[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PAYING TRIBUTE TO FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND 
                   EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE WORKERS

  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 the second anniversary of September 11 
approaches, I rise this evening to pay tribute to our Nation's fallen 
firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical service 
personnel. Mr. Speaker, every day public service officers protect our 
families and possessions from fire, they keep our streets safe and are 
the first to respond to an emergency. Across this Nation, our public 
safety officers are dedicated and prepared. They truly embody the 
values and spirit that make America the great Nation that it is. These 
men and women are dedicated, and when we call on them, they risk their 
lives for all of us. Our firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMS 
workers are truly our hometown heroes. However, all too often these 
heroes must give their lives in the line of duty.
  For the family of these brave souls, Congress created the Public 
Safety Officers Benefit. Since its inception 25 years ago, this 
important benefit has provided surviving families with financial 
assistance during their desperate times of need. However, a glitch in 
the law prevents some families from receiving the assistance. Heart 
attacks and strokes are among the greatest threat to public safety 
officers, especially firefighters. In fact, almost half of all 
firefighter deaths in the line of duty are due to heart attacks and 
strokes. Fighting fire is dangerous, exhausting and extremely stressful 
work. Indeed, a firefighter's chances of suffering a heart attack or 
stroke greatly increases when he or she puts on the gear and rushes 
into a building to fight a fire. Likewise, law enforcement officers, 
correction officers and EMS workers face daily situations that put 
stress and strain on their heart. Imagine the scenario where, while 
fighting a house fire, a company of firefighters tragically loses two 
of its members. One is killed by a piece of falling debris. The other 
dies of a heart attack in the same building. Under current law, the 
family of the firefighter who suffered the fatal blow to the head 
receives their benefit, but the family of the heart attack victim 
receives nothing.

                              {time}  2145

  It is wrong that these families are denied this benefit when their 
loved ones are suffering the loss of a loved one in our communities.
  A constituent of mine, Mike Williams, of Bunnlevel, North Carolina, 
who works for the Office of State Fire Marshal, alerted me to this 
glitch in the law after Ms. Deborah Brooks, the widow of Thomas Brooks 
of Lumberton, North Carolina, was denied benefits because of this 
technicality in the law. Mr. Brooks, a master firefighter with the 
Lumberton Fire Department, tragically died of a heart attack after 
returning from several calls on an evening shift. They found him dead 
the next morning.
  As part of his duties with the state fire marshal, Mike helps 
families file for public safety officer benefits, and he has received 
many benefit rejection letters from the U.S. Department of Justice. 
This rejection letter in Thomas Brooks' case was one too many. Mike 
wrote to me and asked that we investigate the situation. We tried with 
other Members of this Congress to correct that technicality in the law 
administratively. We found out it could not be done.
  During the last Congress, I, along with my colleagues, introduced the 
Hometown Heroes Benefit Act to correct this technicality in the Public 
Safety Officer Benefit. This bipartisan piece of legislation will allow 
the families of public safety officers who were killed by a heart 
attack or stroke while on duty within 24 hours after participating in a 
training exercise or responding to an emergency situation to receive 
the benefits that they are due.
  Last year, the Committee on the Judiciary and the full House 
unanimously passed it. Unfortunately, we were not able to move the bill 
through the United States Senate before adjourning, despite the strong 
support from several Senators of both parties.
  Earlier this year, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Oxley), and I introduced the Hometown Heroes Survival Benefit Act. The 
United States Senate has already unanimously passed a Senate bill, S. 
459, a companion bill introduced by Senators Leahy and Graham.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 929 is the kind of bipartisan legislation that we 
should be working on in this House. As of this afternoon, we have 273 
cosponsors. I will remind my colleagues it takes 218 in this House to 
pass a bill. Both Democrats and Republicans are on board. More 
cosponsors are on the way.
  I urge all of my colleagues to continue to sponsor H.R. 919, and I 
ask the House leadership to put this bill to a vote. It will pass 
unanimously. During this time of increasing awareness and concern 
regarding the threat of terrorism, we are calling on our public safety 
officers to work longer and harder than ever before. Our hometown 
heroes deserve to know that we support and appreciate their 
extraordinary bravery and heroism.
  As we take time to remember those who were killed or injured in the 
attacks on September 11 this week, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
919 and let public safety officers know we will continue to stand with 
them and with their families. We can do no less.

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