In a significant victory for NAPO and the law enforcement community, the Senate unanimously passed H.R. 6943, the Public Safety Officer Support Act Aug. 1. The bill is now headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act, which passed the House May 18 by a vote of 402-17, will make post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a line-of-duty injury under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program.

Once enacted, this Act will ensure officers who suffer from PTSD and those who take or attempt to take their own life as a result of on-duty trauma will be eligible under the program. The bill would cover officers who die by trauma-linked suicide by directing the PSOB Program to presume suicides are a result of job duties in certain circumstances, including a mass casualty event, where there is evidence PTSD would be caused by the trauma.

“NAPO is proud to have developed and support the Public Safety Officer Support Act and we thank Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and Representatives David Trone (D-MD) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) for championing this important issue and for all their efforts to get this bill across the finish line,” wrote Andrea Edmiston, NAPO’s Director of Governmental Affairs, in an email to members. “We also thank Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) for their support in getting this bill passed by the Senate. We look forward to seeing the Public Safety Officer Support Act signed into law.”

On Aug. 1, the Senate also passed by unanimous consent the following NAPO-supported Acts: TBI & PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act, Fighting PTSD Act, Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act, Invest to Protect Act, and Stronger Communities Act