II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 645 

To require the Attorney General to propose a program for making treatment 

for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder available 

to public safety officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2023 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

HAWLEY, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. OSSOFF, Ms. ERNST, and Mr. WARNOCK) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the 

third time, and passed 

A BILL 

To require the Attorney General to propose a program for 

making treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and 

acute stress disorder available to public safety officers, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fighting Post-Trau5 matic Stress Disorder Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Public safety officers serve their commu2 nities with bravery and distinction in order to keep 

3 their communities safe. 

4 (2) Public safety officers, including police offi5 cers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, 

6 and 911 dispatchers, are on the front lines of deal7 ing with situations that are stressful, graphic, 

8 harrowing, and life-threatening. 

9 (3) The work of public safety officers puts them 

10 at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder 

11 and acute stress disorder. 

12 (4) It is estimated that 30 percent of public 

13 safety officers develop behavioral health conditions 

14 at some point in their lifetimes, including depression 

15 and post-traumatic stress disorder, in comparison to 

16 20 percent of the general population that develops 

17 such conditions. 

18 (5) Victims of post-traumatic stress disorder 

19 and acute stress disorder are at a higher risk of 

20 dying by suicide. 

21 (6) Firefighters have been reported to have 

22 higher suicide attempt and ideation rates than the 

23 general population. 

24 (7) It is estimated that between 125 and 300 

25 police officers die by suicide every year. 


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1 (8) In 2019, pursuant to section 2(b) of the 

2 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act 

3 of 2017 (Public Law 115–113; 131 Stat. 2276), the 

4 Director of the Office of Community Oriented Polic5 ing Services of the Department of Justice developed 

6 a report (referred to in this section as the 

7 ‘‘LEMHWA report’’) that expressed that many law 

8 enforcement agencies do not have the capacity or 

9 local access to the mental health professionals nec10 essary for treating their law enforcement officers. 

11 (9) The LEMHWA report recommended meth12 ods for establishing remote access or regional mental 

13 health check programs at the State or Federal level. 

14 (10) Individual police and fire departments gen15 erally do not have the resources to employ full-time 

16 mental health experts who are able to treat public 

17 safety officers with state-of-the-art techniques for 

18 the purpose of treating job-related post-traumatic 

19 stress disorder and acute stress disorder. 

20 SEC. 3. PROGRAMMING FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DIS21 ORDER. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term ‘‘pub24 lic safety officer’’— 


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1 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec2 tion 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

3 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284); 

4 and 

5 (B) includes Tribal public safety officers. 

6 (2) PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR.— 

7 The term ‘‘public safety telecommunicator’’ means 

8 an individual who— 

9 (A) operates telephone, radio, or other 

10 communication systems to receive and commu11 nicate requests for emergency assistance at 911 

12 public safety answering points and emergency 

13 operations centers; 

14 (B) takes information from the public and 

15 other sources relating to crimes, threats, dis16 turbances, acts of terrorism, fires, medical 

17 emergencies, and other public safety matters; 

18 and 

19 (C) coordinates and provides information 

20 to law enforcement and emergency response 

21 personnel. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 150 days after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting 

24 through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented 

25 Policing Services of the Department of Justice, shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S645.CPS S645

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1 mit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report on— 

4 (1) not fewer than 1 proposed program, if the 

5 Attorney General determines it appropriate and fea6 sible to do so, to be administered by the Department 

7 of Justice for making state-of-the-art treatments or 

8 preventative care available to public safety officers 

9 and public safety telecommunicators with regard to 

10 job-related post-traumatic stress disorder or acute 

11 stress disorder by providing public safety officers 

12 and public safety telecommunicators access to evi13 dence-based trauma-informed care, peer support, 

14 counselor services, and family supports for the pur15 pose of treating or preventing post-traumatic stress 

16 disorder or acute stress disorder; 

17 (2) a draft of any necessary grant conditions 

18 required to ensure that confidentiality is afforded to 

19 public safety officers on account of seeking the care 

20 or services described in paragraph (1) under the pro21 posed program; 

22 (3) how each proposed program described in 

23 paragraph (1) could be most efficiently administered 

24 throughout the United States at the State, Tribal, 


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1 territorial, and local levels, taking into account in2 person and telehealth capabilities; 

3 (4) a draft of legislative language necessary to 

4 authorize each proposed program described in para5 graph (1); and 

6 (5) an estimate of the amount of annual appro7 priations necessary for administering each proposed 

8 program described in paragraph (1). 

9 (c) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the report re10 quired under subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

11 consult relevant stakeholders, including— 

12 (1) Federal, State, Tribal, territorial, and local 

13 agencies employing public safety officers and public 

14 safety telecommunicators; and 

15 (2) non-governmental organizations, inter16 national organizations, academies, or other entities, 

17 including organizations that support the interests of 

18 public safety officers and public safety telecommu19 nicators and the interests of family members of pub20 lic safety officers and public safety telecommunica21 tors. 

Æ 


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