Klobuchar and Cramer’s Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act Heads to the President’s Desk

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced that their bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act passed the Senate. The legislation now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law.

The bipartisan legislation will expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers.

Klobuchar introduced this legislation in honor of Michael Paidar, a St. Paul fire captain who died of an aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia on August 26, 2020 while still working for the fire department.

In 2021, after strong advocacy from the Paidar family, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety awarded line-of-duty benefits to Captain Paidar's widow Julie. This was the first time that a firefighter's family had received benefits for cancer incurred in the line-of-duty through Minnesota's state Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act would ensure that firefighters and other first responders across the country are eligible to receive similar benefits under the federal PSOB program.

"Our firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, often exposing themselves to carcinogens that can have lethal long-term effects. It's unacceptable that firefighters who succumb to cancer from work-related exposure don't receive the same treatment as others who die in the line of duty," said Klobuchar. "This bipartisan legislation will ensure that the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program covers service-related cancers-honoring the commitment we make to our firefighters like Captain Paidar and other first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. We must uphold our promise to care for their families."

"Our first responders epitomize courage and selfless sacrifice, confronting both the immediate perils of their duty which are extreme and the lingering health risks associated with their service," said Cramer. "Their exposure to dangerous carcinogens happens on our behalf. When these heroes make the ultimate sacrifice, their families should not have to bear these burdens alone. I'm grateful my Senate colleagues passed this important legislation."

Currently, firefighters are only eligible for support under the PSOB program for physical injuries sustained in the line-of-duty, or for deaths from duty-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and 9/11 related illnesses.

"I'm grateful to Senators Klobuchar and Cramer for leading the bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act. Every day, our nation's first responders selflessly serve and protect their communities. Unfortunately, through exposures on the job, many are also fighting occupational cancer. As our family knows firsthand, the lives of the first responder and their family are forever changed upon the cancer diagnosis. Mike loved being a career firefighter and paramedic. Losing him to Leukemia in 2020 was devastating not only for our family, but also for his fire family and our communities. This important legislation will honor his legacy and recognize the sacrifices of our fallen, allowing first responders and their families to receive the PSOB benefits they rightly deserve," said Julie Paidar, widow of St. Paul Fire Captain Michael Paidar.

This legislation is co-sponsored by the following 58 Senators: Senators Banks (R-IN), Barrasso (R-WY), Blackburn (R-TN), Blumenthal (D-CT), Coons (D-DE), Cornyn (R-TX), Cruz (R-TX), Duckworth (D-IL), Durbin (D-IL), Fetterman (D-PA), Fischer (R-NE), Graham (R-SC), Hirono (D-HI), Hoeven (R-ND), Justice (R-WV), Kelly (D-AZ), Markey (D-MA), Padilla (D-CA), Rounds (R-SD), Schiff (D-CA), Shaheen (D-NH), Sheehy (R-MT), Smith (D-MN), Warner (D-VA), Warren (D-MA), Welch (D-VT), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wyden (D-OR); Hoeven (R-ND); Ossoff (D-GA); Capito (R-WV); Cantwell (D-WA); Gallego (D-AZ); Moreno (R-OH); Kennedy (R-LA); Merkley (D-OR); Kim (D-NJ); Rosen (D-NV); Moody (R-FL); Gillibrand (D-NY); Kaine (D-VA); Hassan (D-NH); Van Hollen (D-MD); Tillis (R-NC); Marshall (R-KS); Murkowski (R-AK); Alsobrooks (D-MD); Hawley (R-MO); McCormick (R-PA); Risch (R-ID); Moran (R-KS); Crapo (R-ID); Sanders (I-VT); Schmitt (R-MO); Cortez Masto (D-NV); Hyde-Smith (R-MS); Collins (R-ME);Heinrich (D-NM); and Husted (R-OH).

The legislation is endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), as well as the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA); Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI); Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA); Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA); Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (Metro Chiefs); National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO); National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF); National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); National Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition (NNOAC); National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC); and Sergeants Benevolent Association of the NYPD.

Klobuchar is a co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and has long led efforts to support firefighters and first responders. Klobuchar co-led bipartisan legislation, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, to create a national cancer registry for firefighters diagnosed with deadly cancers, which was signed into law in 2018 and reauthorized last year. The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act calls on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor and study the relationship between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of cancer in firefighters.

Klobuchar worked to pass the bipartisan Fire Grants and Safety Act which was signed into law in 2023 and provides funding for the Assistance for Firefighters Grant and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant programs. The Assistance for Firefighters Grant program helps firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources. The SAFER Grant program provides direct funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to increase or maintain the number of trained "front line" firefighters and enhance their capacity to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards.

Klobuchar also worked to pass the Protecting America's First Responders Act, which was signed into law in 2021. This legislation improves the PSOB program by allowing benefit amounts to be calculated based on the date of the award and account for cost of living increases.

Klobuchar co-led legislation to retrofit older high-rise apartment buildings with sprinkler systems and help prevent future tragedies like the Cedar High Apartments fire, which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2019.

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