[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 101 (Thursday, June 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4499-S4501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           PROTECTING AMERICA'S FIRST RESPONDERS ACT OF 2021

  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of 
S. 1511 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1511) 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.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. I ask unanimous consent that the Grassley amendment 
at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a 
third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2118) was agreed to, as follows:

                     (Purpose: To improve the bill)

       On page 2, strike lines 7 through 12 and insert the 
     following:
       (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)''.

  The bill (S. 1511), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed as follows:

                                S. 1511

       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;

[[Page S4500]]

       ``(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)''.

[[Page S4501]]

  


     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.

                          ____________________