HERO Benefits Reform Act of 2016

Issues relating to the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program. S. 1321, the Fairness for Fallen Officers Act of 2015, provisions granting PSOB benefits to the families of public safety officers that die in the line of duty due to heat stroke, hyperthermia, and other climate-related illnesses. H.R. 1471, the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015, provisions to maintain eligibility for the PSOB program for fallen urban search and rescue team members and their families. H.R. 5123, the Honoring Emergency Response Officers Benefits Reform Act, provisions to grant PSOB benefits to fallen fire investigators and fire police. H.R. 2350/S. 1352, the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, provisions to grant Pell Grant benefits to college students whose parents or legal guardians are fallen public safety officers.

Client expense: $20,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Agriculture, Dept of (USDA), Bureau of Justice Assistance, Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Railroad Administration, General Services Administration (GSA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Natl Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, SENATE, Transportation, Dept of (DOT), U.S. Forest Service

Expressed views in support of S. 414 - California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act of 2015; H.R. 239 - Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act; Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Proposal legislation; NW California Mountains and Rivers; Antiquities Act; S. 1423/H.R. 1865 - Central Coast Heritage Act; S. 2341 - a bill to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness; S. 2991 - Methow Headwaters Protection Act of 2016; H.R. 3565 - California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act; S. 1993 - 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act of 2015; S. 2902 - Western Water Supply and Planning Enhancement Act of 2016; H.R. 496 - Alabama Hills National Scenic Area Establishment Act; H.R. 4871 - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Study Act; 2012 Forest Planning Rule; S. 3049 - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Conservation Act; Pecos Wilderness Proposal; Maine Woods National Monument Proposal; Scotchmans Peak proposed wilderness legislation; S. 1167 - Owyhee Wilderness Areas Boundary Modifications Act; S. 1510 - Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2015; S. 1699 - Oregon Wildlands Act; S. 1777 - a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes; and issues related to forestry legislation and the conservation of public lands. Expressed views on H.R. 2316 - Self Sufficient Community Lands Act; H.R. 3650 - State National Forest Management Act of 2015; H.R. 4579/S. 2383 - Utah Test and Training Range Encroachment Prevention and Temporary Closure Act; H.R. 4900 - Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA); H.R. 2647 - Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015; S. 3014 - Tribal Forestry Protection Act; H.R. 4233 - To eliminate an unused lighthouse reservation, provide management consistency by incorporating the rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County, into the California Coastal National Monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and meet the original Congressional intent of preserving Orange County's rocks and small islands, and for other purposes; S. 3085 - Wildfire Budgeting, Response and Forest Management Act; H.R. 5123 - HERO Benefits Reform Act of 2016; Utah Public Lands Initiative; issues related to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness area; issues related to the potential transfer of public lands to states; issues regarding national forest legislation; issues related to outdoor recreation and recreational permitting; State-Federal land exchange issues; issues related to the withdrawal of mineral leases in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; and issues related to mountain bike legislation.

H.R. 1035, the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act. All issues related to the legislation. H.R. 4625, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. All issues related to the legislation. S. 2944, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act. All issues related to the legislation. H.R. 5123, the Honoring Emergency Response Officers Benefits Reform Act. All issues related to the legislation. H.R. 4365, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Mediations Act. All issues related to the legislation.

Client expense: $20,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), SENATE

H.R. 4584, the "POLICE Act," legislation to authorize Community Oriented Policing Services grantees to use grant funds for active shooter training; entire bill. S. 2840, the "POLICE Act," legislation to authorize Community Oriented Policing Services grantees to use grant funds for active shooter training; entire bill. H.R. 723, the "Fallen Heroes Flag Act," legislation to provide the immediate family of law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and other public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty with Capitol-flown flags; entire bill. S. 2755, the "Fallen Heroes Flag Act," legislation to provide the immediate family of law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and other public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty with Capitol-flown flags; entire bill. H.R. 228, the "Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2015," legislation to amend Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the authorization of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program through fiscal year 2018; entire bill. S. 125, the "Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2015," legislation to amend Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the authorization of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program through fiscal year 2020; entire bill. H.R. 3036, the "9/11 Memorial Act," legislation to designate the National September 11 Memorial located at the World Trade Center site in New York City as a national memorial; entire bill. H.R. 4880, the "Protecting Lives Using Surplus Equipment Act," legislation to prohibit any regulation, rule, guidance, recommendation, or policy issued after May 15, 2015, that limits the sale or donation of excess property of the federal government to state and local law enforcement agencies; entire bill. H.R. 5123, the "HERO Benefits Reform Act of 2016," legislation to ensure that the United States provides for the families of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other emergency responders who fall in the line of duty through the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program; entire bill. H.R. 5476, the "Honoring Hometown Heroes Act," legislation to provide for the flying of the flag at half-staff in the event of the death of a first responder in the line of duty; entire bill. S. 2694, the "Lifesaving Gear for Police Act," legislation to ensure that state and local law enforcement have equipment essential to protecting their communities from criminals and to ensure officer safety by rescinding limits placed on the sale or donation of property of the Federal Government, including excess property of the Department of Defense, to State and local agencies for law enforcement activities; entire bill. S. 2943, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017," legislation to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, defense activities of the Department of Energy, and to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year; Sec. 1053, modification of authority to transfer Defense Department property for law enforcement activities. S. 2944, the "Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2016," legislation to require adequate reporting on the Public Safety Officers' Benefit program and provide for processing improvements to increase the timeliness of claims adjudication; entire bill. Legislative proposals to address the backlog and delays in processing death and disability claims under the Public Safety Officers Benefits Program for the families of law enforcement officers who are totally disabled or killed in the line of duty, including those who died of a 9/11 health-related condition (no bill introduced), and Congressional oversight of same. Coverage under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program for public safety officers who die of a medical condition developed as a result of exposure to toxins during the rescue and recovery efforts following the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001.