I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2441 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide adequate benefits for public safety officers injured or killed 
in the line of duty, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2009 
Mr. MELANCON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to provide adequate benefits for public safety 
officers injured or killed in the line of duty, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Responders Sup-
port Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXPANDING DISABILITY BENEFITS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1201 of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
3796) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$350,000’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘subsection (h)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (h)(1)’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘permanently and totally’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, to the extent that appro-
priations are provided’’ and all that follows and 
inserting ‘‘a benefit in an amount determined in 
accordance with subsection (h)(2) to such offi-
cer.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (h)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘the effective date of this 
subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enact-
ment of the First Responders Support Act of 
2009’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(h)’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subsection (b) and subparagraph 
(B) of this paragraph, the amount of a benefit paid under 
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subsection (b) to a public safety officer who has become 
disabled as the direct result of a catastrophic injury sus-
tained in the line of duty shall be in an amount equal to 
the benefit that is payable under subsection (a) in the ap-
plicable year multiplied by the level of disability of the 
public safety officer, as determined in accordance with 
subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) No benefit shall be paid under subsection (b) 
if the level of disability of the public safety officer is less 
than 50 percent. 
‘‘(C)(i) The Director shall adopt and apply a schedule 
of levels of disability of public safety officers associated 
with specific injuries or combinations of injuries, based 
upon the average impairments of earning capacity result-
ing from the injuries concerned. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of the schedule required by this 
subparagraph, the levels of disability eligible for benefits 
shall be— 
‘‘(I) based on the average impairment of earn-
ing capacity resulting from the injuries; and 
‘‘(II) set at 50, 75, and 100 percent of dis-
ability with a minimum threshold of 50 percent.’’. 
(b) DEFINITION OF CATASTROPHIC INJURY.—Sec-
tion 1204(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(1)) is amended by 
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striking ‘‘permanently prevent an individual from per-
forming any gainful work’’ and inserting ‘‘sufficiently di-
minishes the ability of an individual to perform substan-
tially gainful work (for purposes of this paragraph mar-
ginal employment shall not be considered gainful work)’’. 
(c) EXPEDITING BENEFITS.—Section 1201 of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3796) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(n) Not later than 12 months after the date on 
which a claimant submits all information required for a 
claim under this subpart, the Bureau shall determine 
whether the claimant is eligible to receive a benefit under 
this subpart.’’. 
(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 9 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments 
made by this section. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General, 
in addition to any other amounts otherwise authorized to 
be appropriated, $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 
through 2014 to hire employees for the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance and obtain the technology and equipment nec-
essary to expedite the processing of claims and make dis-
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