IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6943 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Support Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

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

7 police officers, firefighters, emergency medical tech8 nicians, and others, work to maintain the safety, 

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

10 (2) This means public safety officers are rou11 tinely called to respond to stressful and potentially 

12 traumatic situations, often putting their own lives in 

13 danger. 

14 (3) This work not only puts public safety offi15 cers at-risk for experiencing harm, serious injury, 

16 and cumulative and acute trauma, but also places 

17 them at up to 25.6 times higher risk for developing 

18 post-traumatic stress disorder when compared to in19 dividuals without such experiences. 

20 (4) Psychological evidence indicates that law 

21 enforcement officers experience significant job-re22 lated stressors and exposures that may confer in23 creased risk for mental health morbidities (such as 

24 post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts, 

25 ideation, intents, and behaviors) and hastened mor26 tality. 


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

2 resources or support they need, leaving them at 

3 higher risk for long-term mental health con4 sequences. 

5 (6) Whereas, although the Department of De6 fense already considers servicemember suicides to be 

7 line-of-duty deaths and provides Federal support to 

8 eligible surviving families, the Federal Government 

9 does not recognize public safety officer suicides as 

10 deaths in the line of duty. 

11 (7) In 2017, the Department of Justice ap12 proved 481 claims under the Public Safety Officers’ 

13 Benefits Program under subpart 1 of part L of title 

14 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

15 Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.), but not one 

16 of them for the more than 240 public safety officers 

17 who died by suicide that year. 

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

19 disabled as a result of suicide or post-traumatic 

20 stress disorder do not qualify for the Public Safety 

21 Officers’ Benefits Program, despite the fact that 

22 public safety officers are more likely to die by sui23 cide than from 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, ACUTE 

3 STRESS DISORDER, OR TRAUMA AND STRESS 

4 RELATED DISORDERS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1201 of title I of the Om6 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

7 U.S.C. 10281) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(o) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, ACUTE

10 STRESS DISORDER, OR TRAUMA AND STRESS RELATED

11 DISORDERS.— 

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

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

14 ‘mass casualty event’ means an incident result15 ing in casualties to not fewer than 3 victims, in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(i) an incident that exceeds the nor18 mal resources for emergency response 

19 available in the jurisdiction where the inci20 dent takes place; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) an incident that results in a sud22 den and timely surge of injured individuals 

23 necessitating emergency services. 

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

25 ‘mass fatality event’ means an incident result26 ing in the fatalities of not fewer than 3 individVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 May 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6943.RFS H6943

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1 uals at 1 or more locations close to one another 

2 with a common cause. 

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

4 shooting’ means a multiple homicide incident in 

5 which not fewer than 3 victims are killed— 

6 ‘‘(i) with a firearm; 

7 ‘‘(ii) during one event; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) in one or more locations in close 

9 proximity. 

10 ‘‘(D) EXPOSED.—The term ‘exposed’ in11 cludes— 

12 ‘‘(i) directly experiencing or wit13 nessing an event; or 

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

15 way, to aversive consequences of the event 

16 (including a public safety officer collecting 

17 human remains). 

18 ‘‘(E) TRAUMATIC EVENT.—The term ‘trau19 matic event’ means, in the case of a public safe20 ty officer exposed to an event, an event that 

21 is— 

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

23 or gruesome death of another individual 

24 (including such a death resulting from a 


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1 mass casualty event, mass fatality event, 

2 or mass shooting); 

3 ‘‘(ii) a harrowing circumstance posing 

4 an extraordinary and significant danger or 

5 threat to the life of or of serious bodily 

6 harm to any individual (including such a 

7 circumstance as a mass casualty event, 

8 mass fatality event, or mass shooting); or 

9 ‘‘(iii) an act of criminal sexual vio10 lence committed against any individual. 

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

12 DUTY.—As determined by the Bureau— 

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

14 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related 

15 disorders suffered by a public safety officer and 

16 diagnosed by a licensed medical or mental 

17 health professional, shall be presumed to con18 stitute a personal injury within the meaning of 

19 subsection (a), sustained in the line of duty by 

20 the officer, if the officer was exposed, while on 

21 duty, to one or more traumatic events and such 

22 exposure was a substantial factor in the dis23 order; 

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

25 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related 


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1 disorders, suffered by a public safety officer 

2 who has contacted or attempted to contact the 

3 employee assistance program of the agency or 

4 entity that the officer serves, a licensed medical 

5 or mental health professional, suicide preven6 tion services, or another mental health assist7 ance service in order to receive help, treatment, 

8 or diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder 

9 or acute stress disorder, shall be presumed to 

10 constitute a personal injury within the meaning 

11 of subsection (a), sustained in the line of duty 

12 by the officer, if the officer, was exposed, while 

13 on duty, to one or more traumatic events and 

14 such exposure was a substantial factor in the 

15 disorder; and 

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

17 stress disorder, or trauma and stress related 

18 disorders, suffered by a public safety officer 

19 who was exposed, while on duty, to one or more 

20 traumatic events shall be presumed to con21 stitute a personal injury within the meaning of 

22 subsection (a), sustained in the line of duty by 

23 the officer if such exposure was a substantial 

24 factor in the disorder. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRESUMPTION OF DEATH OR TOTAL DIS2 ABILITY.—A public safety officer shall be presumed 

3 to have died or become permanently and totally dis4 abled (within the meaning of subsection (a) or (b)) 

5 as the direct and proximate result of a personal in6 jury sustained in the line of duty, if (as determined 

7 by the Bureau) the officer either— 

8 ‘‘(A) took an action, which action was in9 tended to bring about the officer’s death and di10 rectly and proximately resulted in such officer’s 

11 death or permanent and total disability and ex12 posure, while on duty, to one or more traumatic 

13 events was a substantial factor in the action 

14 taken by the officer; or 

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

16 end of exposure, while on duty, to a traumatic 

17 event, which action was intended to bring about 

18 the officer’s death and directly and proximately 

19 resulted in such officer’s death or permanent 

20 and total disability, if such action was not in21 consistent with a psychiatric disorder. 

22 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS ON BENE23 FITS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INTENTIONAL ACTIONS.—Section 

25 1202(a)(1) shall not apply to any claim for a 


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1 benefit under this part that is payable in ac2 cordance with this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) SUBSTANCE USE.—Section 

4 1202(a)(2) shall not preclude the payment of a 

5 benefit under this part if the benefit is other6 wise payable in accordance with this sub7 section.’’. 

8 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

11 shall— 

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

13 this Act; and 

14 (B) apply to any matter pending, before 

15 the Bureau of Justice Assistance or otherwise, 

16 on the date of enactment of this Act, or filed 

17 (consistent with pre-existing effective dates) or 

18 accruing after that date. 

19 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to any action taken by a 

21 public safety officer described in paragraph (3) of 

22 section 1201(o) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con23 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as added by this 

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


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1 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL FIXES. 

2 (a) SUBPOENA POWER; EMPLOYMENT OF HEARING

3 OFFICERS; AUTHORITY TO HOLD HEARINGS.—Section 

4 806 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

5 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10225) is amended— 

6 (1) in the first sentence— 

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

8 through ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The As9 sistant Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice 

10 Assistance’’; 

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

12 (C) by striking ‘‘Code)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Code (without regard to the days limitation 

14 prescribed therein), but shall, in no event, be 

15 understood to be (or to have the authority of) 

16 officers of the United States)’’; 

17 (D) by striking ‘‘such hearing examiners or 

18 administrative law judges’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

19 administrative law judges’’; and 

20 (E) by striking ‘‘necessary to carry out 

21 their respective powers and duties under this 

22 title’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘necessary or 

23 convenient to assist them in carrying out their 

24 respective powers and duties under any law ad25 ministered by or under the Office’’; and 

26 (2) in the second sentence— 


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

2 through ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The As3 sistant Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice 

4 Assistance’’; 

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

6 or (subject to such limitations as the appointing 

7 authority may, in its sole discretion, impose 

8 from time to time) any’’; 

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

10 and 

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

12 inserting ‘‘examinations, and’’. 

13 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1204 of title I of the Om14 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

15 U.S.C. 10284) is amended— 

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

17 end; 

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

19 the end and insert a semicolon; and 

20 (3) in paragraph (14), by redesignating the sec21 ond subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G). 

22 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

25 shall submit to Congress a report that details benefits 


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1 issued pursuant to subsection (o) of section 1201 of title 

2 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

3 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281), as added by section 3, and in4 cludes any recommendations to improve that subsection. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2022. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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