Klobuchar and Cramer’s Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act Heads to the President’s Desk
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced that their bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act passed the Senate. The legislation now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
The bipartisan legislation will expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers.
Klobuchar introduced this legislation in honor of Michael Paidar, a St. Paul fire captain who died of an aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia on August 26, 2020 while still working for the fire department.
In 2021, after strong advocacy from the Paidar family, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety awarded line-of-duty benefits to Captain Paidar’s widow Julie. This was the first time that a firefighter’s family had received benefits for cancer incurred in the line-of-duty through Minnesota’s state Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act would ensure that firefighters and other first responders across the country are eligible to receive similar benefits under the federal PSOB program.
“Our firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, often exposing themselves to carcinogens that can have lethal long-term effects. It’s unacceptable that firefighters who succumb to cancer from work-related exposure don’t receive the same treatment as others who die in the line of duty,” said Klobuchar. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure that the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program covers service-related cancers—honoring the commitment we make to our firefighters like Captain Paidar and other first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. We must uphold our promise to care for their families.”
“Our first responders epitomize courage and selfless sacrifice, confronting both the immediate perils of their duty which are extreme and the lingering health risks associated with their service,” said Cramer. “Their exposure to dangerous carcinogens happens on our behalf. When these heroes make the ultimate sacrifice, their families should not have to bear these burdens alone. I’m grateful my Senate colleagues passed this important legislation.”
Currently, firefighters are only eligible for support under the PSOB program for physical injuries sustained in the line-of-duty, or for deaths from duty-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and 9/11 related illnesses.
“I’m grateful to Senators Klobuchar and Cramer for leading the bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act. Every day, our nation’s first responders selflessly serve and protect their communities. Unfortunately, through exposures on the job, many are also fighting occupational cancer. As our family knows firsthand, the lives of the first responder and their family are forever changed upon the cancer diagnosis. Mike loved being a career firefighter and paramedic. Losing him to Leukemia in 2020 was devastating not only for our family, but also for his fire family and our communities. This important legislation will honor his legacy and recognize the sacrifices of our fallen, allowing first responders and their families to receive the PSOB benefits they rightly deserve,” said Julie Paidar, widow of St. Paul Fire Captain Michael Paidar.