Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act of 2003
Public Law 108-182 · S. 459 · 108th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 15, 2003 · Crime and Law Enforcement
Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Cosponsors (17): Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Susan Collins,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act of 2003 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that a public safety officer who dies as the direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke shall be presumed to have died as the result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, for purposes of survivor benefits, if: (1) that officer, while on duty, engaged in a situation involving non-routine stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical services, prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency response activity or participated in a training exercise that involved non-routine stressful or strenuous physical activity; (2) that officer died as a result of a heart attack or stroke suffered while participating, while still on duty after participating, or not later than 24 hours after participating in such activity; and (3) such presumption is not overcome by competent medical evidence to the contrary.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Judiciary Committee · House · referred toSubcommittee: Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 919Related bill
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 20 actions.
- Dec 15, 2003Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 108-182.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 3, 2003FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Nov 26, 2003FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 25, 2003Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to House amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Nov 22, 2003FloorFloor · Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendment to Senate bill.
- FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- FloorFloor · Mr. DeLay asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
- Jun 25, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- May 19, 2003FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- May 16, 2003FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Feb 26, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2855-2856)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
H.Amdt. 455HouseRep. Tom DeLayR-TX-22· offered Nov 22, 2003Agreed to
Nov 22, 2003: On agreeing to the DeLay amendment (A001) Agreed to without objection.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.