Washington, DC - Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, applauded today’s news that the United States House of Representatives considered and passed H.R. 6943, the “Public Safety Officer Support Act,” and H.R. 2992, the “Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Law Enforcement Training Act.”

The House passed H.R. 6943, the “Public Safety Officer Support Act,” on a 402-17 vote. This bill will now be sent to the Senate floor for a full vote. This legislation acknowledges the connection between suicide and service-connected mental health issues and amends the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program by providing death and disability benefits to include officers who attempt to take or do take their own life.

“While we have done an impressive job of protecting our officers from physical injury, we must do more to address the tremendous mental stress our officers endure as a consequence of their service and the negative impact the job has on their physical, emotional, and mental health,” said Yoes. “The legislation, introduced by Representatives Trone and Reschenthaler, finally recognizes as a matter of law that many officer suicides are directly connected to their service and should be treated similarly within the PSOB program.”

The House also passed H.R. 2992, the “Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Law Enforcement Training Act,” on a 400-21 vote, and it will now be sent to the Senate floor for a full vote.

“This legislation would direct the Attorney General to develop crisis intervention training tools for use by law enforcement and other public safety officers when interacting with community members who have TBI, another form of acquired brain injury, or PTSD,” Yoes said. “The training tools would be instrumental in helping officers interact with those who suffer from these injuries. Additionally, the training curriculum will not only better equip officers to ensure their own safety, but it will enhance their ability to serve and protect their communities.”

“The FOP is proud of the leadership role we played in the development and passage of these two bills,” Yoes said.  “we look forward to engaging with our friends and allies in the Senate to get them both to the President for his signature.”