WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is just now processing over half of death, disability and education benefit claims from police and firefighters despite its one-year goal to resolve backlogs.
Washington Times reported that the DOJ and public safety officials appeared before Congress Tuesday to discuss the delays that have left first responders or their families waiting for years to get payments through the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit Program.
Iowa Sheriff Jay Langenbau said he and his four children have waited more than three years to be approved for benefits since the death of his wife, a volunteer firefighter and flight nurse who was killed in an air ambulance helicopter crash in 2013. Langenbau said he was told the claim couldn’t be processed until a NTSB report was finalized, a process that took two years.
After the report was filed, officials from the PSOB began to verify basic information included in the claim. In November, Langenbau was asked to resubmit paperwork. As of April 4, the claim was still pending.
Karol Mason, assistant attorney general with the Office of Justice Programs, apologized for the delay as she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She said the office plans to have new technology in place by November that will better track the time it takes to complete claims, according to the report.
“Knowing that this benefit is out there helps to ease the stress and burdens of adjusting to a new life, especially in the first few months following a tragedy like the death of a loved one,” Langenbau said. “It would be helpful for me to be able to tell colleagues that they can expect to receive assistance from the PSOB office within a few months, rather than three-plus years, in the event of a tragedy.”
Officials have been aware of delays in the program and have tried multiple times to address the long wait times.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, Judiciary Committee chairman, said that the delays have persisted despite an infusion of cash that was meant to pay outside contractors to help tackle the backlog of cases.
“Somehow, the situation at the PSOB Office has gone from bad to worse,” Grassley said. “It is hard to understand how that could happen. Since 2009, DOJ spent over $22 million paying outside contractors to help. This was supposed to speed up the claims process. Clearly, it did not.”