Washington, D.C. – Last night, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik voted in favor of the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act, bipartisan legislation that she cosponsors in the House. This bill requires the FBI Director to establish the Law Enforcement Officers Suicide Data Collection Program, an initiative that would collect data on law enforcement and former law enforcement suicides at the local, state, and federal level. Congresswoman Stefanik also voted in favor of the bipartisan Public Safety Officer Pandemic Response Act. Currently, the Bureau of Justice Assistance pays $250,000 in death or disability benefits to injured public safety officers or their surviving beneficiaries if the officer is killed or disabled in the line of duty. This legislation would create a new presumption of eligibility for a public safety officer who contracted COVID-19 between January 20, 2020 and January 20, 2022.
“Our law enforcement community works tirelessly to keep our local communities safe, and they have not wavered in their service throughout this public health crisis,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “I proudly voted to pass these two important pieces of bipartisan legislation in order to establish a new data collection program and to ensure that our public safety officers who have fallen victim to COVID-19 are eligible for rightfully owed benefits. These men and women have put their lives on the line and deserve our utmost support, and I will continue to advocate on their behalf in Congress.”
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