S 237119th CongressIntroduced

Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025

Introduced: Jan 23, 2025

Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-Minnesota)

Social Services

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025 would significantly broaden and formalize how exposure-related cancers are treated within the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program, which provides benefits to public safety officers and their survivors. Key changes include adding a detailed, periodically updated list of exposure-related cancers (based on classifications by major medical bodies), establishing a presumption that certain carcinogen exposures in the line of duty can cause death or permanent disability, and outlining the process for updating the cancer list and adding new cancers via petitions. The bill also extends protections around confidential information, makes several technical fixes, and expands the definition of “line of duty action” to ensure eligibility for more claims filed after 2020. Overall, it aims to improve recognition and benefits for officers who develop cancers linked to on-the-job exposure.

Key Points

1Exposure-Related Cancers and Presumptions
2- Adds a new subsection (p) to Section 1201, creating “exposure-related cancers” with a defined list of cancer types (e.g., bladder, brain, breast, lung, leukemia, mesothelioma, skin cancer, etc.), plus any cancers added later.
3- A public safety officer’s exposure to a carcinogen is presumptively a personal injury sustained in the line of duty if specific conditions are met (in-duty exposure, at least 5 years of service before diagnosis, diagnosis within 15 years after last active service, and the cancer directly causing death or permanent disability).
4- An exception exists if competent medical evidence shows the exposure was not a substantial contributing factor.
5- The Director must periodically update the list (not less than every 3 years) based on competent medical evidence; updates may be made by rule or publication in the Federal Register or on the Bureau’s website.
6- Individuals may petition to add cancers to the list; petitions undergo a formal review process with expert input, and Congress must be notified of substantive actions.
7- The amendment applies to claims predicated on death after January 1, 2020, or disability filed after January 1, 2020; claim-filing window is 3 years from enactment for the new provisions.
8Confidentiality of Information
9- Expands who may receive or handle confidential information under the PSOB framework, allowing broader sharing with or among entities and persons necessary for program purposes.
10- Changes take effect as if enacted in 1979 and apply to matters pending before DOJ or otherwise as of enactment.
11Technical and Cross-Reference Fixes
12- Makes technical amendments to ensure cross-references within the law properly include both the (a) and (b) parts of the Section 1201 provisions.
13- Applies to matters pending before the Department of Justice as of enactment.
14Definition of Line of Duty Action
15- Adds a new definition to the Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act of 2020 clarifying that a “line of duty action” includes activities conducted at the agency’s direction or for which the officer is authorized or obligated to perform.
16- Applies the expansion to PSOB claims predicated on death after 2020 or disability filed after 2020, with the same 3-year filing window from enactment.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Public safety officers (police, firefighters, EMS, and other officers covered by PSOB) who have exposure-related cancers, and their families/estate in cases of death or permanent disability.Secondary group/area affected- The Bureau within the Office of Justice Programs (and its Director), agencies employing public safety officers, and administrators/claims personnel processing PSOB benefits.Additional impacts- Potential expansion of program costs and budget considerations for the PSOB program.- Administrative changes to confidential information handling and data sharing for benefit determinations.- Administrative and legal processes for periodically updating the cancer list and handling petitions from the public.- Greater clarity on which on-the-job actions qualify for line-of-duty eligibility, potentially broadening or refining who can file claims.Carcinogen: an agent classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans) or Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) and reasonably linked to the cancer in question.Director: the Director of the Bureau (the agency within DOJ administering PSOB).WTC-related health condition reference: includes cancers listed as World Trade Center-related under the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm-22(a)) as part of the defined exposure-related cancers.

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