I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7568 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

authorize public safety officer death benefits to officers suffering from 

post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to authorize public safety officer death benefits to officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 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 ‘‘Public Safety Officer 

5 Support Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Every day, public safety officers, including 

2 police officers, firefighters, emergency medical tech3 nicians, and others, work to maintain the safety, 

4 health, and well-being of the communities they serve. 

5 (2) From time to time this means being called 

6 to respond to stressful and potentially traumatic sit7 uations, sometimes even putting their own lives in 

8 danger. 

9 (3) This work not only puts them at risk for ex10 periencing harm, serious injury, and severe trauma, 

11 but also places them at up to 25.6 times higher risk 

12 for developing post-traumatic stress disorder when 

13 compared to those without such experiences. 

14 (4) Psychological evidence indicates law en15 forcement officers experience significant job-related 

16 stressors and exposures that may confer increased 

17 risk for mental health morbidities (for example post18 traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts and 

19 behaviors), and hastened mortality. 

20 (5) Public safety officers often do not have the 

21 resources or support they need, leaving them at 

22 higher risk for long-term mental health con23 sequences. 

24 (6) In 2017, the Department of Justice ap25 proved 481 Public Safety Officer Benefit (PSOB) 


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1 claims, but not one of them for the over 240 public 

2 safety officers who died by suicide that year. 

3 (7) As it currently stands, officers who have 

4 died or are disabled as a result of suicide or post5 traumatic stress disorder do not qualify for this pro6 gram, despite officers being more likely to die by 

7 suicide than in the line of duty. 

8 SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS FOR 

9 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. 

10 Section 1201 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

11 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(o) As determined by the Bureau— 

14 ‘‘(1) post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by 

15 a public safety officer, and diagnosed by a licensed 

16 medical or mental health professional, shall be pre17 sumed to constitute a personal injury within the 

18 meaning of subsection (a), sustained in the line of 

19 duty by the officer, if the officer, while on duty, en20 gages in situations involving stressful, tensional, or 

21 traumatic law enforcement, fire suppression, rescue, 

22 hazardous material response, emergency medical 

23 services (including responding to opioid overdoses, or 

24 traumatic psychological or psychiatric distress calls), 


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1 prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency 

2 response activity; and 

3 ‘‘(2) in the case that a public safety officer de4 scribed in paragraph (1) dies by suicide (for pur5 poses of a claim under subsection (a)), or is perma6 nently and totally disabled as a result of post-trau7 matic stress disorder, including as a result of at8 tempted suicide (for purposes of a claim under sub9 section (b)), such death or disability shall be pre10 sumed to be a direct and proximate result of such 

11 engagement, 

12 unless competent psychological or medical evidence estab13 lishes that the post-traumatic stress disorder was unre14 lated to the engagement or was directly and proximately 

15 caused by something other than the mere presence of post16 traumatic stress disorder risk factors. For purposes of 

17 paragraph (2), a public safety officer shall be considered 

18 permanently and totally disabled as a result of post-trau19 matic stress disorder if the officer is unable to serve as 

20 a public safety officer in the same or substantially similar 

21 role as the officer was serving prior to suffering from post22 traumatic stress disorder.’’. 

23 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT. 

24 On the date that is one year after the date of the 

25 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 


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1 United States shall submit to Congress a report on bene2 fits issued pursuant to subsection (o) of section 1201 of 

3 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

4 (34 U.S.C. 10281), as added by this Act, and any rec5 ommendations to improve such subsection. 

Æ 


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