"Our public safety officials dedicate their lives to taking care of our safety needs," said Senator Collins. "The least we can do is reassure them that their loved ones will receive needed benefits in the tragic event they are killed in the line of duty."
The Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program provides financial assistance to the survivors of public safety officers killed in the line of duty, as well as to officers permanently disabled while on the job. Specifically, the program provides a one-time death benefit payment to the survivors of a public safety officer who has died as a "direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty." This "direct and proximate result" language has made it difficult for some survivors of officers who die of a heart attack or stroke to qualify for benefits.
The Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefit Act would create a presumption that if an officer suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty or within 24-hours of participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation, he or she has died as a direct and proximate result of an injury sustained in the line of duty. This legislation will benefit all public safety officials, but particularly fire fighters. The International Association of Fire Chiefs reports that heart attacks and strokes cause half of all firefighter deaths in the line of duty.
This legislation is supported by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, and others.