Presumption bill moves to the President
FirefighterNation Staff
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives adopted legislation on Monday sponsored by Rep. Dave Joyce to ensure that families of firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians who die from or are disabled by the coronavirus get Public Safety Officers Benefit program payments.
Cleveland.com said the bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez and Rep. Marcia Fudge, passed in a non-controversial voice vote.
It passed the U.S. Senate on May 14 and will become law after being signed by the President.
The “Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act” creates a presumption that if a first responder is diagnosed with the coronavirus within 45 days of their last day on the job, the Department of Justice will treat it as a line of duty incident and provide the payments.
Read: H.R. 7031: Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act of 2020
