Political Quotes

“today, the Senate reiterates its commitment to our Nation's law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders. Forty years ago, we created the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, PSOB, to support first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. We have now passed legislation to make much needed improvements to the claims adjudication process, which for too long has been plagued by red tape and delays. Today's legislation builds upon my past efforts to improve the PSOB program. In 2003, I worked with a bipartisan group of senators to pass the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act, which recognized that law enforcement officers who suffer fatal heart attacks or strokes in the line of duty also deserve benefits. In 2009, I introduced the Dale Long Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act, which became law in 2012 and extended PSOB benefits to nonprofit Emergency Medical Service, EMS, providers. This change covered an estimated 1,200 EMS personnel in Vermont alone. Today's legislation will add transparency to the PSOB's decisionmaking process and should help expedite the review of applications for benefits. The legislation also includes an amendment I offered in the Judiciary Committee that improved this bill in three important ways. First, it ensured that children are not disqualified from receiving education benefits due to delays within the PSOB program, which can approach 10 years.…”