HR-1269 : Still Just a Bill

The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025 (H.R. 1269) proposes to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide public safety officer benefits for exposure-related cancers and includes other related provisions.

Key aspects of this legislation include:

• Exposure-Related Cancer Benefits:
  • Establishes a presumption that certain exposure to a carcinogen resulting in specific cancers constitutes a personal injury sustained in the line of duty for public safety officers. This allows for benefits in cases of death or permanent and total disability.
  • For this presumption to apply, the exposure must have occurred during line of duty activities, the officer must have served at least five years before diagnosis, the diagnosis must be within 15 years of their last active service, and the cancer must directly lead to death or disability.
  • The bill lists 21 specific cancers (e.g., bladder, brain, breast, lung, prostate, and WTC-related cancers) that are considered "exposure-related cancers," with a mechanism for the Director of the Bureau to review and update this list at least every three years based on competent medical evidence. Individuals may also petition for additional cancers to be added.
  • This provision applies retroactively to deaths or disabilities occurring on or after January 1, 2020, and allows individuals up to three years from the Act's enactment date to file new claims based on these amendments.
• Confidentiality of Information: Broadens the scope of protected confidential information furnished under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. This amendment is retroactive to December 27, 1979.
• Definition of "Line of Duty Action": Amends the Safeguarding America's First Responders Act of 2020 to clarify that "line of duty action" includes any action a public safety officer undertook at the direction of their agency or was authorized or obligated to perform. This clarification also applies to claims for death or disability on or after January 1, 2020, with a three-year window for filing new claims.