National President Patrick Yoes sent a letter to Senators McConnell, Schumer, Grassley and Wyden, requesting that the Senate consider including the Social Security Fairness Act into the so-called “Phase 4” bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To view the letter, please click here.
COVID-19 Activity Updates
National President Patrick Yoes sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Neal and Representatives McCarthy and Brady, requesting that the House consider including the Social Security Fairness Act into the so-called “Phase 4,” a bill being developed in the Senate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To view the letter, please click here.
National President Patrick Yoes sounded the alarm on the decisions in the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions to release convicted offenders without any process or assessment for the safety of the public. To view the press release, please click here.
Executive Director Jim Pasco held a conference call today with Brian Dorow, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office for State and Local Law Enforcement (OSLLE), DHS; Dr. Alex L. Eastman, Senior Medical Officer—Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS); an active officer with the Dallas Police Department and a proud member of the FOP; and Lori Sims, Management Project Analyst with the OSLLE, to discuss the need to address the patchwork of approaches to handling officer exposure issues at the state and local level. Without a national standard, jurisdictions have been addressing this issue, or not addressing it, without any guidance or best practices. Deputy Assistant Secretary Dorow and Dr. Eastman promised the FOP that they would work to develop and release model policies and best practices for local and state law enforcement and have this material to the field early next week.
Executive Director Jim Pasco spoke with officials at the White House regarding the Administration’s activities to combat the coronavirus, with a particular emphasis on getting the presumptions in place for COVID-19-related death benefits filed with the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program. The FOP would like to thank the offices of the President and the Attorney General, as we are cautiously optimistic that we’ll get a positive response in the near future.
Executive Director Jim Pasco had continued the interaction with officials at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in regards to the coronavirus-related workers’ compensation issues. The principal action appears to be at the state level.
Executive Director Jim Pasco had an informational exchange with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Public Health Service in regards to personal protective equipment (PPE).
Phil Keith, Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), sent the following letter to all FOP members to inform them of the adjustments being made to confront COVID-19 work-related issues, grant-related challenges and communications with law enforcement first responders and stakeholders. Additionally, Director Keith provides a brief update on the work of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. To view the letter, please click here.
National President Patrick Yoes sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr requesting his help and guidance as it pertains to the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program. To view the letter, please click here.
National President Patrick Yoes announced that the FOP has launched its new COVID-19 website. This new website will contain comprehensive COVID-19 information to ensure that the men and women of law enforcement are equipped with the most accurate and up-to-date information to help them protect and serve their communities amidst the national pandemic. To view the website, please visit FOPcovid19.org. To view President Yoes’ announcement, please click here.
National President Patrick Yoes, along with Linda Hennie, National President of the National FOP Auxiliary; Marcia Ferranto, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund; and Dianne Bernhard, Executive Director of the Concerns of Police Survivors, announced that a decision was made to honor our current fallen officers alongside those who will be honored during the traditional National Police Week events in 2021. To view the statement, please click here.
National President Patrick Yoes sent an email to all FOP State Lodge presidents, informing them that the National FOP has been working with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor to get presumptions in place for death benefits filed with the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program and with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. National President Yoes asked that all State Lodges forward any information regarding states that have enacted such presumptions by executive order, legislative action or other regulatory means to Michelle Mason (mmason@fop.net). The National FOP Legislative Office will be collecting information on states where such action is “in the works” and establishing a database. The office will work with all of our State Lodge presidents to keep it as up-to-date as possible.
