Title: HEROES Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Helping Extend Responding Officers Expansive Support Act of 2018 or the HEROES Act of 2018
This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to include, in the Uniform Crime Reports, data on public safety officers who are killed or disabled in the line of duty. Additionally, the bill makes changes to eligibility for education benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program for public safety officers and survivors of public safety officers who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2878 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2878

To improve the tracking of data on, and benefits paid to, public safety 
        officers who are killed or disabled in the line of duty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 17, 2018

Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Coons) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the tracking of data on, and benefits paid to, public safety 
        officers who are killed or disabled in the line of duty.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helping Extend Responding Officers 
Expansive Support Act of 2018'' or the ``HEROES Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. COLLECTION OF DATA ON KILLED OR DISABLED LAW ENFORCEMENT 
              OFFICERS.

    Section 534(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) operate a central clearinghouse for statistics on law 
        enforcement officers under the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 
        including data on law enforcement officers who, while 
        performing their duties, were--
                    ``(A) feloniously killed;
                    ``(B) accidentally killed;
                    ``(C) feloniously assaulted; or
                    ``(D) severely and permanently disabled.''.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' BENEFITS.

    (a) Eligibility for Educational Assistance Benefits.--Section 
1216(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10306(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Retroactive Eligibility.--Subject to the other limitations of 
this subpart and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a spouse 
or child of a public safety officer who was killed or permanently and 
totally disabled in the line of duty before, on, or after January 1, 
1978, shall be eligible for assistance under this subpart.''.
    (b) Election of Lump Sum or Annuity.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1201 of title I 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:
    ``(o)(1) An individual entitled to receive a benefit under this 
subpart shall elect to receive the benefit as--
            ``(A) a lump sum; or
            ``(B) an annuity.
    ``(2) If an individual does not make a timely election under 
paragraph (1), as determined by the Bureau, the Bureau shall pay the 
benefit as a lump sum.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) take effect on the date of enactment of this 
                Act; and
                    (B) apply with respect to a benefit under subpart 1 
                of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
                Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.) that 
                the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines, on or 
                after that date, to be payable under that subpart.

SEC. 4. GAO REPORT ON MEDICAL COSTS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``disabled officer'' 
means a public safety officer to whom a benefit is payable under 
subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.) based on the permanent 
and total disability of the officer, as described in section 1201(b) of 
that subpart (34 U.S.C. 10281(b)).
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that estimates the 
average medical costs incurred by a disabled officer over the lifetime 
of the officer after sustaining the injury that caused the disability.
                                 <all>