Washington, D.C. – On December 15th, President Bush signed into law the Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act (S. 459/H.R. 919), which will expand the Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program to cover public safety officers who die of heart attacks or strokes in the line of duty.
The legislation was originally introduced in the House by Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC), along with Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Michael Oxley (R-OH), and Curt Weldon (R-PA). In the Senate the effort was spearheaded by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), along with Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT).
The PSOB program currently provides a one-time death benefit payment of $267,494, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, to families of public safety officers (fire, police and EMS) killed in the line of duty, as well as to officers permanently disabled while on duty. The death benefit is payable to the survivors of a public safety officer who “has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty.
Unfortunately, in almost every incidence of death by heart attack or stroke, it has been ruled that the heart attack or stroke was not a direct result of an injury sustained in the line of duty and the family receives no benefits even though the deaths were clearly triggered by the rigors of the job.
The Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefit Act will correct that deficiency in the law, by ensuring that a public safety officer who suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty or not later than 24 hours after participating in a physical training exercise or responding to an emergency situation, is presumed to have died in the line of duty for purposes of public safety officer survivor benefits.
This legislation is not retroactive and will only cover cases from December 15, 2003 forward.
