IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6509 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 1, 2020 
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 provide public safety officer death and 
disability benefits for certain public safety officers who 
contract COVID-19, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Officer 
Pandemic Response Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR PUBLIC 
SAFETY OFFICERS IMPACTED BY COVID-19. 
Section 1201 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 new subsection: 
‘‘(o) For purposes of this part: 
‘‘(1) COVID–19 (or complications therefrom) 
shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury 
within the meaning of subsection (a), sustained in 
the line of duty by a public safety officer and di-
rectly and proximately resulting in death, in the case 
of a public safety officer who was diagnosed with, 
who received a positive test for, or for whom evi-
dence indicated that the officer was infected with, 
COVID–19, unless such officer was not on duty dur-
ing the 45-day period prior to being diagnosed with 
or having positive test for COVID–19. 
‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall accept claims, 
including supplemental claims, under this section 
from an individual who— 
‘‘(A) was serving as a public safety officer 
and was injured or disabled in the line of duty 
as a result of the terrorist attacks on the 
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United States that occurred on September 11, 
2001, or in the aftermath of such attacks devel-
oped a condition described in section 3312(a) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300mm–22(a)); and 
‘‘(B) was diagnosed with COVID–19 dur-
ing the period described in paragraph (3), 
which, in combination with the injury or dis-
ability described in subparagraph (A), perma-
nently and totally disabled or directly and 
proximately resulted in the death of the indi-
vidual. 
In assessing a claim under this paragraph, the pre-
sumption of causation described in paragraph (1) 
shall apply. 
‘‘(3) The presumption described in paragraph 
(1) and standard in subsection (p) shall apply with 
respect to a diagnosis of COVID–19 (or complica-
tions therefrom) beginning on January 20, 2020, 
and ending on January 20, 2022. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘COVID–19’ means a disease 
caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome 
coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2). 
‘‘(p) In determining whether the personal injury 
under subsection (b) resulting from COVID-19 (or com-
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plications therefrom) was a catastrophic injury, the Attor-
ney General’s inquiry shall apply the presumption in sub-
section (o) and be limited to whether the individual is per-
manently prevented from performing any gainful work as 
a public safety officer.’’. 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ or this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 27, 2020. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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