I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1719 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide public safety officer benefits for exposure-related cancers, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 22, 2023 
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. SCAN-
LON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to provide public safety officer benefits 
for exposure-related cancers, 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 ‘‘Honoring Our Fallen 
Heroes Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. CANCER-RELATED DEATHS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1201 of title I of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
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U.S.C. 10281) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(p) EXPOSURE-RELATED CANCERS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) CARCINOGEN.—The term ‘carcinogen’ 
means a known or suspected carcinogen, as de-
fined by the International Agency for Research 
on Cancer, that is reasonably linked to an expo-
sure-related cancer. 
‘‘(B) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ 
means the Director of the Bureau. 
‘‘(C) EXPOSURE-RELATED
CANCER.—The 
term ‘exposure-related cancer’ means— 
‘‘(i) bladder cancer; 
‘‘(ii) brain cancer; 
‘‘(iii) breast cancer; 
‘‘(iv) cervical cancer; 
‘‘(v) colon cancer; 
‘‘(vi) colorectal cancer; 
‘‘(vii) esophagus cancer; 
‘‘(viii) kidney cancer; 
‘‘(ix) leukemia; 
‘‘(x) lung cancer; 
‘‘(xi) malignant melanoma; 
‘‘(xii) mesothelioma; 
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‘‘(xiii) multiple myeloma; 
‘‘(xiv) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; 
‘‘(xv) ovarian cancer; 
‘‘(xvi) prostate cancer; 
‘‘(xvii) skin cancer; 
‘‘(xviii) stomach cancer; 
‘‘(xix) testicular cancer; 
‘‘(xx) thyroid cancer; 
‘‘(xxi) any form of cancer that is con-
sidered a WTC-related health condition 
under section 3312(a) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm–22(a)); 
and 
‘‘(xxii) any other form of cancer that 
the Bureau may determine appropriate in 
accordance with paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) PERSONAL
INJURY
SUSTAINED
IN
THE 
LINE OF DUTY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), as determined by the Bureau, the 
death or permanent and total disability of a 
public safety officer due to an exposure-related 
cancer shall be presumed to constitute a per-
sonal injury within the meaning of subsection 
(a), sustained in the line of duty by the officer 
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and directly and proximately resulting in death 
or permanent and total disability, if— 
‘‘(i) the public safety officer was ex-
posed to or in contact with heat, radiation, 
or a carcinogen that is linked to an expo-
sure-related cancer while in the course of 
the line of duty; 
‘‘(ii) the public safety officer began 
serving as a public safety officer not later 
than 5 years before the date of the diag-
nosis of the public safety officer with an 
exposure-related cancer; 
‘‘(iii) the public safety officer was di-
agnosed with an exposure-related cancer 
not later than 15 years after the last date 
of active service as a public safety officer 
of the public safety officer; and 
‘‘(iv) the exposure-related cancer di-
rectly and proximately results in the death 
or permanent and total disability of the 
public safety officer. 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—The 
presumption 
under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the 
death or permanent and total disability of a 
public safety officer due to an exposure-related 
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cancer if competent medical evidence establishes 
that the exposure-related cancer was unrelated 
to the exposure or contact described in subpara-
graph (A)(i). 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
EXPOSURE-RELATED
CAN-
CERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 
‘‘(i) periodically review the definition 
of ‘exposure-related cancer’ under para-
graph (1); and 
‘‘(ii) add a type of exposure-related 
cancer to the definition by rule, upon a 
showing by a petitioner or on the Direc-
tor’s own determination, in accordance 
with this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) BASIS
FOR
DETERMINATION.—The 
Director shall add a type of exposure-related 
cancer to the definition of ‘exposure-related 
cancer’ under paragraph (1) upon a showing by 
a petitioner or the Director’s own determina-
tion, based on the weight of the best available 
scientific evidence, that there is a significant 
risk to public safety officers engaged in public 
safety activities of developing the type of expo-
sure-related cancer. 
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‘‘(C) AVAILABLE
EXPERTISE.—In deter-
mining significant risk for the purpose of sub-
paragraph (B), the Director may accept as au-
thoritative and may rely upon recommenda-
tions, risk assessments, and scientific studies by 
the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health, the National Toxicology Program, 
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer-
ing, and Medicine, and the International Agen-
cy for Research on Cancer. 
‘‘(D) PETITIONS TO ADD TO THE LIST OF 
EXPOSURE-RELATED CANCERS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person may 
petition the Director to add a type of expo-
sure-related cancer to the definition of ‘ex-
posure-related cancer’ under paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(ii) CONTENT OF PETITION.—A peti-
tion under clause (i) shall provide informa-
tion to show that there is sufficient evi-
dence, based on the weight of the best 
available scientific evidence, of significant 
risk to public safety officers engaged in 
public safety activities of developing such 
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