Biden to sign bipartisan bills supporting federal police and law enforcement

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EXCLUSIVE: President Biden is expected to sign three bipartisan pieces of legislation Thursday to support police, law enforcement and federal officials, Fox News has learned.

The president, Thursday morning, will sign the law S. 1511, the “Protecting America’s First Responders Act of 2021”, S. 1502, the “Confidentiality Opportunities for Peer Support Counseling Act or the COPS Counseling Act”, and S. 921, the “Law on the Protection of Federal Agents and Employees of Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila”.

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The president will sign the bills, which were all passed with almost unanimous bipartisan support, in a White House ceremony in the State Dining Room, a White House official told Fox News.

The Protecting America’s First Responders Act of 2021, written by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, would better ensure that law enforcement and disabled first responders in the line of having to have quick access to benefits.

Under the current federal program, disability or death benefits are paid as a one-time lump sum payment, which is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. These benefits can also be paid to the surviving spouse or children in the form of monthly educational assistance.

But the Grassley-Gillibrand bill requires that the amount of compensation be based on the date of arbitration, rather than the date of injury, to account for increases in the cost of living that may occur during long periods of arbitration.

This bill was co-sponsored by more than a dozen Republican and Democratic senators.

The president is also on the verge of signing the “Confidentiality Opportunities for Peer Support Counseling Act” or the “COPS Counseling Act”, which sets out the requirements for peer support counseling programs to be provided by a law enforcement agency.

This bill, drafted by Grassley and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Would ensure confidentiality for federal law enforcement officials who use peer counseling services, while excluding confessions of conduct criminal or threats of serious physical harm. The bill would also encourage first responder agencies to adopt peer counseling programs by requiring the Justice Department to make best practices publicly available on its website and provide a list of programs. training for individuals to become peer support mentors.

The COPS bill was passed by the House last month by 424 to 3. The three lawmakers who voted against the legislation were Democratic Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Cori Bush of Missouri.

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Meanwhile, Biden will also sign the “Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act,” which was led by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Grassley joined his Senate colleagues in supporting the bill.

The bill ensures that individuals who have killed or attempted to kill US federal officers and employees serving overseas can be brought to justice and prosecuted in the United States.

The bill is named after U.S. Immigration and Customs Special Agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila, who were attacked by Mexican drug cartels in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on February 15. 2011. Special Agent Zapata died of his injuries, and although his killers have been apprehended, Grassley’s office said that last year a federal appeals court dismissed the murder convictions in on the grounds that the district court did not have jurisdiction over crimes committed against law enforcement officers stationed abroad.

The legislation would also specify that federal agents and employees serving overseas are protected and that US courts can try their attackers in a US court.

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