EXCLUSIVE: Hill Republicans Unveil Bill To ‘Back The Blue’ Injured In Line Of Duty

Texas Republicans will reintroduce legislation Thursday to target bureaucratic delays in the Department of Justice (DOJ), the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Randy Weber’s Officer John Barnes Act would expedite the processing of disability benefits claims in the DOJ’s Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program. Their legislation is named in honor of the law enforcement officer that first confronted the gunman in the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, which took ten lives.

That officer, John Barnes, was critically wounded by the gunman and sustained a permanent disability after nearly bleeding to death, which ended his career in law enforcement. He applied to PSOB for disability benefits following the injury and waited nearly seven years to receive an answer.

The PSOB program informed Barnes last week that his claim was denied, Weber’s office told the DCNF.

Cruz and Weber’s legislation would require the DOJ’s PSOB program to process applicants’ claims within 270 days and ensure a clear timeline for benefit determination. Under current law, there is no deadline to make a determination on law enforcement officers and first responders’ claims.

READ:

📺 Embedded media — coming soon

“In America, we back the blue—no ifs, ands or buts,” Weber told the DCNF. “Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every single day to protect our communities, and when they are injured or fall in the line of duty, they and their families deserve answers, not years of bureaucratic nonsense.