As 9/11 Anniversary Approaches, Etheridge, Hoyer Launch Bill to Honor Firefighters, First Responders

随着9/11临近的周年纪念日，美国众议员鲍勃·埃瑟里奇（D-NC）和斯泰尼·霍耶（D-MD）今天介绍了《家乡英雄幸存者福利法》。

This legislation is rooted in North Carolina, born out of a letter written to Etheridge by a concerned constituent.

The legislation would extend the current Public Safety Officer Benefits Program to public safety officers, including police officers, firefighters, EMS workers and other first responders, who die of heart attacks or strokes while on duty. Heart attacks and strokes represent a significant risk among public safety officers, accounting for nearly half of firefighter deaths each year.

埃瑟里奇说：“在北卡罗来纳州，我们知道我们的家乡英雄，我们的消防员，警察，我们的急救人员，确保我们的家人和社区安全。”“这项立法只是确保我们的第一响应者及其家人每天要做的勇敢和危险工作的一小步。我为我们在9/11周年纪念日不到一周的时间介绍和纪念所有丧生的消防员，警察和第一响应者的纪念而感到自豪。”

Mike Williams of Bunnlevel, who works in the Office of State Fire Marshal Jim Long in the N.C. Department of Insurance as a Fire/Rescue Training Specialist and as the Assistant Chief of Flat Branch Volunteer Fire Department, wrote to Etheridge and spurred the legislation. “I wrote to Congressman Etheridge because I was frustrated by a system that let my friends and colleagues down time and again,” Williams said. “These firefighters give their time and energy, and sometimes their lives, for our safety. Their families deserve this benefit for their many sacrifices.”

公共安全官员福利计划目前为公共安全官员（警察，消防和EMS）的家庭提供财政援助，并在工作中为军官永久残疾。死亡福利应向公共安全官员的幸存者支付，该公共安全官员“是死亡，这是由于职责中遭受的人身伤害而直接和近端的结果。”不幸的是，在几乎每一次因心脏病发作或中风而死亡的发生率中，裁定心脏病发作或中风并不是责任遭受伤害的直接结果，即使死亡明确触发了，家庭也没有受益按照工作的严格。

The Etheridge-Hoyer bill would correct that deficiency in the law.

The following is a brief legislative summary of the Hometown Heroes
Survivor Benefit Act of 2002.

The Public Safety Officers Benefit Under Current Law:

Provides financial assistance to the survivors of public safety officers (including police officers, firefighters and EMS workers) killed in the line of duty, as well as to officers permanently disabled while on the job.

Assists the survivors of a public safety officer who “has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty” with a one-time death benefit payment (currently about $250,000), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Problem:

使死于心脏病或中风的公共安全官员的家庭很难获得福利。幸存的家庭必须竭尽全力克服举证责任，并证明心脏病发作或中风是“在职责范围内承受的人身伤害的直接和近端结果”。

The Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act of 2002

Allows the families of public safety officers who have died from a heart attack or stroke while on duty to receive the public safety officer benefit.

Provides this benefit to firefighters who die within 24 hours of “participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation.”

Presumes that a public safety officer who suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke, while on duty or within the 24-hour timeline, died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty.

Costs approximately $13 million per year.