Bill Summary
The "Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Expansion Act of 2026" seeks to enhance the benefits structure for public safety officers and their families, particularly in cases of death or disability resulting from line-of-duty injuries. This legislation amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and includes several key provisions:
1. **Eligibility and Claims Processing**: The legislation mandates that the Bureau must notify claimants of any missing information within 90 days and make eligibility determinations within 270 days. If these deadlines are not met, interim benefits will be provided to eligible claimants.
2. **Outreach and Awareness**: It requires ongoing outreach efforts to ensure that public safety officers, especially disabled individuals and families of deceased officers, are informed about available benefits and support programs.
3. **Claims Audits**: Annual audits by the Comptroller General will evaluate the status of claims pending for over a year, assessing delays and the efficacy of outreach initiatives.
4. **Subpoena Authority**: The Bureau is empowered to issue subpoenas to public agencies for information required to process claims that are not provided in a timely manner.
5. **Disability Benefits**: The act establishes benefits for public safety officers with permanent but not total disabilities, ensuring they receive financial support equivalent to half of what would be payable for total disability. It also allows for progression to total disability benefits if conditions worsen within three years.
6. **Interim Payments**: The Bureau can authorize interim payments of up to $6,000 for claims concerning death or disability while final determinations are being made.
7. **Clarifications and Technical Amendments**: The legislation clarifies various definitions related to claims processing and includes technical corrections for consistency across the statute.
Overall, this legislation aims to improve the efficiency, accessibility, and support for public safety officers and their families, ensuring timely benefits during challenging circumstances.
Possible Impacts
1. **Improved Financial Support for Families of Fallen Officers**: The legislation ensures that families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty will receive timely financial support. Claimants will be notified of any missing information within 90 days and will receive a determination of eligibility within 270 days. If there are delays in the process, interim benefits will be issued, providing essential financial relief to families during a challenging time.
2. **Access to Benefits for Permanently Disabled Officers**: Public safety officers who suffer from permanent disabilities due to work-related injuries will have access to benefits that provide half the amount payable for total disability, as long as they are unable to perform any gainful work. This ensures that officers who are not completely disabled but still unable to work receive necessary financial support, enhancing their quality of life and stability.
3. **Increased Accountability and Transparency in Claims Processing**: The legislation mandates annual audits to assess claims that have been pending for over a year, which will identify processing delays and improve overall outreach efforts. Additionally, the Bureau's new subpoena authority allows it to obtain necessary information from public agencies, ensuring that claims are adjudicated efficiently and fairly. This increases transparency and accountability in the benefits process, ultimately benefiting claimants.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7718 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7718
To revise administrative procedures relating to public safety officers'
death benefits, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2026
Mr. Weber of Texas (for himself and Mr. Min) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To revise administrative procedures relating to public safety officers'
death benefits, and for other purposes.
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 ``Officer John Barnes and Chief
Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Expansion Act
of 2026''.
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS.
(a) In General.--Section 1205 of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)(2)(E), by inserting ``, including
whether the delay is due to the inaction of the claimant or the
failure to cooperate of an agency from which information is
required'' after ``basis for delay''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Notice and Interim Benefits.--
``(1) Notice of missing information.--Not later than 90
calendar days after receiving a claim filed under this subpart,
the Bureau shall notify the claimant or the relevant agency of
any missing information required to process the claim.
``(2) Notice of determination.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 270 calendar days
after receiving a complete claim, the Bureau shall
inform the claimant of the Bureau's determination as to
the claimant's benefit eligibility.
``(B) Interim benefits as notice.--Provision of
interim benefits under section 1201(d) shall be deemed
to be notice under subparagraph (A).
``(3) Interim benefits.--
``(A) Entitlement.--If the Bureau fails to inform a
claimant of the Bureau's determination on or before the
date that is 270 calendar days after receiving a
complete claim, the Bureau shall issue a single interim
benefit payment with respect to the claim, payable only
to--
``(i) a claimant whose status as an
eligible beneficiary is undisputed; or
``(ii) if beneficiary status remains
unresolved, an escrow or fiduciary account,
pending final determination under section 1201.
``(B) Rescission or repayment.--Any interim
benefits paid under this subsection--
``(i) shall be credited against any final
benefit determination made under section 1201;
``(ii) shall not be subject to recoupment
or affirmative repayment by the Bureau, except
in cases of fraud or material
misrepresentation; and
``(iii) shall not be construed to create an
entitlement to benefits if the claimant or
decedent is determined to be ineligible under
this part.
``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to--
``(A) limit the Bureau's authority to deny a claim
for failure to meet statutory eligibility requirements;
``(B) alter the determination of eligible
beneficiaries under section 1201; or
``(C) require payment of interim benefits to
multiple claimants if the statute authorizes payment to
only 1 or more mutually exclusive beneficiaries.
``(g) Outreach.--The Bureau shall--
``(1) conduct outreach efforts on an ongoing basis to
ensure that public safety officers and underserved public
agencies are aware of the program under this part, including
outreach efforts for disabled public safety officers; and
``(2) include in the outreach efforts under paragraph (1)
regular communications with national public safety
organizations, public safety agencies, and organizations
supporting disabled public safety officers and the families of
fallen officers.
``(h) Summary of Backlogged Claims.--Not later than 30 days after
publishing the report required under subsection (e)(2), the Bureau
shall submit a summary of the information required to be reported under
subsection (e)(2)(E) to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
``(i) Audit of Backlogged Claims.--On an annual basis, the
Comptroller General shall conduct an audit of any pending claims under
this part that were submitted to the Bureau more than 1 year before the
date on which the audit is commenced, to identify programmatic
challenges to the timely processing of death, disability, and
educational assistance claims. As part of the audit, the Comptroller
General shall also review--
``(1) where the claim is in the determination process;
``(2) the reasons for delay, including any processes, such
as legal review, that prevent timely processing of claims;
``(3) whether the agency has used its subpoena authority
for the claims;
``(4) the frequency of outreach to the claimant and efforts
to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of outreach and
claims assistance efforts;
``(5) the efforts of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to
implement a claims processing manual to ensure consistency
across staff in determining claims; and
``(6) efforts to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of
outreach and claims assistance efforts.''.
(b) Subpoena Requirement.--Section 1206(b) of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) with respect to information or documentation in the
possession of a public agency that the Bureau has determined is
necessary to adjudicate the claim that the public agency has
failed to provide by the date that is 30 days after the date of
the Bureau's or the claimant's request to provide the
information or documentation, shall issue a subpoena to the
public agency to obtain the information or documentation,
unless the Bureau has approved an extension not exceeding 60
days.''.
(c) Definitions.--
(1) In general.--Section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``or gainful work as a public
safety officer'' after ``including sedentary
work'' each place it appears; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking
``parapalegic'' and inserting ``paraplegic'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8)
and paragraphs (8) through (14) as paragraphs (10)
through (16), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) `complete claim' means any claim that--
``(A) contains all required documents from the
claimant and the relevant agency for processing; and
``(B) has been assigned a claim number by the
Bureau;''; and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (8), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(9) `gainful work' means gainful work activity, as
defined in section 416.972 of title 20, Code of Federal
Regulations, or successor regulation;''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Internal revenue code.--Section 402(l)(4)(C) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
striking ``(9)(A)'' each place it appears.
(B) Title 28.--Section 1863(b)(5)(B) of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``section
1203(6)'' and inserting ``section 1204''.
SEC. 3. BENEFITS FOR PERMANENT AND PARTIAL DISABILITY.
(a) 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--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (q) as
subsections (d) through (r), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Benefits for Permanent and Partial Disability With Inability
To Continue Previous Work.--
``(1) In general.--In accordance with regulations issued
pursuant to this part, in any case in which the Bureau
determines that a public safety officer has become permanently,
but not totally, disabled as the direct and proximate result of
a personal injury sustained in the line of duty that has caused
a physical or mental impairment of such severity that the
public safety officer is prevented from performing any gainful
work as a public safety officer, including if the individual is
medically retired by the public safety agency, a benefit shall
be payable to the public safety officer (if living on the date
on which the determination is made) of half of the amount that
would be payable, as of the date such injury was sustained
(including as adjusted in accordance with subsection (i), and
calculated in accordance with subsection (j)), if such
determination were a determination under subsection (a).
``(2) Progression of disability.--If, not later than 3
years after the date of sustaining the injury described in
paragraph (1), the severity of the impairment of the public
safety officer progresses to that of permanent and total
disability, as described in subsection (b), the public safety
officer may apply for a benefit under that subsection and, if
the Bureau determines that a permanent and total disability
exists, the Bureau shall pay the public safety officer a
benefit in the amount of the benefit to which the public safety
officer would have been entitled under that subsection, less
any benefit provided under this subsection.
``(3) Offset in the event of death.--If a public safety
officer who has received a benefit under this subsection
subsequently dies as a direct and proximate result of the same
line-of-duty injury, any death benefit payable under subsection
(a) shall be reduced by the amount of any benefit previously
paid under this subsection.
``(4) Rule of construction.--
``(A) Availability of benefits.--Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to affect the
availability of full benefits under subsection (a) or
(b), nor shall this subsection apply to temporary
disabilities or injuries that do not result in
permanent impairment at the time of filing.
``(B) Determination.--A determination under this
subsection shall not constitute a final determination
with respect to eligibility for benefits under
subsection (b).'';
(3) by striking subsection (d), and inserting the
following:
``(d) Interim Payment.--Whenever the Bureau determines upon showing
of need and prior to final action that the disability or death of a
public safety officer is one with respect to which a benefit will
probably be paid, the Bureau may make an interim benefit payment not
exceeding $6,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (i), to the
individual entitled to receive a benefit under subsection (a), (b), or
(c) of this section.''; and
(4) in subsection (j), as so redesignated, by striking
``subsections (a) and (b)'' and inserting ``subsections (a),
(b), and (c)''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) In general.--Part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.)
is amended--
(A) in section 1201--
(i) in subsection (a), by striking
``adjusted in accordance with subsection (h),
and calculated in accordance with subsection
(i)'' and inserting ``adjusted in accordance
with subsection (i), and calculated in
accordance with subsection (j)'';
(ii) in subsection (b), by striking
``adjusted in accordance with subsection (h),
and calculated in accordance with subsection
(i)'' and inserting ``adjusted in accordance
with subsection (i), and calculated in
accordance with subsection (j)'';
(iii) in subsection (d), as so
redesignated, by striking ``subsection (h)''
and inserting ``subsection (i)'';
(iv) in subsection (e), as so redesignated,
by striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (d)'';
(v) in subsection (i), as so redesignated--
(I) by striking ``subsection (c)''
and inserting ``subsection (d)''; and
(II) by striking ``subsections (a)
and (b)'' and inserting ``subsections
(a), (b), and (c)'';
(vi) in subsection (j), as so redesignated,
by striking ``and total'' after ``death or
permanent'';
(vii) in subsection (m), as so
redesignated, by striking ``subsection (k)''
and inserting ``subsection (l)'';
(viii) in subsection (n), as so
redesignated, by striking ``subsection (a),
(b), or (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (a),
(b), (c), or (d)'';
(ix) in subsection (p)(3), as so
redesignated--
(I) in the paragraph heading, by
striking ``and total disability'' and
inserting ``or permanent disability'';
(II) in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking
``subsection (a) or (b)'' and inserting
``subsection (a), (b), or (c)'';
(III) in subparagraph (A), by
striking ``and total'' after ``death or
permanent''; and
(IV) in subparagraph (B), by
striking ``and total'' after ``death or
permanent''; and
(x) in subsection (r)(2)(A), as so
redesignated--
(I) by striking ``subsection (a) or
(b)'' and inserting ``subsection (a),
(b), or (c)''; and
(II) by striking ``and total'' each
place it appears; and
(B) in section 1205(e)--
(i) in paragraph (2), by striking
``(f)(3)'' and inserting ``(g)(3)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking
``(f)(3)'' and inserting ``(g)(3)''.
(2) Other amendments.--
(A) Public safety officer support act.--Section
3(b)(2) of the Public Safety Officer Support Act of
2022 (34 U.S.C. 10281 note; Public Law 117-172; 136
Stat. 2101) is amended--
(i) by striking ``section 1201(o)'' and
inserting ``section 1201(p)''; and
(ii) by striking ``January 1, 2019'' and
inserting ``January 1, 2018''.
(B) Dale long public safety officers' benefits
improvements act of 2012.--Section 1086(d)(2)(B) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013
(Public Law 112-239; 126 Stat. 1969) is amended by
striking ``Section 1201(k)'' and inserting ``Section
1201(l)''.
(C) USA patriot act of 2001.--Section 611(a) of the
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism Act of 2001 (34 U.S.C. 10286(a)) is amended
by striking ``and total'' after ``producing
permanent''.
(D) NDAA fy26.--Section 8204(b)(2) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public
Law 119-60) is amended by striking ``section 1201(p)''
and inserting ``section 1201(q)''.
SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PAYMENT FOR VCF OR WTCHP DETERMINATIONS.
Section 1205(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285(b)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(4) In making determinations under section 1201(a), the
Bureau shall, absent clear and convincing evidence to the
contrary, as determined by the Bureau, approve any claim if the
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (49 U.S.C.
40101 note; Public Law 107-42) (commonly referred to as the
`VCF') or the World Trade Center Health Program under title
XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm et
seq.) provides a certification of facts that--
``(A) the claim is eligible for death benefits
under the Victim Compensation Fund; or
``(B) the cause of claimant's death is a World
Trade Center Health Program-related condition.''.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN GAO RECOMMENDATIONS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Attorney General shall ensure that the Director of the Bureau of
Justice Assistance implements the recommendations provided in the
report of the Government Accountability Office entitled ``Public Safety
Officers' Benefits Program: Transparency, Claims Assistance, and
Program Management Improvements Needed'' (GAO-24-105549), published on
September 27, 2024.
SEC. 6. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act shall be
construed as expanding or altering any benefits available to dependents
under subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10281 et seq.).
<all>