I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4338 
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 
DECEMBER 16, 2009 
Mr. MELANCON 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 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), by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$350,000’’; and 
(2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘the effective 
date of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of 
enactment of the First Responders Support Act of 
2009’’. 
(b) 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.’’. 
(c) 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. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General, 
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in addition to any other amounts otherwise authorized to 
be appropriated— 
(1) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 
through 2015 to hire employees for the Bureau of 
Justice Assistance and obtain the technology and 
equipment necessary to educate and assist eligible 
agencies with the filing and application of claims for 
the Public Safety Officer Benefits Programs and to 
provide supplemental materials for continuing edu-
cation of claims information and procedure; and 
(2) $800,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 
through 2015 for the education and assistance to 
public safety officers and first responders in jurisdic-
tions located in rural areas and urban areas with a 
population of less than 25,000. 
SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS. 
Section 1212(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d–1(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (3), and 
subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, financial 
assistance under this subpart shall— 
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‘‘(i) consist of direct payments to an eligible de-
pendent; and 
‘‘(ii) be paid at the monthly rate of not more 
than $1,500. 
‘‘(B) The Director shall promulgate regulations to es-
tablish the amount of financial assistance under subpara-
graph (A) for an eligible dependent, which shall be based 
on the portion of the normal full-time academic workload 
for the course of study, as determined by the eligible edu-
cational institution, that the eligible dependent is pur-
suing. 
‘‘(C) On October 1 of each fiscal year beginning after 
the date of enactment of the First Responders Support 
Act of 2009, the Director shall adjust the level of the ben-
efit payable during that fiscal year under subparagraph 
(A)(ii), to reflect the annual percentage change in the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, pub-
lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, occurring in the 
1-year period ending on June 1 immediately preceding 
such October 1.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘to which 
the eligible dependent would otherwise be entitled to 
receive’’ and inserting ‘‘that the eligible dependent 
receives’’. 
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SEC. 4. PRIORITIZATION OF CLAIMS. 
Section 1205 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796c) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(d)(1) The Bureau shall adopt and apply a system 
of prioritization of claims for benefits under this part 
based on the severity of the claim and the likelihood of 
approval of the claim. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, a claim for a 
death benefit or 100 percent disability shall be considered 
more severe and given priority.’’. 
SEC. 5. EXPANDING COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH 
SERVICES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 
the Bureau of Justice Assistance; 
(2) the term ‘‘eligible organization’’ means an 
organization that provides free or reduced cost men-
tal health services or counseling to public safety offi-
cers seriously injured in the line of duty and the 
family members of public safety officers killed or se-
riously injured in the line of duty; 
(3) the term ‘‘public safety officer’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 1204 of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3796b); and 
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(4) the term ‘‘reduced cost’’, relating to mental 
health services or counseling, means that the organi-
zation providing the services or counseling charges 
not more than 50 percent of the amount that the or-
ganization would otherwise charge for the services or 
counseling. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Direc-
tor may make grants to eligible organizations to provide 
mental health services or counseling to public safety offi-
cers seriously injured in the line of duty and the family 
members of public safety officers killed or seriously in-
jured in the line of duty. 
(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible organization desiring 
a grant under this section shall submit an application at 
such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in-
formation as the Director may establish. 
SEC. 6. OVERSIGHT OF THE PSOB PROGRAM. 
The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
shall— 
(1) not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, structure, design, and imple-
ment a performance measure for the Public Safety 
Officers Benefits program to monitor the claims 
process and payment of benefits to officers and 
beneficiaries; and 
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(2) report to Congress annually on the perform-
ance of the program, and its activities, including 
technological updates, the status of payments and 
claims, and the results of any education and out-
reach activities performed in accordance to this Act. 
Æ 
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