Order Code RL34413
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program
March 13, 2008
Nathan James
Analyst in Crime Policy
Domestic Social Policy Division

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program
Summary
The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program provides three different
types of benefits to public safety officers and their survivors: a death, a disability, and
an education benefit. The PSOB program is administered by the Department of
Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s), PSOB Office.
The PSOB program provides a one-time death benefit to eligible survivors of
public safety officers whose deaths are the direct and proximate result of a traumatic
injury sustained in the line of duty. As of October 1, 2007, the one-time lump sum
death benefit was $303,064. The Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act of 2003
(P.L. 108-182) amended current law to facilitate death benefits to the survivors of
officers who die from certain line-of-duty heart attacks and strokes.
The PSOB program provides a one-time disability benefit to public safety
officers who have been permanently and totally disabled by a catastrophic injury
sustained in the line of duty, if the injury permanently prevents the officer from
performing any gainful work. The amount paid for the disability benefit is the same
as the amount paid for the death benefit.
The PSOB program also provides assistance to spouses and children of public
safety officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty who attend a
program of education at an eligible educational institution. Educational assistance
is available to the spouse and children of a public safety officer after the PSOB death
or disability claim has been approved and awarded. As of October 1, 2006, the
maximum award for a full-time student was $860 per month.
Claimants have the opportunity to appeal denied claims. If the PSOB Office
denies a claim, the claimant can request that a hearing officer review the claim. If the
hearing officer denies the claim, the claimant can request that the Director of BJA
review the claim. Claimants may file supporting evidence or legal arguments along
with their request for a review by a hearing officer or the Director. If the claim is
denied by the Director, claimants can appeal the denial in the United States Court of
Federal Claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1491(a).
The PSOB death benefit is a mandatory program, and the disability and
education benefits are discretionary programs. As such, Congress appropriates “such
sums as are necessary” each fiscal year to fund the PSOB death benefit program
while appropriating separate amounts for both the disability and education benefits
programs. This report will be updated as warranted.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Definition of a Public Safety Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PSOB Death Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PSOB Disability Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Limitations on Death and Disability Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Appeal of Denied Claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PSOB Appropriations and Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
List of Tables
Table 1. Appropriations and Obligations for PSOB Death, Disability,
and Education Benefits, by Fiscal Year, FY2003-FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits
(PSOB) Program
Introduction
The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program was authorized by P.L.
94-430, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Act of 1976 (codified at 42 U.S.C.
§3796 et seq., hereafter referred to as “the PSOB Act”). The PSOB program was “...
designed to offer peace of mind to men and women seeking careers in public safety
and to make a strong statement about the value that America places on the
contributions of those who serve their communities in potentially dangerous
circumstances.”1 The program was created by Congress out of a concern that “... the
hazards inherent in law enforcement and fire suppression and the low level of state
and local death benefits might discourage qualified individuals from seeking careers
in public safety, thus hindering the ability of communities to protect themselves.”2
The PSOB program is administered by the Department of Justice, Bureau of
Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s), PSOB Office. The PSOB Office is responsible for
reviewing, processing, and making determinations about claims for benefits under
the PSOB program.3
The PSOB program originally provided only death benefits to survivors of
public safety officers killed in the line of duty. Since its inception in 1976, the PSOB
program has been expanded to provide disability benefits to public safety officers
disabled by an injury suffered in the line of duty and education benefits to the spouses
and children of public safety officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Each of
these benefits is discussed in more detail below.
1 Testimony of BJA Director Domingo S. Herraiz, U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the
Judiciary, Justice Denied? Implementation of the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act,
hearing, 110th Cong., 1st sess., October 4, 2007, at [http://judiciary.senate.gov/print_
testimony.cfm?id=2972&wit_id=6703], accessed March 12, 2008 (hereafter “Testimony of
D.S. Herraiz”).
2 Ibid.
3 Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, “Public Safety Officers’ Benefits
Program,” 71 Federal Register 46029, August 10, 2006 (hereafter “PSOB: Federal
Register
”).

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Definition of a Public Safety Officer
Only individuals who are public safety officers, or their eligible survivors, are
eligible to receive PSOB benefits. For the purposes of the PSOB Act, a “public
safety officer” is defined as4
! an individual serving a public agency5 in an official capacity, with
or without compensation, as a law enforcement officer,6 firefighter,7
chaplain,8 or a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew;9
! an employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) who is performing official duties, if those official duties are
related to a major disaster or emergency that has been or is later
declared to exist with respect to the area under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5121 et seq.) and are determined by the Administrator of FEMA to
be hazardous duties; or
! an employee of a state, local, or tribal emergency management or
civil defense agency who is performing official duties in cooperation
with FEMA, if those official duties are related to a major disaster or
emergency that has been or is later declared to exist with respect to
the area under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act and are determined by the head of the agency to be
hazardous duties.
4 42 U.S.C. §3796b(9).
5 A “public agency” is defined as the United States, any state of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United
States, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the
United States, or any unit of local government, department, agency, or instrumentality of any
of the foregoing. 42 U.S.C. §3796b(8).
6 A “law enforcement officer” is defined as an individual who is involved in crime and
juvenile delinquency control or reduction, or enforcement of the criminal laws (including
juvenile delinquency), including, but not limited to, police, corrections, probation, parole,
and judicial officers. 42 U.S.C. §3796b(6).
7 A “firefighter” is defined as an individual serving as an officially recognized or designated
member of a legally organized professional or volunteer fire department. 42 U.S.C.
§3796b(4).
8 A “chaplain” is defined as any individual serving as an officially recognized or designated
member of a legally organized volunteer fire department or legally organized police
department, or an officially recognized or designated public employee of a legally organized
fire or police department who was responding to a fire, rescue, or police emergency. 42
U.S.C. §3796b(2).
9 A “member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew” is defined as an officially recognized
or designated public employee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew. 42 U.S.C.
§3796b(7).

CRS-3
PSOB Death Benefit
The PSOB program provides a death benefit to eligible survivors (i.e., the
spouse, eligible children,10 the beneficiary of an officer’s life insurance policy, or an
officer’s parents) of a public safety officer whose death is the direct and proximate
result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty or certain work-related heart
attacks or strokes.11 To receive a death benefit, the claimant must produce sufficient
evidence to show that the public safety officer died as the direct and proximate result
of an injury sustained in the line of duty.12 Eligible survivors file claims for death
benefits through the agency in which the public safety officer served.13
The PSOB program pays a one-time lump sum death benefit to eligible
survivors of a public safety officer killed in the line of duty. The amount paid to the
officer’s survivors is the amount authorized to be paid on the date that the officer
died, not the amount authorized to be paid on the date that the claim is approved.14
As of October 1, 2007, the death benefit was $303,064.15
PSOB death benefits are paid to eligible survivors in the following order:
! If the officer is survived by only a spouse and no children, 100% of
the death benefit goes to the spouse.
! If the officer is survived by a spouse and children, 50% of the death
benefit goes to the spouse and the remaining 50% is distributed
equally amongst the officer’s children.
! If the officer is survived by only children and not a spouse, the death
benefit is equally distributed amongst the officer’s children.
10 An “eligible child” is defined as any natural, illegitimate, adopted, or posthumous child
or stepchild or the public safety officer who, at the time of the officer’s death, was 18 or
younger, or between 19 and 22 (inclusive) and a full-time student at an eligible educational
institution, or 18 or older and incapable of self-support because of mental or physical
disabilities. 42 U.S.C. §3796b(3).
11 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance,
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program, at [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/
psob/psob_main.html], accessed March 12, 2008 (hereafter “PSOB program”).
12 PSOB: Federal Register, p. 46028; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program: Death
Benefits
, at [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/psob/psob_death.html], accessed March
12, 2008 (hereafter “PSOB: Death Benefits”).
13 Ibid.
14 42 U.S.C. §3796(i).
15 Per 42 U.S.C. §3796(h), since October 15, 1988, the death and disability benefit paid
under the PSOB program has been adjusted each year on October 1 to reflect the percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index.

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! If the officer is survived by neither a spouse nor children, the death
benefit is paid to the individual designated by the officer in his or her
most recently executed life insurance policy, provided that the
beneficiary has survived the officer.
! If the officer is survived by neither a spouse or eligible children, and
the officer does not have a life insurance policy, the death benefit is
equally distributed between the officer’s surviving parents.16
Survivors of state and local law enforcement officers and firefighters may
receive a death benefit if the officer or firefighter died on or after September 29,
1976. Survivors of federal law enforcement officers and firefighters may receive a
death benefit if the officer or firefighter died on or after October 12, 1984. A death
benefit may be awarded to survivors of members of federal, state, and local public
rescue squads or ambulance crews who died on or after October 15, 1986. A death
benefit may be awarded to survivors of FEMA personnel and state, local, and tribal
emergency management and civil defense agency employees working in cooperation
with FEMA who died on or after October 30, 2000. Finally, survivors of chaplains
who serve a police or fire department in an official capacity who died on or after
September 11, 2001, are eligible to receive a death benefit under the PSOB program.
The Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-182, hereafter
referred to as “the Hometown Heroes Act”) expanded the circumstances under which
public safety officers’ deaths resulting from heart attacks and strokes may be covered
under the PSOB program. The Hometown Heroes Act created a statutory
presumption that public safety officers who die from a heart attack or stroke while
on duty on, after, or within 24 hours of participating in a non-routine stressful or
strenuous physical public safety activity17 or training died in the line of duty for
benefit purposes. Actions that are clerical, administrative, or non-manual in nature
are not considered “non-routine stressful or strenuous activities” under the
Hometown Heroes Act. The statutory presumption can be overcome with competent
16 PSOB: Death Benefits.
17 “Non-routine strenuous physical activity” is defined as line-of-duty activity, except
activity excluded by 42 U.S.C. §3796l that is not performed as a matter of routine and
entails an unusually high level of physical exertion. “Non-routine stressful physical
activity” is defined as line-of-duty activity, except activity excluded by 42 U.S.C. §3796l,
that is not performed as a matter of routine; entails non-negligible physical exertion; and
occurs (1) with respect to a situation in which a public safety officer is engaged, under
circumstances that objectively and reasonably pose (or appear to pose) significant dangers,
threats, or hazards (or reasonably-foreseeable risks thereof) not faced by similarly situated
members of the public in the ordinary course, and provoke, cause, or occasion an unusually
high level of alarm, fear, or anxiety; or (2) with respect to a training exercise in which a
public safety officer participates, under circumstances that objectively and reasonably
simulate in realistic fashion situations that pose significant dangers, threats, or hazards, and
provoke, cause, or occasion an unusually high level of alarm, fear, or anxiety. 28 CFR §
32.13.

CRS-5
medical evidence to the contrary.18 Only the survivors of an officer who died of a
heart attack or stroke on or after December 15, 2003, are eligible to receive a death
benefit pursuant to the Hometown Heroes Act.
BJA reported that it encountered a series of problems in implementing the
provisions of the Hometown Heroes Act. In January 2004, BJA amended the PSOB
regulations to implement the Hometown Heroes Act.19 BJA chose to “overhaul” the
PSOB regulations because they had not been significantly amended in 30 years and
because the PSOB Act had been amended 18 times since 1976, which resulted in
overlapping statutory and regulatory structures.20 After the draft regulations were
posted in the Federal Register for a comment period, Congress enacted additional
amendments to the PSOB Act, which required additional modifications to the PSOB
regulations and a new comment period.21 The final PSOB regulations went into
effect on September 11, 2006.
The PSOB Office could not review claims for death benefits submitted pursuant
to the Hometown Heroes Act until the PSOB regulations were finalized, which
resulted in a backlog of claims.22 The PSOB Office is working to reduce the backlog
of claims. To help reduce the backlog, BJA hired additional staff to review PSOB
claims, contracted with additional private forensic pathologists, identified additional
hearing officers for appeals (see below), and created an online system for submitting
claims.23 The PSOB Office is working toward a goal of processing claims within 90
days of receiving all necessary information from agencies and survivors.24
The PSOB Office has changed its policy to address the concerns of the public
safety community about the way that Hometown Heroes Act claims are settled. The
Director of BJA has directed the PSOB Office not to require claimants to submit
medical history records unless something in the claim affirmatively suggests that
something other than the line of duty caused the fatal heart attack or stroke, or that
it was more likely than not that the heart attack or stroke was imminent.25 In cases
where the PSOB Office requests medical records, the PSOB Office has been
instructed to review the medical records for mitigating evidence in favor of the
18 “Competent medical evidence to the contrary” is defined as when evidence indicates to
a degree of medical probability that circumstances other than any engagement or
participation described at 42 U.S.C. 3796(k)(1), considered in combination (as one
circumstance) or alone, were a substantial factor in bringing about the heart attack or stroke.
28 CFR §32.13.
19 Testimony of D.S. Herraiz.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 Memorandum from Domingo S. Herraiz, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Re:
“Competent Medical Evidence to the Contrary,” October 2, 2007.

CRS-6
claim.26 Prior to this change in policy, claimants were required to submit 10 years
of medical records to verify that the officer died from a heart attack or stroke caused
by the line of duty.27 The Director of BJA has also instructed the PSOB Office with
regard to the application of the term “non-routine” activity. An activity is no longer
considered to be “routine” because it is described by the public safety agency as
being “routine” or “ordinary.”28 When the PSOB Office determines whether an
activity is “routine,” the Office’s determination is informed less by the frequency
with which the activity is performed than by its stressful or strenuous character.29
The Director chose to clarify the definition of “non-routine” activity because of
concerns that the PSOB Office was too widely defining which activities were
considered “routine.”
PSOB Disability Benefit
Title XIII of P.L. 101-647 expanded the scope of the PSOB program to provide
a disability benefit to public safety officers who have been permanently and totally
disabled by a catastrophic injury30 sustained in the line of duty, if the injury
permanently prevents the officer from performing any gainful work.31 The claimant
is responsible for producing sufficient evidence to prove that he or she suffered a
permanent and total disability as the direct and proximate result of a catastrophic
injury sustained in the line of duty and that the disability prevents him or her from
performing any gainful work.32 Medical retirement for a line-of-duty disability does
not, in and of itself, establish eligibility for a disability benefit.33
Like the PSOB death benefit program, the disability benefit program pays a one-
time lump sum disability benefit to public safety officers disabled in the line of duty.
The amount paid for the disability benefit is the same as the amount paid for the
death benefit.
Most public safety officers (federal, state, and local law enforcement officers;
firefighters; and members of public rescue squads and ambulance crews) are eligible
to receive disability benefits if they were disabled by an injury suffered in the line of
duty on or after November 29, 1990. As of October 30, 2000, employees of FEMA
and state, local, and tribal emergency management and civil defense agency
26 Ibid.
27 Testimony of D.S. Herraiz.
28 Memorandum from Domingo S. Herraiz, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Re:
“Nonroutine Stressful or Strenuous Physical Activity,” October 2, 2007.
29 Ibid.
30 “Catastrophic injury” is defined as an injury that permanently prevents an individual from
performing any gainful work. 42 U.S.C. §3796b(1).
31 PSOB program.
32 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance,
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program: Disability Benefits, at [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/grant/psob/psob_disability.html], accessed March 12, 2008.
33 Ibid.

CRS-7
employees working in cooperation with FEMA are eligible to receive disability
benefits. Chaplains who serve a police or fire department in an official capacity who
are disabled on or after September 11, 2001, are also eligible to receive disability
benefits under the PSOB program.
Limitations on Death and Disability Benefits
A death or disability benefit will not be paid
! if the death or disability was caused by the intentional misconduct
of the public safety officer or the officer’s intention to bring about
his or her death or catastrophic injury;
! if the public safety officer was voluntarily intoxicated at the time of
his or her death or catastrophic injury;
! if the public safety officer was performing his or her duties in a
grossly negligent manner at the time of his or her death or
catastrophic injury;
! if an eligible survivor’s actions were a substantial contributing factor
to the officer’s death or catastrophic injury; or
! with respect to any individual employed in a capacity other than a
civilian capacity.34
Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance
The Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-
238) authorized the Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA)
program. PSOEA provides assistance to spouses and children of public safety
officers killed or disabled in the line of duty who attend a program of education35 at
an eligible educational institution.36 PSOEA funds may be used to defray expenses
34 42 U.S.C. §3796a.
35 A “program of education” is defined as any curriculum or any combination of courses or
subjects pursued at an eligible educational institution, which generally is accepted as
necessary to fulfill requirements for the attainment of a predetermined and identified
educational, professional, or vocational objective. It includes course work for the attainment
of more than one objective if, in addition to the previous requirements, all the objectives
generally are recognized as reasonably related to a single career field. 42 U.S.C. §3796d-
6(2).
36 An “eligible educational institution” is defined as an institution described in section 481
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088), as in effect on October 3, 1996, and
eligible to participate in programs under Title IV of the Act. 42 U.S.C. §3796d-6(3).

CRS-8
associated with attending college, including tuition and fees, room and board, books,
supplies, and other education-related costs.37
Assistance through the PSOEA program is available to the spouse and children
of a public safety officer after the PSOB death or disability claim has been approved
and awarded.38 As of October 1, 2006, the maximum award for a full-time student
was $860 per month.39 Award amounts are proportionately decreased for individuals
attending school part-time. Under current law, a PSOEA award is reduced — and
in some cases may be eliminated — by the amount of financial aid the applicant is
eligible to receive from federal, state, or local governments or public schools.40
PEOEA awards are not affected by the amount of financial aid the applicant receives
from loans, private schools, or private foundations or organizations.41 PSOEA
awards may be discontinued if the applicant fails to make satisfactory progress while
enrolled in school (i.e., maintains a 2.0 grade point average).42
The spouse of a deceased or disabled public safety officer is eligible to receive
education benefits under PSOEA anytime during his or her lifetime. However, the
child of a deceased or disabled public safety officer can receive benefits under
PSOEA only for educational expenses incurred prior to his or her 27th birthday. A
spouse or child of a deceased or disabled public safety officer cannot receive PSOEA
funds for more than 45 months of full-time education or a proportionate period of
part-time education.43
Applicants can apply for retroactive assistance for semesters or quarters already
completed, as long as they were completed after the date of the public safety officer’s
death or disability.44 Applicants can apply for prospective assistance only for the
current or upcoming semester or quarter.
Under the PSOEA program, the families of federal, state, and local police, fire,
and emergency public safety officers are covered for line-of-duty deaths that occurred
on or after January 1, 1978. Families of disabled federal law enforcement officers
are eligible for benefits if the officer was disabled on or after October 3, 1996,
37 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance,
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program: Educational Assistance Benefits, available at
[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/psob/psob_education.html], accessed March 12, 2008
(hereafter “PSOB: Educational Assistance Benefits”).
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
40 42 U.S.C.§3796d-1(3).
41 Claimants who are in default on any student loan obtained through Title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (e.g., Stafford or Perkins loans) are not eligible to receive PSOEA
benefits unless the benefits are used to pay back the defaulted loan. PSOB: Educational
Assistance Benefits.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 28 CFR §32.36.

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whereas families of disabled state and local police, fire, and emergency public safety
officers are eligible for benefits if the officer was disabled on or after November 13,
1998. Families of FEMA personnel and state, local, and tribal emergency
management and civil defense agency employees are covered for such injuries
sustained on or after October 30, 2000.
Appeal of Denied Claims
Claimants are allowed to appeal claims that are denied by the PSOB Office. A
claimant has 33 days after being served with a notice of denial to request a
determination by a hearing officer.45 The claimant may file supporting evidence or
legal arguments along with the request for a hearing officer determination.46 The
supporting evidence and legal arguments must be filed with both the hearing officer
and the PSOB Office. The claim is assigned to a hearing officer, who reviews the
claim de novo — meaning that the hearing officer reviews the entire claim anew
rather than reviewing the finding, determinations, decisions, judgements, rulings, or
other actions of the PSOB Office — and makes a determination.47
A claimant appealing the denial of a death or disability benefit can request that
the hearing officer hold a hearing.48 A request for a hearing will not be granted if the
claimant does not request a hearing within 90 days of the claim being assigned to a
hearing officer. The hearing provides the hearing officer with the opportunity to
collect evidence from the claimant and any other evidence the hearing officer may
decide is necessary or useful.49 At the hearing, the hearing officer may exclude
evidence whose probative value is substantially outweighed by undue delay, waste
of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.50 Witnesses (other than the
claimant and anyone who the claimant has shown to be essential to the presentation
of the claim) are prevented from hearing the testimony of other witnesses at the
hearing.51
45 A “hearing officer” is appointed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §3787, which reads, “The Bureau
of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics
may appoint such hearing examiners or administrative law judges or request the use of such
administrative law judges selected by the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to [5
U.S.C. § 3344], as shall be necessary to carry out their respective powers and duties under
this chapter. [BJA], [NIJ], and [BJS] or upon authorization, any member thereof or any
hearing examiner or administrative law judge assigned to or employed thereby shall have
the power to hold hearings and issue subpoenas, administer oaths, examine witnesses, and
receive evidence at any place in the United States they respectively may designate.”
46 28 CFR §32.42.
47 28 CFR §32.43.
48 28 CFR §32.45.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.

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If a claim is denied by the hearing officer, the claimant can appeal to the
Director of BJA (“the Director). If the denied claim is not appealed to the Director,
the hearing officer’s determination is considered the final agency determination of
the claim.52 A claimant has 33 days after being notified by the hearing officer that
the claim has been denied to file an appeal with the Director.53 Like the request for
a hearing officer determination, the claimant may file supporting evidence or legal
arguments along with the request for an appeal. If the Director denies the claim, the
claimant can appeal the denial in the United States Court of Federal Claims pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. §1491(a).54 However, to petition the court to review the denial of a
claim, the claimant must exhaust the administrative remedies available, meaning that
the claimant must have asked for both a hearing officer determination and a Director
review. The Director’s determination constitutes the final agency determination of
the claim.55
PSOB Appropriations and Obligations
The PSOB death benefit is a mandatory program, and the disability and
education benefits are discretionary programs. As such, Congress appropriates “such
sums as are necessary” each fiscal year to fund the PSOB death benefit program
while appropriating separate amounts for both the disability and education benefits
programs. Table 1 outlines the appropriations and obligations for all three PSOB
benefit programs for FY2003-FY2007. The amount obligated each fiscal year
indicates the amount of benefits awarded each fiscal year for each PSOB program.
In some cases, a claim might be submitted in one fiscal year, but the actual award is
made in another, hence the difference between each fiscal year’s appropriation and
obligations. Benefits are paid with funds appropriated for the fiscal year in which the
officer was disabled or killed in the line of duty, not the fiscal year in which the claim
was approved. For example, if an officer was disabled in FY2005 but the claim was
not approved until FY2007, the officer’s claim would be paid with funds
appropriated in FY2005.
52 28 CFR §32.46.
53 28 CFR §32.52.
54 28 CFR §32.55.
55 Ibid.

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Table 1. Appropriations and Obligations for PSOB Death,
Disability, and Education Benefits, by Fiscal Year,
FY2003-FY2007
(in thousands of $)
Appropriation
Obligations
Fiscal
Year
Death
Disability Education
Death
Disability Education
FY2003
$49,054
$3,974
$0
$53,367
$2,254
$931
FY2004
$49,054
$2,968
$0
$40,683
$2,007
$756
FY2005
$63,054
$3,567
$2,758
$48,663
$2,217
$852
FY2006
$64,000
$4,822
$4,012
$53,006
$3,776
$882
FY2007
$64,000
$4,822
$4,012
$42,432
$2,300
$1,044
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program, Office of Communications.
Notes: Appropriations reflect rescissions.