What Hometown Heroes Act?

Every day I get news updates and e-mails from a favorite website that I subscribe to. And more than I care to hear, there are stories about line of duty deaths involving police officers and firefighters and yet another family fighting an uphill battle with the Department of Justice to receive death benefits for the loss of their loved one.

Back in 2003 the Hometown Heroes Act was introduced to congress and signed into law amid great fanfare. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft guaranteed that all claims filed would be processed within 90 days. But anyone familiar with the Fire Service and people affected under this law know that things aren't happening anywhere near that quickly.

As of July 2007, a little more than 20% of the 253 pending claims have been processed with only 7 being approved! Instead of these families receiving the benefits that they duly have a right to, they are caught up in an endless jungle of red tape and countless hoops that they must jump through. "It's total administrative foot-dragging", says lawmakers on both sides, with the DOJ asking families to submit 10 years worth of medical records in some cases! Chief Billy Goldfeder said it best when he wrote: "All that this DOJ game does is allow the families to replay the nightmare of their loved one's death over and over, as their Federal Government, in one breath, thanks Americas First Responders and then out of the other side of their mouth tells that family to stick it. All courtesy of the Department of Injustice".

It scares me to death to think that, God forbid, if I should go down on the job I could leave my family in a situation like many of these families are experiencing. I don't understand it and frankly the whole thing disgusts me. If the Act has parameters set of which one must fall under to receive this benefit, and a claim falls clearly within them, then why must the DOJ subject these families to additional scrutiny and cause more anguish than they need? Particularily at this point in their lives.

Currently under this Act if a Firefighter dies in the line of duty or succumbs to a heart attack within 24 hours of being on duty, a $300,000 benefit is paid to the surviving members of his or her family. Obviously a small amount compared to the loss of a loved one's life but many of the deceased leave wives and children behind that could use this money for education or every day needs. Since most of these bloated puppets in Washington are pulling down a pretty penny I wouldn't expect them to understand this. And when you factor in that Volunteer fire fighters outnumber career guys by a ratio of 3:1 nationally, a fair portion of these deaths are vollies who do not collect a dime! This is a fine thank you to all these individuals who put their lives on the line every day when the alarm sounds. All the while saving our taxpayers and the government billions of dollars each year.

And when you know that sudden cardiac death is the most common cause of firefighter fatalities, even ahead of burns, it's a major concern to all of us in the industry. Nearly half of all on-duty firefighter fatalities from 1995 to 2004 were due to sudden cardiac death. I once feared building collapse or running out of air would kill me but I now worry more about what could happen to me while we're cleaning up or hours after we return.

I hear of it all too often. A thirty or forty-something who dies of a heart attack after returning from a call or even a day later. When I was a young buck this sounded old to me but now that I'm in this demographic it shocks and concerns me even though I feel that I'm in about the best shape of my life today. Most of the time these articles don't provide a picture of the person and I disclose it as just another individual who may have let himself go a bit. Face it, some of the people I see on departments could use a fitness plan but does this make them any less deserving of these benefits? On the contrary though, and to my amazement, many of these deaths I read about involved individuals who were described as physically fit and took very good care of themselves. Runners, weight lifters, and cyclists. Guys who were as strong as a bull and took great strides in staying healthy.

So what do we do? All we can hope for now is that our current Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, is a man of his word. In a prepared statement, Gonzales said: "I know that the administration of the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program, specifically those claims filed under Hometown Heroes, is of grave concern to the FOP and its leadership. The delay in providing benefits is unacceptable to me. And I want you to know I have directed that improvements to that program be made immediately".

With all due respect Mr. Gonzales these are nothing more than words for now. Action needs to be taken and it needs to be done now. No more passing the buck and sitting quietly on this one. There are lives involved here who are counting on you and your administration so roll up your sleeves and deliver. We'll be waiting.