Sponsors (15)
Official title: Revise administrative procedures relating to public safety officers' death benefits, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 24, 2026 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress February 24, 2026
The bill speeds and increases near‑term financial support and program transparency for public safety officers and their families (through interim payments, a new partial‑disability benefit, outreach, and stronger oversight) but raises taxpayer costs, increases administrative burdens, and elevates the risk of improper payments when external certifications are given decisive weight.
Law-enforcement officers and their families receive faster, more reliable interim and partial-disability payments (including an indexed interim cap) and routine protections against clawback, giving immediate financial relief while claims are decided.
Officers with permanent but not total disabilities get a new recurring partial-disability benefit equal to half the full death/total-disability amount, and can apply within 3 years for full permanent-total disability pay if their condition worsens (with the Bureau paying any additional difference).
The bill increases transparency and program oversight—defining 'complete claim' and deadlines, requiring GAO audits of older pending claims, and directing DOJ to implement GAO recommendations—aimed at faster, more consistent adjudication and fewer administrative errors for claimants.
Taxpayers face increased near‑term costs from mandatory interim payments, indexed interim caps, and expansion of partial-disability benefits.
Giving near‑decisive weight to VCF and WTC certifications and raising the standard to 'clear and convincing' for contrary findings increases the risk of improper or fraudulent payments that are harder to overturn.
The bill increases administrative workload and coordination burdens across federal, state, and local agencies (e.g., subpoena/records demands, new BJA responsibilities, DOJ implementation work, and provider coordination), potentially slowing other work and raising implementation costs.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Creates a new partial-disability PSOB benefit, sets 90/270-day adjudication and interim-payment rules, and gives controlling weight to VCF/WTC Health Program certifications while requiring GAO recommendation implementation.
Creates a new partial-disability benefit for public safety officers who are permanently but not totally disabled and strengthens the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program by imposing deadlines and interim-payment rules for claim adjudication, requiring outreach and audits, and giving controlling evidentiary weight to certifications from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program. It also directs implementation of GAO recommendations to improve transparency and claims management and preserves existing dependent benefit rules.