Kaine Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bipartisan Bill to Support the Families of Public Safety Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in introducing a bill to support the families of officers who struggle with their mental health or who are lost to trauma-linked suicides — such as the families of Virginia Officers Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood, who died by suicide after the January 6 attack on democracy. These families are struggling to receive the benefits they deserve because federal law currently limits the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program to only cover physical injuries — completely excluding any support for mental health concerns. U.S. Representative David Trone (D-MD-06) has introduced bipartisan companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“January 6 underscored the tragic toll that violent events take on law enforcement officers,” said Senator Kaine. “We owe our law enforcement officers a tremendous debt of gratitude. I’m glad to help introduce this bipartisan legislation to ensure the families of Virginian Officers Howie Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, and other officers who we’ve lost to trauma-linked suicide can access critical support and benefits.”

Earlier this month, Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, highlighted in a HELP hearing the barriers to mental health support and benefits that law enforcement officers and their families face, and pushed for support for the families of Virginian Officers Howard Liebengood and Jeffrey Smith. The PSOB provides financial support to the families of firefighters, police officers, chaplains, and emergency medical technicians who die in the line of duty or who have been permanently disabled as a result of a physical injury, including physical ailments that result from the stress of the job such as heart attacks. While the U.S. military already recognizes suicides by servicemembers as deaths in the line of the duty, the PSOB does not.

Specifically, the Public Safety Officer Support Act would:

• Create an avenue for officers to seek disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by directing the PSOB to designate work-related PTSD and acute stress disorder as a line of duty injury for eligible officers, as well as those who are permanently disabled as a result of attempted suicide.
• Allow families of officers who die by trauma-linked suicide to apply for death benefits by directing the PSOB to presume that suicides are a result of job duties in certain traumatic circumstances where there is evidence that PTSD or acute stress disorder would be the cause of the injury.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Association of Police Organizations, Sergeants Benevolent Association, National Sheriffs Association, Blue H.EL.P, the National Border Patrol Council, United States Capitol Police Labor Committee, and American Psychological Association.

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