[117th Congress Public Law 61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 1473]]
PROTECTING AMERICA'S FIRST
RESPONDERS ACT OF 2021
[[Page 135 STAT. 1474]]
Public Law 117-61
117th Congress
An Act
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. <<NOTE: Nov. 18,
2021 - [S. 1511]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Protecting
America's First Responders Act of 2021. 34 USC 10101 note.>>
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--
[[Page 135 STAT. 1475]]
``(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;
``(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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1476]]
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) <<NOTE: Determination. Certification.>> 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) <<NOTE: Determination. Certification.>> 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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1477]]
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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1478]]
``(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) <<NOTE: Subpoenas.>> 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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1479]]
``(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)''.
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. <<NOTE: 34 USC 10281 note.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> 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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1480]]
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) <<NOTE: Deadline. Determination.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> 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) <<NOTE: Determination.>> 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) <<NOTE: Determination.>> 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
[[Page 135 STAT. 1481]]
the date of enactment of this Act, for purposes of determining
the amount that may be payable.
SEC. 9. <<NOTE: Time period.>> SAFEGUARDING AMERICA'S FIRST
RESPONDERS.
Section 3 of Safeguarding America's First Responders Act of 2020
(Public Law 116-157) <<NOTE: 34 USC 10281 note.>> is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``between January 1,
2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period
beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination
date'' and
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``between January 1,
2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period
beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination
date''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Termination Date.--For purposes of this section, the term
`termination date' means the earlier of--
``(1) the date on which the public health emergency declared
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31,
2020, with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19),
expires; and
``(2) December 31, 2023.''.
Approved November 18, 2021.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1511:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 167 (2021):
June 10, considered and passed Senate.
Oct. 27, considered and passed House, amended.
Nov. 4, Senate concurred in House amendment.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2021):
Nov. 18, Presidential remarks.
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