[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 18943-18944]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, as National Firefighter Memorial Weekend 
approaches, I rise to pay tribute to our Nation's fallen firefighters; 
and I am pleased that a number of my colleagues have joined me in 
legislation on this and may come later in the evening to speak in favor 
of this bipartisan legislation that we have introduced on behalf of our 
fallen firefighters.
  Last year, America tragically lost 442 firefighters. Each gave their 
lives protecting our communities from fire and other emergencies. This 
weekend, on October 5 and 6, we will join together as a Nation to mourn 
their passing and honor their sacrifices. So it is fitting that we come 
to this floor today to honor the memory of our fallen firefighters and 
say thank you to those brave folks who have served our community so 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, firefighters truly embody the value and spirit that 
makes America what it is today, a great Nation. Firefighters are 
diverse, they represent every race and creed and culture in America, 
yet they are bound by a common commitment to service. Firefighters are 
dedicated; and when we call them, they risk their lives for each of us. 
They are the people our children look up to. When we ask a child the 
timeless question, What do you want to be when you grow up?, nowadays, 
more often than not, those children will say, I want to be a 
firefighter.

[[Page 18944]]

  Our firefighters are truly our hometown heroes. However, all too 
often these heroes must give their lives in the line of duty. For the 
families of these brave souls, Congress created the Public Safety 
Officers Benefit Act. Since its inception 25 years ago, this important 
benefit has provided surviving families with financial assistance 
during their desperate time of need.

                              {time}  1745

  However, a glitch in the law prevents some families from receiving 
the assistance that Congress had intended. If a firefighter or public 
safety officer has a heart attack or stroke, then they are more likely 
not to get the benefit. The truth is it accounts for almost half of all 
firefighter fatalities, yet the families of these fallen firefighters 
are rarely eligible for these benefits.
  For example, imagine that a house or business catches on fire, a 
company of firefighters tragically lose two of their members fighting 
this fire. One loses their life as a result of a piece of debris 
hitting him within the building, and the other dies of a heart attack 
in the parking lot when they walk out of the building.
  Under current law, the family of the firefighter who suffered a fatal 
blow to the head received the benefit, while the firefighter who walked 
out in the parking lot and had a heart attack, their family gets 
nothing. It is wrong that these families are denied this benefit when 
the loved one sacrifices their life while serving our community.
  A constituent of mine, Mike Williams of Bunnlevel, who works in the 
Office of the State Fire Marshal, alerted me to this glitch in the law 
after Ms. Deborah Brooks, the widow of Thomas Brooks, a firefighter 
from Lumberton, was denied benefits because of this technicality. Mr. 
Brooks, a master firefighter, tragically died of a heart attack after 
running several calls on the evening shift. As part of his duties with 
the State Fire Marshal's office, Mike helps families fill out public 
safety officer benefits, and he had received many of these benefit 
rejection letters from cardiac cases from the U.S. Department of 
Justice.
  The rejection letter in Thomas Brooks' case was one too many, and 
Mike wrote to me and asked that we investigate the situation. We found 
out that it would take legislation to do it. As a result, the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Weldon), who are cochairmen of the Firefighters Caucus, and the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) along with many others, have 
introduced H.R. 5334, the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act. H.R. 
5334 will correct this technicality in the law that has penalized so 
many of our firefighting families.
  This bipartisan legislation will provide this benefit to the families 
of public safety officers who have died after a heart attack or a 
stroke while on duty, or within 24 hours after participating in a 
training exercise or responding to an emergency situation.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5334 is the kind of bipartisan legislation that we 
should be working on in this House. As of this afternoon we have 50 
cosponsors, and more cosponsors on the way. I urge Members to cosponsor 
H.R. 5334, and I ask the House leadership to put this bill to a vote 
before this Congress adjourns. Our firefighters put their lives on the 
line where strength, heart and desire are sometimes the only thing that 
ensures that a piece of property or a house that is burning down can be 
saved. Our hometown heroes deserve our support. Let us let them know 
that we appreciate their bravery and heroism.

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