Courtney’s Bill to Provide Fire Police with Death Benefits Passes House
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday evening, legislation introduced by Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) to extend public safety officer death benefits to local fire police was officially passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. What began in 2011 at the Gales Ferry Fire Company in Ledyard as an effort to support eastern Connecticut fire police officers, cleared one of its final steps towards completion yesterday when Courtney's bill—the Fire Police Fairness Act—was included as part of the Protecting America's First Responders Act of 2021 (S. 1511), which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
With inclusion of Courtney's legislation in S. 1511, fire police officers across the U.S. would be made eligible for support through the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Safety Officer's Benefit (PSOB) program. The PSOB program provides first responders who die or are permanently disabled in the line of duty with a federal benefit of $370,000, and education assistance of $1,200 a month to their children or spouse. S. 1511 was passed with unanimous support in the Senate on June 10th, and it passed the House last night in a bipartisan landslide, 420-3. The Senate must consider the bill once more to resolve minor differences before the bill can be sent to President Biden's desk for signature.
"This ‘Protecting America's First Responders Act' bill was a long, long battle in recognizing our great men and women, who are proudly serving their towns, cities, and communities as first responders," said Fire Chief Anthony Saccone of the Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Company. "As fire police officers, their efforts keep other first responders safe, and keep residents out of harm's way. These men and women will soon be eligible for benefits if permanently disabled, or their families will receive a death benefit if they die in the line of duty, thanks in great part to Representative Joe Courtney.
"Our local fire police and firefighters here in eastern Connecticut deserve every ounce of credit for advancing this effort, and soon they're going to get the win—this bill is set to become law," said Congressman Courtney. "It's taken ten years of consistent effort, but thanks the persistence of people like Fire Chief Tony Saccone and to firefighters from towns all across our region, fire police and their families throughout the U.S. are soon going to be eligible for the benefits they deserve. Fire police respond to emergencies right alongside police and fire services—they put themselves in harm's way to protect our communities, and they deserve the same assurance that other public safety officers have that our country is going to honor their service if, God forbid, they are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. At a time when we need to be doing all we can to support our public safety and law enforcement officers, ensuring America's fire police and their families are eligible for these critical benefits is the right thing to do.
"Bipartisan victories in Washington don't often make headlines these days," Courtney continued, "but we've found success from our corner of Connecticut in bipartisan wins for our local schools, our manufacturing sector, servicemembers, student loan-borrowers, and more. After ten years of pressing forward on this effort, I'm proud of how far we've come to secure this win for our fire police, and I'm looking forward to celebrating the victory once and for all with Chief Saccone and the crew at Gales Ferry Fire Company."
The Protecting America's First Responders Act includes Rep. Courtney's bill to extend public safety officer death benefits to America's fire police officers through the Department of Justice's PSOB program. With Courtney's legislation included, eligible beneficiaries of fire police officers will be able to receive benefits retroactive to 2008. The bill will also provide for retroactive disability benefits for officers who responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, address delays in benefit claims, and more. Click here to read more.
A 10-Year Effort to Secure Benefits for Fire Police Officers
The PSOB program provides a one-time benefit to survivors of public safety officers whose deaths resulted from injuries sustained in the line of duty. It also provides a one-time benefit to public safety officers who were permanently and totally disabled because of a catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty. Fire police officers provide invaluable emergency response services in fourteen states, including Connecticut, but because there is no uniform national designation for fire police, many of them face additional and unnecessary hurdles in accessing benefits that other public safety officers receive.
Rep. Courtney learned about the issue in 2011 while working with firefighters at the Gales Ferry Fire Company in Ledyard, CT. Gales Ferry Fire Chief Tony Saccone brought the matter to Courtney's attention, stating that PSOB "doesn't recognize a fire policeman who daily puts his life on the line directing traffic away from emergencies." Click here to read more.
In April of 2011, during the 112th Congress, Courtney authored and introduced the Fire Police Fairness Act to extend public safety officer death benefits to fire police. He joined firefighters, fire police, and other first responders at the Gales Ferry Firehouse to officially announce the start of the new effort.
Courtney announced the introduction of the Fire Police Fairness Act along with fire police, firefighters, and first responders at Gales Ferry Firehouse in April 2011
The bill was bipartisan from the start, and Courtney has continued working to build support for the effort since then. In 2013, during the 113th Congress, Courtney made another push to secure benefits for fire police officers. Courtney reintroduced the Fire Police Fairness Act in May of 2013, and again joined Gales Ferry Fire Chief Saccone, along with fire police from companies in Hebron, Mystic, North Stonington, Waterford, and more to announce the renewed effort.
Courtney joined Chief Saccone, fire police, and firefighters again in 2013 to renew the push for fairness for fire police officers
Rep. Courtney reintroduced the Fire Police Fairness Act again in 2017 and 2019, each time with support from both sides of the aisle. In April of this year, the Protecting America's First Responders Act was introduced to the Senate by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) as S. 1511, and to the House by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-09) as H.R. 2936. The bill sought to make important improvements to the Department of Justice's PSOB program—in part by incorporating Rep. Courtney's Fire Police Fairness Act.
In addition to accomplishing Rep. Courtney's effort to extend PSOB benefits to fire police, the Protecting America's First Responders Act expands the definition of "covered disabilities", provides retroactive disability benefits for officers who responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, addresses delays in benefit claims, and more.
With Rep. Courtney's legislation included, the Senate voted to pass the Protecting America's First Responders Act (S. 1511) by unanimous consent on June 10th. Last night, the House voted to pass the bill in a bipartisan landslide, 420–3. The Senate must briefly consider the bill once more to resolve minor technical differences, which would clear the bill to be sent to the president.
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