby in their kitchen.
       There was the older woman, forever grateful for the gentle 
     way he held her hand when she broke her hip and they waited 
     for an ambulance. And there was the father who struggled with 
     a difficult son and remembered how Mr. Roberts looked him in 
     the eye and reassured him that his boy was a good kid.

  Officer Roberts' father shared at his memorial that he ``wanted to 
make others happy.'
  Israel ``Izzy'' Tolentino served in the U.S. Marine Corps before 
becoming a volunteer EMT and then a firefighter for the City of 
Passaic, NJ. Izzy contracted COVID-19 in the line of duty and on March 
31 passed away at the age of 33, the first New Jersey firefighter to be 
killed by the virus.
  Israel is survived by his wife, Maria, and their two children, 
daughter Ailani, age 9, whom he called his princess and his son Israel, 
age 7, whom he called his best friend.
  I would like to share a few words from an NJ.com article published in 
the wake of Izzy's passing.

       Israel Tolentino was born to be a firefighter.
       It wasn't out of love of the uniform, though Tolentino 
     beamed with pride everyday he walked out wearing the Passaic 
     Fire Department emblem. It wasn't even out of a mountain of 
     bravery or a penchant for running towards the flames.
       It was, his wife Maria Vasquez said, because he couldn't 
     help but be selfless.
       ``It fulfilled his urge to serve others,'' said Vazquez, 
     his wife of more than 10 years. ``He was so selfless. It drew 
     me closer to him. It drew everyone closer to him.''

  These are only 3 among the 29 heroes just from New Jersey. There are 
countless more first responders across the country who lost their lives 
in responding to this crisis. Some of their names we know, and some we 
will learn in the weeks and months to come. What we do know is, we owe 
it, as a nation, to their families and to the departments they served 
to be there for those families and to be there for those children. 
Their families and the families of all first responders across the 
country who have lost loved ones to this virus deserve to be taken care 
of. For their sake, I hope the House of Representatives will act 
quickly to pass this legislation and that the President will sign it 
into law.

[[Page S2476]]

  Our first responders in this unprecedented global pandemic did not 
hesitate or equivocate. They did their duty. They stood up and faced 
danger. They answered the call. We now must answer the call, and we 
must have their backs just as they had ours.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.