From Press Release
Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is pressing for an update on the number of Public Safety Officers’ Benefits applications that have not been resolved.
In a letter to Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason, Grassley wrote that a 2009 Government Accountability Office report said that families of fallen or injured officers waited an average of a year and a half before receiving an approval or denial of their Public Safety Officers’ Benefits application. This is despite a 2004 Attorney General memorandum that instructed the Public Safety Officer s’ Benefits Office to make a determination on all filed claims within 90 days of receiving all necessary information.
Grassley initially wrote to Mason on January 12, 2015, and February 28, 2015, after learning that several cases of fallen Iowa officers had languished for over 3 years. In its response to Grassley, the Justice Department acknowledged “the need to improve the timeliness of the process for reaching PSOB claims determinations.”
Grassley said the letter will help evaluate whether the Justice Department is making progress on providing answers to the families of fallen law enforcement officers.
Grassley’s letter to Mason can be found below. A signed copy of the letter can be found here. The February 28, 2015, letter can be found here. The Justice Department’s March 27, 2015, response can be found here. The January 12, 2015, letter can be found here. The Justice Department’s February 26, 2015, response can be found here.
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