H. R. 6943 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two 

An Act 

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 or acute stress disorder, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Officer Support 

Act of 2022’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) Every day, public safety officers, including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and others, 

work to maintain the safety, health, and well-being of the 

communities they serve. 

(2) This means public safety officers are routinely called 

to respond to stressful and potentially traumatic situations, 

often putting their own lives in danger. 

(3) This work not only puts public safety officers at-risk 

for experiencing harm, serious injury, and cumulative and acute 

trauma, but also places them at up to 25.6 times higher risk 

for developing post-traumatic stress disorder when compared 

to individuals without such experiences. 

(4) Psychological evidence indicates that law enforcement 

officers experience significant job-related stressors and exposures that may confer increased risk for mental health 

morbidities (such as post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal 

thoughts, ideation, intents, and behaviors) and hastened mortality. 

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

or support they need, leaving them at higher risk for longterm mental health consequences. 

(6) Whereas, although the Department of Defense already 

considers servicemember suicides to be line-of-duty deaths and 

provides Federal support to eligible surviving families, the Federal Government does not recognize public safety officer suicides 

as deaths in the line of duty. 

(7) In 2017, the Department of Justice approved 481 claims 

under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program under subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.), but 

not one of them for the more than 240 public safety officers 

who died by suicide that year. 
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(8) Public safety officers who have died or are disabled 

as a result of suicide or post-traumatic stress disorder do not 

qualify for the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, despite 

the fact that public safety officers are more likely to die by 

suicide than from any other line-of-duty cause of death. 

SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, ACUTE STRESS DISORDER, OR 

TRAUMA AND STRESS RELATED DISORDERS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amended 

by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(o) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, ACUTE STRESS DISORDER, OR TRAUMA AND STRESS RELATED DISORDERS.— 

‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(A) MASS CASUALTY EVENT.—The term ‘mass casualty 

event’ means an incident resulting in casualties to not 

fewer than 3 victims, including— 

‘‘(i) an incident that exceeds the normal resources 

for emergency response available in the jurisdiction 

where the incident takes place; and 

‘‘(ii) an incident that results in a sudden and timely 

surge of injured individuals necessitating emergency 

services. 

‘‘(B) MASS FATALITY EVENT.—The term ‘mass fatality 

event’ means an incident resulting in the fatalities of not 

fewer than 3 individuals at 1 or more locations close to 

one another with a common cause. 

‘‘(C) MASS SHOOTING.—The term ‘mass shooting’ means 

a multiple homicide incident in which not fewer than 3 

victims are killed— 

‘‘(i) with a firearm; 

‘‘(ii) during one event; and 

‘‘(iii) in one or more locations in close proximity. 

‘‘(D) EXPOSED.—The term ‘exposed’ includes— 

‘‘(i) directly experiencing or witnessing an event; 

or 

‘‘(ii) being subjected, in an intense way, to aversive 

consequences of the event (including a public safety 

officer collecting human remains). 

‘‘(E) TRAUMATIC EVENT.—The term ‘traumatic event’ 

means, in the case of a public safety officer exposed to 

an event, an event that is— 

‘‘(i) a homicide, suicide, or the violent or gruesome 

death of another individual (including such a death 

resulting from a mass casualty event, mass fatality 

event, or mass shooting); 

‘‘(ii) a harrowing circumstance posing an extraordinary and significant danger or threat to the life 

of or of serious bodily harm to any individual (including 

such a circumstance as a mass casualty event, mass 

fatality event, or mass shooting); or 

‘‘(iii) an act of criminal sexual violence committed 

against any individual. 

‘‘(2) PERSONAL INJURY SUSTAINED IN LINE OF DUTY.—As 

determined by the Bureau— 
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‘‘(A) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, or trauma and stress related disorders suffered by 

a public safety officer and diagnosed by a licensed medical 

or mental health professional, shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury within the meaning of subsection 

(a), sustained in the line of duty by the officer, if the 

officer was exposed, while on duty, to one or more traumatic 

events and such exposure was a substantial factor in the 

disorder; 

‘‘(B) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, or trauma and stress related disorders, suffered 

by a public safety officer who has contacted or attempted 

to contact the employee assistance program of the agency 

or entity that the officer serves, a licensed medical or 

mental health professional, suicide prevention services, or 

another mental health assistance service in order to receive 

help, treatment, or diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury within the meaning of subsection 

(a), sustained in the line of duty by the officer, if the 

officer, was exposed, while on duty, to one or more traumatic events and such exposure was a substantial factor 

in the disorder; and 

‘‘(C) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, or trauma and stress related disorders, suffered 

by a public safety officer who was exposed, while on duty, 

to one or more traumatic events shall be presumed to 

constitute a personal injury within the meaning of subsection (a), sustained in the line of duty by the officer 

if such exposure was a substantial factor in the disorder. 

‘‘(3) PRESUMPTION OF DEATH OR TOTAL DISABILITY.—A public 

safety officer shall be presumed to have died or become permanently and totally disabled (within the meaning of subsection 

(a) or (b)) as the direct and proximate result of a personal 

injury sustained in the line of duty, if (as determined by the 

Bureau) the officer either— 

‘‘(A) took an action, which action was intended to bring 

about the officer’s death and directly and proximately 

resulted in such officer’s death or permanent and total 

disability and exposure, while on duty, to one or more 

traumatic events was a substantial factor in the action 

taken by the officer; or 

‘‘(B) took an action within 45 days of the end of exposure, while on duty, to a traumatic event, which action 

was intended to bring about the officer’s death and directly 

and proximately resulted in such officer’s death or permanent and total disability, if such action was not inconsistent 

with a psychiatric disorder. 

‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.— ‘‘(A) INTENTIONAL ACTIONS.—Section 1202(a)(1) shall 

not apply to any claim for a benefit under this part that 

is payable in accordance with this subsection. 

‘‘(B) SUBSTANCE USE.—Section 1202(a)(2) shall not preclude the payment of a benefit under this part if the 

benefit is otherwise payable in accordance with this subsection.’’. 

(b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

amendments made by this section shall— 

(A) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; 

and 

(B) apply to any matter pending, before the Bureau 

of Justice Assistance or otherwise, on the date of enactment 

of this Act, or filed (consistent with pre-existing effective 

dates) or accruing after that date. 

(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The amendments made by this section 

shall apply to any action taken by a public safety officer 

described in paragraph (3) of section 1201(o) of title I of the 

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as added 

by this Act) that occurred on or after January 1, 2019. 

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL FIXES. 

(a) SUBPOENA POWER; EMPLOYMENT OF HEARING OFFICERS; 

AUTHORITY TO HOLD HEARINGS.—Section 806 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10225) 

is amended— 

(1) in the first sentence— 

(A) by striking ‘‘The’’ and all that follows through 

‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The Assistant Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice Assistance’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘by the Attorney General’’; 

(C) by striking ‘‘Code)’’ and inserting ‘‘Code (without 

regard to the days limitation prescribed therein), but shall, 

in no event, be understood to be (or to have the authority 

of) officers of the United States)’’; 

(D) by striking ‘‘such hearing examiners or administrative law judges’’ and inserting ‘‘or administrative law 

judges’’; and 

(E) by striking ‘‘necessary to carry out their respective 

powers and duties under this title’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘necessary or convenient to assist them in carrying 

out their respective powers and duties under any law 

administered by or under the Office’’; and 

(2) in the second sentence— 

(A) by striking ‘‘The’’ and all that follows through 

‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The Assistant Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice Assistance’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘or any’’ and inserting ‘‘, or (subject 

to such limitations as the appointing authority may, in 

its sole discretion, impose from time to time) any’’; 

(C) by inserting a comma after ‘‘thereby’’; and 

(D) by striking ‘‘examinations and’’ and inserting 

‘‘examinations, and’’. 

(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

(2) in paragraph (12)(B), strike the period at the end and 

insert a semicolon; and 

(3) in paragraph (14), by redesignating the second subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G). 

SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
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to Congress a report that details benefits issued pursuant to subsection (o) of section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281), as added by section 

3, and includes any recommendations to improve that subsection. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.