Bipartisan Senate Coalition Pushes for Federal Benefits to Address PTSD
Seth Wenig | AP
Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX) recently introduced legislation to assist families of fallen law enforcement officers in qualifying for benefits in the event an officer committed suicide after suffering a work-related injury. A traumatic event and medical diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) would be designated as a line-of-duty injury in the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022 (S.3635).
At present, officer disabilities or deaths as a result of suicide or post-traumatic stress disorder do not qualify for the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB). In the line of duty, law enforcement members also encounter invisible wounds inflicted by traumatic events, Senator Cornyn explained.
"That's why it's critical these men and women have easy access to mental health resources and families of officers who have died by suicide receive the benefits they are entitled to," Senator Cornyn continued, "This important bill will offer both support as well as closure to those who need it, and I'm proud to join Sen. Duckworth in introducing this legislation."
The proposed legislation would change the eligibility criteria for PSOB benefits, which the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance administers. The program provides cash benefits to law enforcement officers and other first responders who are killed in the line of duty or become disabled because of such injuries.
Congress became interested in addressing this issue in the months following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, with four police officers who responded to the insurrection dying by suicide. To remedy this problem, the bill would designate PTSD or acute stress disorder as a line-of-duty injury for benefits purposes if a police officer experienced a traumatic event while on duty and thereafter received a diagnosis from a qualified medical professional or sought help from a crisis center. For officers responding to mass casualty or mass death events, the bill would also establish a presumption of injury.
“There's a whole culture of just, you know, shaking it off. Our first responders, our police officers in particular, need to be told that it's OK to ask for help,” Senator Duckworth noted.
According to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), the measure would help reduce a historic increase in law enforcement suicides and align civilian federal benefits with military benefits.
“With the historic increase in law enforcement suicides, it is imperative that we recognize the impact of this high stress working environment on our officers’ mental health and well-being,” stated Larry Cosme, FLEOA National President, “Regrettably, law enforcement in the United States is just beginning to understand, comprehend, and address officer mental health and wellness issues.”
In a statement, the Fraternal Order of Police applauded the legislation that acknowledges the connection between suicide and service-connected mental health issues of law enforcement officers.
“As a profession, we are doing a very good job at protecting our officers’ physical safety by providing them with tools like anti-ballistic body armor. Until recently, however, we have done a very poor job recognizing or addressing the tremendous mental stress our officers endure as a consequence of their service and the negative impact the job has on their physical, emotional, and mental health,” stated Patrick Yoes, FOP’s National President, “It is time to recognize that long-term exposure to mental stress and traumatic events over the course of service can inflict ‘invisible injuries’ on the men and women in law enforcement.”