Protecting America's First Responders Act of 2021
PL 117-61 (S.1511), enacted 11/18/2021

[117th Congress Public Law 61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 1473]]

                       PROTECTING AMERICA'S FIRST 
                         RESPONDERS ACT OF 2021

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Public Law 117-61
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 with 
 respect to payments to certain public safety officers who have become 
   permanently and totally disabled as a result of personal injuries 
sustained in the line of duty, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Nov. 18, 
                          2021 -  [S. 1511]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Protecting 
America's First Responders Act of 2021. 34 USC 10101 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting America's First Responders 
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS UNDER PUBLIC 
                    SAFETY OFFICERS' DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM.

    Section 1201 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Bureau shall pay''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, and calculated in accordance 
                with subsection (i), shall be payable by the Bureau'' 
                after ``subsection (h)''.
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Bureau shall pay the same 
                benefit'' and inserting ``a benefit shall be payable'';
                    (B) by striking ``that is payable under subsection 
                (a) with respect to the date on which the catastrophic 
                injury occurred,'' and inserting ``in the same amount 
                that would be payable, as of the date such injury was 
                sustained (including'';
                    (C) by inserting ``, and calculated in accordance 
                with subsection (i)), if such determination were a 
                determination under subsection (a)'' before ``: 
                Provided, That''; and
                    (D) by striking ``necessary:'' and all that follows 
                and inserting ``necessary.'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``$3,000'' and inserting 
        ``$6,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (h),'';
            (4) in subsection (h), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and 
        inserting ``subsections (a) and (b) and the level of the interim 
        benefit payable immediately before such October 1 under 
        subsection (c)'';
            (5) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the following:

    ``(i) The amount payable under subsections (a) and (b), with respect 
to the death or permanent and total disability of a public safety 
officer, shall be the greater of--

[[Page 135 STAT. 1475]]

            ``(1) the amount payable under the relevant subsection as of 
        the date of death or of the catastrophic injury of the public 
        safety officer; or
            ``(2) in any case in which the claim filed thereunder has 
        been pending for more than 365 days at the time of final 
        determination by the Bureau, the amount that would be payable 
        under the relevant subsection if the death or the catastrophic 
        injury of the public safety officer had occurred on the date on 
        which the Bureau makes such final determination.''; and
            (6) in subsection (m), by inserting ``, (b),'' after 
        ``subsection (a)''.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS WITH RESPECT TO PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' DEATH 
                    BENEFITS PROGRAM.

    Section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), 
        (6), (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), 
        (9), (10), (13), and (14), respectively;
            (2) by striking paragraph (4), as so redesignated, and 
        inserting:
            ``(4) `catastrophic injury' means an injury, the direct and 
        proximate result of which is to permanently render an individual 
        functionally incapable (including through a directly and 
        proximately resulting neurocognitive disorder), based on the 
        state of medicine on the date on which the claim is determined 
        by the Bureau, of performing work, including sedentary work: 
        Provided, That, if it appears that a claimant may be 
        functionally capable of performing work--
                    ``(A) the Bureau shall disregard work where any 
                compensation provided is de minimis, nominal, honorary, 
                or mere reimbursement of incidental expenses, such as--
                          ``(i) work that involves ordinary or simple 
                      tasks, that because of the claimed disability, the 
                      claimant cannot perform without significantly more 
                      supervision, accommodation, or assistance than is 
                      typically provided to an individual without the 
                      claimed disability doing similar work;
                          ``(ii) work that involves minimal duties that 
                      make few or no demands on the claimant and are of 
                      little or no economic value to the employer; or
                          ``(iii) work that is performed primarily for 
                      therapeutic purposes and aids the claimant in the 
                      physical or mental recovery from the claimed 
                      disability; and
                    ``(B) the claimant shall be presumed, absent clear 
                and convincing medical evidence to the contrary as 
                determined by the Bureau, to be functionally incapable 
                of performing such work if the direct and proximate 
                result of the injury renders the claimant--
                          ``(i) blind;
                          ``(ii) parapalegic; or
                          ``(iii) quadriplegic;'';
            (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking ``at 
        the time of the public safety officer's fatal or catastrophic 
        injury'' and inserting ``at the time of the public safety 
        officer's death or fatal injury (in connection with any claim 
        predicated upon such death or injury) or the date of the public 
        safety officer's

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        catastrophic injury or of the final determination by the Bureau 
        of any claim predicated upon such catastrophic injury'';
            (4) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by inserting ``, 
        including an individual who, as such a member, engages in scene 
        security or traffic management as the primary or only duty of 
        the individual during emergency response'' before the semicolon;
            (5) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated by striking 
        ``delinquency).,'' and inserting ``delinquency),'';
            (6) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated, by inserting ``, 
        and includes (as may be prescribed by regulation hereunder) a 
        legally organized volunteer fire department that is a nonprofit 
        entity and provides services without regard to any particular 
        relationship (such as a subscription) a member of the public may 
        have with such a department'' before the semicolon;
            (7) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated,--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting:
                    ``(A) <<NOTE: Determination. Certification.>>  an 
                individual serving a public agency in an official 
                capacity, with or without compensation, as a law 
                enforcement officer, as a firefighter, or as a chaplain: 
                Provided, That (notwithstanding section 1205(b)(2) or 
                (3)) the Bureau shall, absent clear and convincing 
                evidence to the contrary as determined by the Bureau, 
                deem the actions outside of jurisdiction taken by any 
                such law enforcement officer or firefighter, to have 
                been taken while serving such public agency in such 
                capacity, in any case in which the principal legal 
                officer of such public agency, and the head of such 
                agency, together, certify that such actions--
                          ``(i) were not unreasonable;
                          ``(ii) would have been within the authority 
                      and line of duty of such law enforcement officer 
                      or such firefighter to take, had they been taken 
                      in a jurisdiction where such law enforcement 
                      officer or firefighter was authorized to act, in 
                      the ordinary course, in an official capacity; and
                          ``(iii) would have resulted in the payment of 
                      full line-of-duty death or disability benefits (as 
                      applicable), if any such benefits typically were 
                      payable by (or with respect to or on behalf of) 
                      such public agency, as of the date the actions 
                      were taken;'';
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), 
                and (E) as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F), 
                respectively;
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) a candidate officer who is engaging in an 
                activity or exercise that itself is a formal or required 
                part of the program in which the candidate officer is 
                enrolled or admitted, as provided in this section;''; 
                and
                    (D) by striking subparagraph (E), as so 
                redesignated, and inserting the following:
                    ``(E) <<NOTE: Determination. Certification.>>  a 
                member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew who, as 
                authorized or licensed by law and by the applicable 
                agency or entity, is engaging in rescue activity or in 
                the provision of emergency medical services: Provided, 
                That (notwithstanding section 1205(b)(2) or (3)) the 
                Bureau shall, absent clear and convincing evidence to 
                the contrary as determined by the Bureau, deem the 
                actions outside of

[[Page 135 STAT. 1477]]

                jurisdiction taken by any such member to have been thus 
                authorized or licensed, in any case in which the 
                principal legal officer of such agency or entity, and 
                the head of such agency or entity, together, certify 
                that such actions--
                          ``(i) were not unreasonable;
                          ``(ii) would have been within the authority 
                      and line of duty of such member to take, had they 
                      been taken in a jurisdiction where such member was 
                      authorized or licensed by law and by a pertinent 
                      agency or entity to act, in the ordinary course; 
                      and
                          ``(iii) would have resulted in the payment of 
                      full line-of-duty death or disability benefits (as 
                      applicable), if any such benefits typically were 
                      payable by (or with respect to or on behalf of) 
                      such applicable agency or entity, as of the date 
                      the action was taken;'';
            (8) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so redesignated, 
        the following new paragraphs:
            ``(1) `action outside of jurisdiction' means an action, not 
        in the course of any compensated employment involving either the 
        performance of public safety activity or the provision of 
        security services, by a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or 
        member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew that--
                    ``(A) was taken in a jurisdiction where--
                          ``(i) the law enforcement officer or 
                      firefighter then was not authorized to act, in the 
                      ordinary course, in an official capacity; or
                          ``(ii) the member of a rescue squad or 
                      ambulance crew then was not authorized or licensed 
                      to act, in the ordinary course, by law or by the 
                      applicable agency or entity;
                    ``(B) then would have been within the authority and 
                line of duty of--
                          ``(i) a law enforcement officer or a 
                      firefighter to take, who was authorized to act, in 
                      the ordinary course, in an official capacity, in 
                      the jurisdiction where the action was taken; or
                          ``(ii) a member of a rescue squad or ambulance 
                      crew to take, who was authorized or licensed by 
                      law and by a pertinent agency or entity to act, in 
                      the ordinary course, in the jurisdiction where the 
                      action was taken; and
                    ``(C) was, in an emergency situation that presented 
                an imminent and significant danger or threat to human 
                life or of serious bodily harm to any individual, 
                taken--
                          ``(i) by a law enforcement officer--
                                    ``(I) to prevent, halt, or respond 
                                to the immediate consequences of a crime 
                                (including an incident of juvenile 
                                delinquency); or
                                    ``(II) while engaging in a rescue 
                                activity or in the provision of 
                                emergency medical services;
                          ``(ii) by a firefighter--
                                    ``(I) while engaging in fire 
                                suppression; or
                                    ``(II) while engaging in a rescue 
                                activity or in the provision of 
                                emergency medical services; or

[[Page 135 STAT. 1478]]

                          ``(iii) by a member of a rescue squad or 
                      ambulance crew, while engaging in a rescue 
                      activity or in the provision of emergency medical 
                      services;
            ``(2) `candidate officer' means an individual who is 
        enrolled or admitted, as a cadet or trainee, in a formal and 
        officially established program of instruction or of training 
        (such as a police or fire academy) that is specifically intended 
        to result upon completion, in the--
                    ``(A) commissioning of such individual as a law 
                enforcement officer;
                    ``(B) conferral upon such individual of official 
                authority to engage in fire suppression (as an officer 
                or employee of a public fire department or as an 
                officially recognized or designated member of a legally 
                organized volunteer fire department); or
                    ``(C) granting to such individual official 
                authorization or license to engage in a rescue activity, 
                or in the provision of emergency medical services, as a 
                member of a rescue squad, or as a member of an ambulance 
                crew that is (or is a part of) the agency or entity that 
                is sponsoring the individual's enrollment or admission;
            ``(3) `blind' means an individual who has central visual 
        acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a 
        correcting lens or whose eye is accompanied by a limitation in 
        the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual 
        field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees;''; and
            (9) in the matter following paragraph (10), as so 
        redesignated, by inserting the following new paragraphs:
            ``(11) `neurocognitive disorder' means a disorder that is 
        characterized by a clinically significant decline in cognitive 
        functioning and may include symptoms and signs such as 
        disturbances in memory, executive functioning (that is, higher-
        level cognitive processes, such as, regulating attention, 
        planning, inhibiting responses, decision-making), visual-spatial 
        functioning, language, speech, perception, insight, judgment, or 
        an insensitivity to social standards; and
            ``(12) `sedentary work' means work that--
                    ``(A) involves lifting articles weighing no more 
                than 10 pounds at a time or occasionally lifting or 
                carrying articles such as docket files, ledgers, or 
                small tools; and
                    ``(B) despite involving sitting on a regular basis, 
                may require walking or standing on an occasional 
                basis.''.
SEC. 4. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS UNDER PUBLIC SAFETY 
                    OFFICERS' DEATH BENEFITS PROGRAM.

    Section 1206(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) is amended by striking ``the 
Bureau may not'' and all that follows and inserting the following: ``the 
Bureau--
            ``(1) <<NOTE: Subpoenas.>>  may use available investigative 
        tools, including subpoenas, to--
                    ``(A) adjudicate or to expedite the processing of 
                the benefit claim, if the Bureau deems such use to be 
                necessary to adjudicate or conducive to expediting the 
                adjudication of such claim; and

[[Page 135 STAT. 1479]]

                    ``(B) obtain information or documentation from third 
                parties, including public agencies, if the Bureau deems 
                such use to be necessary to adjudicate or conducive to 
                expediting the adjudication of a claim; and
            ``(2) may not abandon the benefit claim unless the Bureau 
        has used investigative tools, including subpoenas, to obtain the 
        information or documentation deemed necessary to adjudicate such 
        claim by the Bureau under subparagraph (1)(B).''.
SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC 
                    SAFETY OFFICERS.

    Section 1216(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10306(b)) is amended, in the first 
sentence, by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall (unless prospective 
assistance has been provided)''.
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

     Section 1205(e)(3)(B) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285(e)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 
``subparagraph (B)(ix)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (I)''.
SEC. 7. SUBPOENA POWER.

    Section 806 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10225) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``Attorney General, the'' before the 
        ``Bureau of Justice Assistance'';
            (2) by striking ``may appoint'' and inserting ``may appoint 
        (to be assigned or employed on an interim or as-needed basis) 
        such hearing examiners (who shall, if so designated by the 
        Attorney General, be understood to be comprised within the 
        meaning of ``special government employee'' under section 202 of 
        title 18, United States Code)'';
            (3) by striking ``under this chapter. The'' and inserting 
        ``or other law. The Attorney General, the''; and
            (4) by inserting ``conduct examinations'' after ``examine 
        witnesses,''.
SEC. 8. <<NOTE: 34 USC 10281 note.>>  EFFECTIVE DATE; 
                    APPLICABILITY.

    (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (b) Applicability.--
            (1) Certain injuries.--The amendments made to paragraphs (2) 
        and (7) of section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
        and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) shall apply with 
        respect to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2008.
            (2) Matters pending.--Except as provided in paragraph (1), 
        the amendments made by this Act shall apply to any matter 
        pending, before the Bureau or otherwise, on the date of 
        enactment of this Act, or filed (consistent with pre-existing 
        effective dates) or accruing after that date.

    (c) Effective Date for WTC Responders.--
            (1) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Certain new claims.--Not later than 
        two years after the effective date of this Act, a WTC responder 
        may file a claim, under section 1201(b) of title I of the 
        Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
        10281(b)), that is predicated on a personal injury sustained in 
        the line

[[Page 135 STAT. 1480]]

        of duty by such responder as a result of the September 11, 2001, 
        attacks, where--
                    (A) no claim under such section 1201(b) so 
                predicated has previously been filed; or
                    (B) a claim under such section 1201(b) so predicated 
                had previously been denied, in a final agency 
                determination, on the basis (in whole or in part) that 
                the claimant was not totally disabled.
            (2) <<NOTE: Deadline. Determination.>>  Claims for a 
        deceased wtc responder.--Not later than two years after the 
        effective date of this Act, a claim may be filed, constructively 
        under section 1201(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
        and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281(a)), where a WTC 
        responder who otherwise could have filed a claim pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) has died before such effective date (or dies not 
        later than 365 days after such effective date), or where a WTC 
        responder has filed such a claim but dies while it is pending 
        before the Bureau: Provided, That--
                    (A) no claim under such section 1201(a) otherwise 
                shall have been filed, or determined, in a final agency 
                determination; and
                    (B) if it is determined, in a final agency 
                determination, that a claim under such paragraph (1) 
                would have been payable had the WTC responder not died, 
                then the WTC responder shall irrebutably be presumed 
                (solely for purposes of determining to whom benefits 
                otherwise pursuant to such paragraph (1) may be payable 
                under the claim filed constructively under such section 
                1201(a)) to have died as the direct and proximate result 
                of the injury on which the claim under such paragraph 
                (1) would have been predicated.
            (3) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Difference in benefit pay.--In the 
        event that a claim under section 1201(b) of title I of the 
        Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
        10281(b)) and predicated on an injury sustained in the line of 
        duty by a WTC responder as a result of the September 11, 2001, 
        attacks was approved, in a final agency determination, before 
        the effective date of this Act, the Bureau shall, upon 
        application filed (not later than three years after such 
        effective date of this Act) by the payee (or payees) indicated 
        in subparagraphs (A) or (B), pay a bonus in the amount of the 
        difference (if any) between the amount that was paid pursuant to 
        such determination and the amount that would have been payable 
        had the amendments made by this Act, other than those indicated 
        in subsection (b)(1), been in effect on the date of such 
        determination--
                    (A) <<NOTE: Determination.>>  to the WTC responder, 
                if living on the date the application is determined, in 
                a final agency determination; or
                    (B) if the WTC responder is not living on the date 
                indicated in subparagraph (A), to the individual (or 
                individuals), if living on such date, to whom benefits 
                would have been payable on such date under section 
                1201(a) of such title I (34 U.S.C. 10281(a)) had the 
                application been, instead, a claim under such section 
                1201(a).
            (4) <<NOTE: Determination.>>  Special limited rule of 
        construction.--A claim filed pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) 
        shall be determined as though the date of catastrophic injury of 
        the public safety officer were

[[Page 135 STAT. 1481]]

        the date of enactment of this Act, for purposes of determining 
        the amount that may be payable.
SEC. 9. <<NOTE: Time period.>>  SAFEGUARDING AMERICA'S FIRST 
                    RESPONDERS.

    Section 3 of Safeguarding America's First Responders Act of 2020 
(Public Law 116-157) <<NOTE: 34 USC 10281 note.>>  is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``between January 1, 
        2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period 
        beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination 
        date'' and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``between January 1, 
        2020, and December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``during the period 
        beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the termination 
        date''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:

    ``(c) Termination Date.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`termination date' means the earlier of--
            ``(1) the date on which the public health emergency declared 
        by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 
        of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 
        2020, with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), 
        expires; and
            ``(2) December 31, 2023.''.

    Approved November 18, 2021.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1511:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 167 (2021):
            June 10, considered and passed Senate.
            Oct. 27, considered and passed House, amended.
            Nov. 4, Senate concurred in House amendment.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2021):
            Nov. 18, Presidential remarks.

                                  <all>