Orrin Hatch: “during the week of May 12, the country will honor once again those law enforcement and public safety officers who have…”

“during the week of May 12, the country will honor once again those law enforcement and public safety officers who have died in the line of duty. It is entirely fitting that we do this. And as we remember those who have fallen in defense of the public safety, we should also do all we can to comfort and assist the families and loved ones they have left behind. The bill I rise to introduce today, the Care for Police Survivors Act of 1998, will help ensure that we are doing so. First, this bill, which was introduced in the House as H.R. 3565, will strengthen programs available to the families of slain police officers. For instance, the bill will allow groups like Concerns for Police Survivors, more commonly referred to as COPS, to increase and improve their services to these families. Second, this bill provides authority to the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to spend no less than $150,000 out of the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program to support and enrich national peer support and counseling programs for families of police officers lost in the line of duty.”