Texas Republicans reintroduced the law on Thursday, targeting bureaucratic delays at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Daily Call News Foundation learned.
Senators Ted Cruz and Randy Weber, John Burns Act, will facilitate the processing of disability benefits claims for the DOJ Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program. Their law was named in honor of law enforcement officials who first faced gunmen in the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting. (Related: Foreign Aid Agency awarded $27 million to a group that helps left-wing protesters avoid prisons)
That officer, John Burns, sustained permanent disability after suffering serious injuries and nearly bleeding to a gunman, which ended his career in law enforcement. He applied to the PSOB for post-injury disability benefits and waited nearly seven years to receive his answer.
The PSOB program told Burns last week that his claims had been rejected, Weber’s office told DCNF.
Under Cruz and Weber’s law, DOJ’s PSOB program must process applicant claims within 270 days and ensure a clear timeline for profit determination. Under current law there is no time limit for decisions to be made on the claims of law enforcement officers and first responders.
read:
“In America, we back-up the blue. It’s not an event, and, a battle,” Weber told DCNF. “Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to protect our community. When they get injured or fall into duties, they and their families are bureaucratic. It’s not nonsense, it deserves the answer.
“It’s really disrespectful that an officer like John Burns has been waiting for more than seven years just to get a simple answer from the federal government. This is not just inefficiency. It’s a disgrace,” Weber said. I continued.
“Every day, they risk their lives for their fellow Americans. In times of crisis, these heroes deserve access to the profits they have acquired without getting in the way,” Cruz told DCNF. . “We are trying to block our law enforcement officials from access to benefits, like Burns, who has been waiting so long.
In America, we support those who protect us. But executives like John Burns have faced delays from the federal government for over six years.
I’m proud to introduce you to the Officer John Burns Act. @sentedcruz To ensure timely support for our law enforcement heroes. pic.twitter.com/SSB8TID99S
– Randy Weber (@txrandy14) June 18, 2024
Weber and Cruz introduced the same law in June 2024 in their final assembly, but did not advance in Bill, the House or Senate.
Established in 1976, the department’s PSOB program provides death, education and disability benefits to law enforcement officers or first responders injured on the boundaries of their duties or survivors of fallen officers. According to A summary of the program’s DOJ. There are over 1200 bills Submit Every year to the department’s PSOB program.
Weber represents the district where the Santa Fe High School shooting took place in Congress.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan newswire service that is free to use for legitimate news publishers that can provide large audiences. All republished articles must include logos, reporter signatures and DCNF affiliation. For questions regarding our guidelines or partnerships with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.