President Trump Signs Two New Bills To Support Law Enforcement And Veterans
President Trump signed two law enforcement acts into law.
President Trump Signs New Bills For Law Enforcement And Veterans
Washington, DC – President Trump continues to show his support for police officers with two bills that he signed on Friday, including making it easier for military veterans to become officers, and decreasing the waiting time for families of fallen police officers to receive benefits.
According to Fox News, the President approved a bill ‘that would give priority to federal grants to those federal and state law enforcement agencies that hire and train veterans”. He said that “he was happy” to sign this bill, and also a second bill in support of fallen officers’ families. The first bill is known as The American Law Enforcement Heroes Act.
The second bill, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Improvement Act, immediately takes action to reduce the ‘backlog’ of families who are waiting for approval for survivor benefits from law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Both bills were sponsored by Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. They were co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, in an unusual but appreciated bipartisan show of support.
The second bill allows state and local officials to determine the eligibility, and allows beneficiaries to track the status of the application process online. It is part of The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits, which was established by Congress in 1976 to provide financial health to survivors of law enforcement officers that were killed in the line of duty.
The latest reports show that there are 756 ‘active’ claims pending before the PSOB office at the end of March.
The President addressed the veterans and police officers that were present, “We are behind you 100 percent.” He said that it was “unacceptable” ‘that injured officers have suffered and that children of fallen officers have had to put off their dreams of college.’
Both bills passed the House in May.
You can see the video of the president’s speech below:
