Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program Expansion Act of 2026”.
Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program Expansion Act of 2026
AN ACT
To revise administrative procedures relating to public safety officers' death benefits, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Eligibility determination for public safety officer benefits
In general— Section 1205 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285) is amended—
in subsection (e)(2)(E), by inserting “, including whether the delay is due to the inaction of the claimant or an agency from which information is required” after “basis for delay”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(f) Notice and interim benefits
“(1) Notice of missing information—Not later than 90 calendar days after receiving a claim filed under this subpart, the Bureau shall notify the claimant or the relevant agency of any missing information required to process the claim.
“(2) Notice of determination
“(A) In general—Not later than 270 calendar days after receiving all information required to process the claim, the Bureau shall inform the claimant of the Bureau’s final, appealable determination as to the claimant’s benefit eligibility.
“(B) Interim benefits as notice—Provision of interim benefits under section 1201(c) shall be deemed to be notice under subparagraph (A).
“(3) Interim benefits
“(A) Entitlement—If the Bureau fails to inform a claimant of the Bureau's determination on or before the date that is 270 calendar days after receiving all information required to process the claim, the Bureau shall issue a single interim benefit payment with respect to the claim, payable only to—
“(i) a claimant whose status as an eligible beneficiary is undisputed; or
“(ii) if beneficiary status remains unresolved, an escrow or fiduciary account, pending final determination under section 1201.
“(B) Rescission or repayment—Any interim benefits paid under this subsection—
“(i) shall be credited against any final benefit determination made under section 1201;
“(ii) shall not be subject to recoupment or affirmative repayment by the Bureau, except in cases of fraud or material misrepresentation; and
“(iii) shall not be construed to create an entitlement to benefits if the claimant or decedent is determined to be ineligible under this part.
“(4) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to—
“(A) limit the Bureau's authority to deny a claim for failure to meet statutory eligibility requirements;
“(B) alter the determination of eligible beneficiaries under section 1201; or
“(C) require payment of interim benefits to multiple claimants if the statute authorizes payment to only 1 or more mutually exclusive beneficiaries.
“(g) Outreach—The Bureau shall—
“(1) conduct outreach efforts on an ongoing basis to ensure that public safety officers and underserved public agencies are aware of the program under this part, including outreach efforts for disabled public safety officers; and
“(2) include in the outreach efforts under paragraph (1) regular communications with national public safety organizations, public safety agencies, and organizations supporting disabled public safety officers and the families of fallen officers.
“(h) Summary of backlogged claims—Not later than 30 days after publishing the report required under subsection (e)(2), the Bureau shall submit a summary of the information required to be reported under subsection (e)(2)(E) to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
“(i) Audit of backlogged claims—On an annual basis, the Comptroller General shall conduct an audit of any pending claims under this part that were submitted to the Bureau more than 1 year before the date on which the audit is commenced, to identify programmatic challenges to the timely processing of death, disability, and educational assistance claims. As part of the audit, the Comptroller General shall also review—
“(1) where the claim is in the determination process;
“(2) the reasons for delay, including any processes, such as legal review, that prevent timely processing of claims;
“(3) whether the agency has used its subpoena authority for the claims;
“(4) the frequency of outreach to the claimant and efforts to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of outreach and claims assistance efforts;
“(5) the efforts of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement a claims processing manual to ensure consistency across staff in determining claims; and
“(6) efforts to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of outreach and claims assistance efforts.”
Subpoena requirement— Section 1206(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10288(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) with respect to information or documentation in the possession of a public agency that the Bureau has determined is necessary to adjudicate the claim that the public agency has failed to provide by the date that is 30 days after the date of the Bureau's or the claimant's request to provide the information or documentation, shall issue a subpoena to the public agency to obtain the information or documentation, unless the Bureau has approved an extension not exceeding 60 days.”
Definitions—
In general— Section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284) is amended—
in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by striking “parapalegic” and inserting “paraplegic”;
by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (14) as paragraphs (9) through (15), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
“(8) “gainful work” means gainful work activity, as defined in section 32.23 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regulation;”
Conforming amendments—
Internal Revenue Code— Section 402(l)(4)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking “(42 U.S.C. 3796b(9)(A))”.
Title 28— Section 1863(b)(5)(B) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking “section 1203(6)” and inserting “section 1204”.
Sec. 3 Expedited payment for VCF or WTCHP determinations
Section 1205(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10285(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(4) In making determinations under section 1201(a), the Bureau shall, absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, as determined by the Bureau, approve any claim if the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note; Public Law 107–42) (commonly referred to as the “VCF”) or the World Trade Center Health Program under title XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm et seq.) provides a certification of facts that—
“(A) the claim is eligible for death benefits under the Victim Compensation Fund; or
“(B) the cause of claimant's death is a World Trade Center Health Program-related condition.”
Sec. 4 Implementation of certain GAO recommendations
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall ensure that the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance implements the recommendations provided in the report of the Government Accountability Office entitled “Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program: Transparency, Claims Assistance, and Program Management Improvements Needed” (GAO–24–105549), published on September 27, 2024.