FLEOA Endorses the Public Safety Officer Support Act, a bill to add traumatic mental health injury to the PSOB program
January 20, 2022
Senator Tammy Duckworth
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 205150
Senator John Cornyn
523 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Duckworth and Senator Cornyn,
On behalf of the more than 30,000 members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) – the nation’s largest professional, non-profit association representing federal law enforcement officers across 65 federal agencies – I write to you today to express out strong support for the "Public Safety Officer Support Act.” Thank you for your leadership of an issue that is critically important to the law enforcement community.
With the historic increase in law enforcement suicides, due in part to rising crime rates and an environment that emboldens targeted attacks on law enforcement officers, it is imperative that we recognize the impact of this high stress working environment on our officers’ mental health and well-being. Unfortunately, the result has been a dramatic increase in officer suicides due to an unseen mental health problem or, in many cases, a hidden traumatic psychological injury. This can include acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs has created robust suicide prevention and treatment programs and has acknowledged the impacts of the aforementioned disorders on military personnel. Regrettably, law enforcement in the United States is just beginning to understand, comprehend, and address officer mental health and wellness issues.
For these and many other reasons, we agree it is imperative to update the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program to recognize and support the mental health challenges the law enforcement profession is now facing.
FLEOA looks forward to working with your offices to ensure first responders, and others who work to support and protect our communities, receive the proper support through the ongoing mental health crisis. We look forward to the swift passage of this bill. If we can be of any additional assistance, feel free to contact us at fleoa@fleoa.org.
Sincerely,
Larry Cosme
FLEOA National President