WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has approved the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, advancing a long-running push to recognize occupational cancer as a line-of-duty death for federal benefits.
The bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. The president is expected to sign the bill on Dec. 18, according to the IAFF.
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“We know the devastation occupational cancer has brought to our profession. When a firefighter dies from job-related cancer, that is a line-of-duty death, and it is long past time the federal government recognized that truth,” General President Edward Kelly said. “Congress’s passage of the Honor Act marks a significant turning point. This legislation ensures our fallen are honored, and their families are not left behind.”
The bill, sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Reps. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) would update the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program to treat occupational cancer as a line-of-duty death. The measure would extend death and education benefits to survivors and create a presumption that certain cancers are job-related, eliminating the need to identify a specific exposure.
Twenty forms of cancer are listed in the bill, as well as “any form of cancer that is considered a WTC-related health condition.”
Under the bill, a public safety officer’s exposure to a carcinogen would be presumed to be a line-of-duty injury for federal benefits if the exposure occurred while the officer was performing official duties, the officer had at least five years of service before the cancer diagnosis, the diagnosis happened within 15 years of the officer’s last active service date, and the cancer resulted in death or permanent and total disability.
The legislation has been endorsed by several law enforcement groups, including the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA); Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA); National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO); National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition (NNOAC) and Sergeants Benevolent Association of the NYPD.
