HOUSTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn met with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, and Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña to discuss the recently introduced Public Safety Officer Support Act.
Following a roundtable discussion, a press conference was held to discuss the initiative with the public.
The roundtable was to highlight the bipartisan legislation which would support the families of officers who struggle with their mental health or who are lost to trauma-linked suicides.
At the roundtable, Houston leaders shared the stressful challenges that public safety officers face on a daily basis and discussed how this legislation will extend the same post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) benefits to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and medical first responders that the military provides.
Following the roundtable, Sen. Cornyn toured the Houston Police Department Museum, including the Wall of Honor display, and then held a press conference to discuss the legislation.
The bipartisan, bicameral Public Safety Officer Support Act will expand the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) program to create an avenue for officers to seek disability benefits for PTSD and in some circumstances provide surviving families PSOB benefits in the case of death by suicide.