[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



           Protecting America's First Responders Act of 2021

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Senate has unanimously passed a bill 
entitled Protecting America's First Responders Act. I authored this 
legislation to expand benefits to first responders who are injured in 
the line of duty.
  The Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program, or PSOB for short, 
offers a one-time lump sum payment to first responders who are killed 
or permanently disabled in the line of duty. I think that legislation 
has been on the books since the 1970s.
  I started investigating this program when I heard complaints about 
long delays in processing payments. Those delays reached up to 3 years, 
on average. It is just not understandable why it should take 3 years 
for somebody who is killed in the line of duty to decide if the family 
should have help from that program. We fixed that particular issue with 
my 2017 bill entitled the Public Safety Officers' Benefit Improvement 
Act.
  However, my investigation uncovered a lot of other problems with that 
program, now 50 years old. The Justice Department was denying payments 
to folks who should have received those payments. In one case, a 
disabled police officer suffered a traumatic brain injury. The 
Department said that he wasn't disabled because he held a part-time 
position at Home Depot as a greeter.
  In another case, again, a police officer with brain injury was denied 
the benefit. Why? Because the officer tinkered around with motorcycles 
in his garage. It would take this officer months to do simple things 
that would otherwise have taken him just days. Still, the Department 
said that he wasn't disabled. They said it. It is unreasonable.
  But my bill that I described to you, which has now passed the Senate 
recently, will correct this problem. This legislation clarifies that 
first responders who are totally and permanently disabled but can still 
perform some very simple tasks can still get benefits. It adds a fair 
boost in payments to first responders who have waited years for these 
benefits. It provides the Justice Department with more tools so that it 
can process claims more quickly.
  Finally, my bill extends a presumption in the law that ensures that 
first responders who contract COVID on duty don't have to jump through 
hoops to prove it, because, you know, with COVID--did you get it when 
you were actually policing, or did you get it when you were in a 
restaurant, or did you get it when you were in church?--you don't 
really know. This bill will go a long ways in helping our first 
responders where it is impossible to show whether you got it when you 
were actually on duty.
  I would like to thank Senators Gillibrand and Booker, as well as all 
the other cosponsors.
  I also want to thank our House counterparts, specifically, 
Congressman Pascrell and his staff, who led the effort to pass the bill 
in the House of Representatives.
  Lastly, I want to thank the Justice Department for working closely 
with us to improve this language.
  Before I wrap up, I just want to say a few words about our first 
responders. Whether it is police officers, firefighters, or EMTs, first 
responders are the embodiment of the best qualities of Americans. Their 
daily sacrifices make our society better and safer.
  I am proud to have sponsored this legislation, and I urge the 
President to quickly sign the bill.