Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedReported by Mr. Grassley, without amendment
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Banks, Mr. Barrasso, …
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Banks, Mr. Barrasso, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
Amends the Public Safety Officers Benefits program to presume that cancers in eligible officers were caused by line-of-duty carcinogen exposure. Officers with 5+ years of service diagnosed with listed cancers within 15 years of service qualify for death/disability benefits without proving specific causation.
Who Benefits and How
- Firefighters and law enforcement officers gain easier access to death/disability benefits for cancer diagnoses
- Families of deceased officers can receive benefits without proving specific exposure caused the cancer
- 9/11 responders explicitly covered through WTC-related cancer conditions
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Bureau of Justice Assistance administers expanded claims with more presumptive eligibility
- Federal taxpayers bear increased benefit costs as more cancer cases qualify
Key Provisions
- Creates rebuttable presumption for carcinogen exposure causing cancer in public safety officers
- Lists 21+ cancer types including all WTC-related conditions
- Requires 5 years of service and diagnosis within 15 years of last active service
- Covers Group 1 and Group 2A carcinogens as classified by IARC
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Creates presumption that public safety officers who develop certain cancers from occupational carcinogen exposure qualify for death benefits
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Reduce burden on sick officers to prove causation for occupational cancer claims"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of Bureau of Justice Assistance
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Agent classified by IARC under Group 1 or 2A reasonably linked to exposure-related cancer
List of 21+ cancers including WTC-related conditions
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology