Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program Expansion Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill sets a 270-day deadline for the Bureau to make a final decision on benefit claims for public safety officers who die or are disabled in the line of duty. If the Bureau misses that deadline, it must issue an interim payment to the family or place the money in a protected escrow account.
• The Bureau must notify families or agencies of any missing paperwork within 90 days of receiving a claim. To stop outside agencies from causing delays, the Bureau gains subpoena power to force agencies that fail to hand over records within 30 days to turn them over.
• Claims from 9/11 first responders get fast-tracked: if the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund or the World Trade Center Health Program has already certified the facts of a case, the Bureau must approve the death benefit claim unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
• The Government Accountability Office must conduct annual audits of all claims stuck for more than a year, examining reasons for delays such as legal reviews and lack of outreach, and checking whether the Bureau is using its subpoena authority.
• The Bureau is required to conduct ongoing outreach to public safety officers, underserved agencies, disabled officers, and families of fallen officers to make sure they know about the benefits program.
• Within 180 days of enactment, the Attorney General must ensure the Bureau of Justice Assistance implements recommendations from a 2024 GAO report on improving the benefits program's transparency, claims assistance, and management.