IB 

Union Calendar No. 252 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6943 

[Report No. 117–335] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2022 

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

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MAY 18, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. BEYER, Mr. HUDSON, 

Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. STEFANIK, Ms. BASS, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mr. 

LAMALFA, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 

HERRELL, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. 

SUOZZI, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BACON, Mr. COLE, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. KEATING, Mrs. LESKO, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 

THOMPSON of California, Ms. PORTER, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. TONKO, Ms. 

SCHRIER, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. 

UNDERWOOD, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, and Mr. LARSON of Connecticut 

MAY 18, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 7, 2022] 


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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 or acute stress disorder, and for other purposes. 


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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 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

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

9 police officers, firefighters, emergency medical techni10 cians, and others, work to maintain the safety, health, 

11 and well-being of the communities they serve. 

12 (2) This means public safety officers are rou13 tinely called to respond to stressful and potentially 

14 traumatic situations, often putting their own lives in 

15 danger. 

16 (3) This work not only puts public safety officers 

17 at-risk for experiencing harm, serious injury, and cu18 mulative and acute trauma, but also places them at 

19 up to 25.6 times higher risk for developing post-trau20 matic stress disorder when compared to individuals 

21 without such experiences. 

22 (4) Psychological evidence indicates that law en23 forcement officers experience significant job-related 

24 stressors and exposures that may confer increased risk 

25 for mental health morbidities (such as post-traumatic 


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1 stress disorder and suicidal thoughts, ideation, in2 tents, and behaviors) and hastened mortality. 

3 (5) Public safety officers often do not have the re4 sources or support they need, leaving them at higher 

5 risk for long-term mental health consequences. 

6 (6) Whereas, although the Department of Defense 

7 already considers servicemember suicides to be line-of8 duty deaths and provides Federal support to eligible 

9 surviving families, the Federal Government does not 

10 recognize public safety officer suicides as deaths in the 

11 line of duty. 

12 (7) In 2017, the Department of Justice approved 

13 481 claims under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits 

14 Program under subpart 1 of part L of title I of the 

15 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

16 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.), but not one of them for the 

17 more than 240 public safety officers who died by sui18 cide that year. 

19 (8) Public safety officers who have died or are 

20 disabled as a result of suicide or post-traumatic stress 

21 disorder do not qualify for the Public Safety Officers’ 

22 Benefits Program, despite the fact that public safety 

23 officers are more likely to die by suicide than from 

24 any other line-of-duty cause of death. 


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1 SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS FOR 

2 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND 

3 ACUTE STRESS DISORDER. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1201 of title I of the Omni5 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

6 10281) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(o) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND ACUTE

8 STRESS DISORDER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(A) MASS CASUALTY EVENT.—The term 

11 ‘mass casualty event’ means an incident result12 ing in casualties to not fewer than 3 victims, in13 cluding— 

14 ‘‘(i) an incident that exceeds the nor15 mal resources for emergency response avail16 able in the jurisdiction where the incident 

17 takes place; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) an incident that results in a sud19 den temporal surge of injured individuals 

20 necessitating emergency services. 

21 ‘‘(B) MASS FATALITY EVENT.—The term 

22 ‘mass fatality event’ means an incident resulting 

23 in the fatalities of not fewer than 3 individuals 

24 at 1 or more locations close to one another with 

25 a common cause. 


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1 ‘‘(C) MASS SHOOTING.—The term ‘mass 

2 shooting’ means a multiple homicide incident in 

3 which not fewer than 3 victims are killed— 

4 ‘‘(i) with a firearm; 

5 ‘‘(ii) within 1 event; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) in 1 or more locations in close 

7 proximity. 

8 ‘‘(D) EXPOSED.—The term ‘exposed’ in9 cludes— 

10 ‘‘(i) directly experiencing or witnessing 

11 an event; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) being subjected, in an intense 

13 way, to aversive consequences of the event 

14 (including a public safety officer collecting 

15 human remains). 

16 ‘‘(E) TRAUMATIC EVENT.—The term ‘trau17 matic event’means, in the case of a public safety 

18 officer exposed to an event, an event that is— 

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

20 or gruesome death of another individual 

21 (including such a death resulting from a 

22 mass casualty event, mass fatality event, or 

23 mass shooting); 

24 ‘‘(ii) a harrowing circumstance posing 

25 an extraordinary and significant danger or 


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1 threat to the life of or of serious bodily 

2 harm to any individual (including such a 

3 circumstance as a mass casualty event, 

4 mass fatality event, or mass shooting); or 

5 ‘‘(iii) an act of criminal sexual vio6 lence committed against any individual. 

7 ‘‘(2) PERSONAL INJURY SUSTAINED IN LINE OF

8 DUTY.—As determined by the Bureau— 

9 ‘‘(A) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute 

10 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related dis11 orders suffered by a public safety officer and di12 agnosed by a licensed medical or mental health 

13 professional, shall be presumed to constitute a 

14 personal injury within the meaning of subsection 

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

16 if the officer was exposed, while on duty, to one 

17 or more traumatic events and such exposure was 

18 a substantial factor in the disorder; 

19 ‘‘(B) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute 

20 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related dis21 orders, suffered by a public safety officer who has 

22 contacted or attempted to contact the employee 

23 assistance program of the agency or entity that 

24 the officer serves, a licensed medical or mental 

25 health professional, suicide prevention services, 


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1 or another mental health assistance service in 

2 order to receive help, treatment, or diagnosis for 

3 post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress dis4 order, shall be presumed to constitute a personal 

5 injury within the meaning of subsection (a), sus6 tained in the line of duty by the officer, if the 

7 officer, was exposed, while on duty, to one or 

8 more traumatic events and such exposure was a 

9 substantial factor in the disorder; and 

10 ‘‘(C) post-traumatic stress disorder, acute 

11 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related dis12 orders, suffered by a public safety officer who 

13 was exposed, while on duty, to one or more trau14 matic events shall be presumed to constitute a 

15 personal injury within the meaning of subsection 

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

17 if such exposure was a substantial factor in the 

18 disorder. 

19 ‘‘(3) PRESUMPTION OF DEATH OR TOTAL DIS20 ABILITY.—A public safety officer shall be presumed to 

21 have died or become permanently and totally disabled 

22 (within the meaning of subsection (a) or (b)) as the 

23 direct and proximate result of a personal injury sus24 tained in the line of duty, if (as determined by the 

25 Bureau) the officer either— 


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1 ‘‘(A) took an action, which action was in2 tended to bring about the officer’s death and di3 rectly and proximately resulted in such officer’s 

4 death or permanent and total disability and ex5 posure to one or more traumatic events was a 

6 substantial factor in the action taken by the offi7 cer; or 

8 ‘‘(B) took an action within 45 days of the 

9 end of exposure to a traumatic event, which ac10 tion was intended to bring about the officer’s 

11 death and directly and proximately resulted in 

12 such officer’s death or permanent and total dis13 ability, if such action was not inconsistent with 

14 a psychiatric disorder. 

15 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS ON BENE16 FITS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) INTENTIONAL ACTIONS.—Section 

18 1202(a)(1) shall not apply to any claim for a 

19 benefit under this part that is payable in accord20 ance with this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) SUBSTANCE USE.—Section 1202(a)(2) 

22 shall not preclude the payment of a benefit under 

23 this part if the benefit is otherwise payable in 

24 accordance with this subsection.’’. 

25 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

3 shall— 

4 (A) take effect on the date of enactment of 

5 this Act; and 

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

7 Bureau of Justice Assistance or otherwise, on the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, or filed (consistent 

9 with pre-existing effective dates) or accruing 

10 after that date. 

11 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to any action taken by a pub13 lic safety officer described in paragraph (3) of section 

14 1201(o) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

15 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as added by this Act) that 

16 occurred on or after January 1, 2019. 

17 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL FIXES. 

18 (a) SUBPOENA POWER; EMPLOYMENT OF HEARING

19 OFFICERS; AUTHORITY TO HOLD HEARINGS.—Section 806 

20 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

21 Act of 1968 is amended by— 

22 (1) striking ‘‘by the Attorney General’’; 

23 (2) inserting ‘‘Assistant’’ before ‘‘Attorney’’ ev24 erywhere it appears; 


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1 (3) striking ‘‘Code)’’ and inserting ‘‘Code (with2 out regard to the days limitation prescribed therein), 

3 but shall, in no event, be understood to be (or to have 

4 the authority of) officers of the United States)’’; 

5 (4) striking ‘‘necessary to carry out’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘necessary or convenient to assist them in car7 rying out’’; 

8 (5) striking ‘‘or any’’ and inserting ‘‘, or (subject 

9 to such limitations as the appointing authority may, 

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

11 (6) inserting a comma after ‘‘thereby’’; 

12 (7) striking ‘‘duties under this title’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘duties under any law administered by or under 

14 the Office’’; 

15 (8) striking ‘‘such hearing examiners’’ the second 

16 place it appears; and 

17 (9) striking ‘‘examinations and’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘examinations, and’’. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1204 of title I of the Omni20 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘;’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking ‘‘basis.’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘basis;’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (14), by redesignating the sec2 ond subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G). 

3 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

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

5 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

6 submit to Congress a report that details benefits issued pur7 suant to subsection (o) of section 1201 of title I of the Omni8 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

9 10281), as added by section 3, and includes any rec10 ommendations to improve that subsection. 


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Union Calendar No. 252 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6943 

[Report No. 117–335] 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

order, and for other purposes. post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disficer death benefits to officers suffering from Streets Act of 1968 to authorize public safety ofMAY 18, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS