By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa 鈥� A powerful U.S. senator on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to fix and longtime management problems at the when police and firefighters die or become disabled in the line of duty.
Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the is failing the spouses and children of deceased and disabled first responders and needs new leadership. He said the mismanagement has caused significant hardship for grieving families, who often experience years-long delays in processing and approving claims.
鈥淭his is absolutely unacceptable,鈥� he wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which he suggested she consider replacing longtime program leader Hope Janke.
Grassley鈥檚 letter comes days after The Associated Press detailing the claims backlog at the program, which provides a nearly $450,000 one-time payment to the families of deceased and disabled officers and firefighters in addition to education benefits.
The AP found dozens of families are waiting five years or more to learn whether they qualify for the life-changing payments, and more are being denied. As of late April, nearly 900 claims had been pending for more than one year, more than triple the number from five years ago, with a small number languishing for a decade.
Grassley cited a Government Accountability Office report issued last year that detailed deficiencies in the program鈥檚 management dating back to 2009. He said the program had failed to make changes recommended by outside reviewers but that 鈥済overnment bureaucrats鈥� such as Janke have never been held accountable.
Janke has not responded to AP emails seeking comment, including one Tuesday. A DOJ spokesperson confirmed receipt of Grassley鈥檚 letter but declined to comment further.
DOJ officials said earlier this year that they are adopting several recommendations from the GAO, including improvements to make the program鈥檚 electronic claims management system more user-friendly. They say they are responding to a surge of claims after Congress has made more categories of deaths and injuries eligible for benefits.
Grassley demanded the DOJ provide updates and documents within two weeks related to the status of those changes.
Texas widow Lisa Afolayan, who is still fighting the program for benefits 16 years after her husband died while training for the Border Patrol, welcomed Grassley鈥檚 oversight of the program.
鈥淲e need movement. We need change and not only for my family,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e lost sight of why the program was started.鈥�
