On Capitol Hill: A Tribute to Father Mychal

The Police and Fire Chaplains Public Safety Officers' Benefit Act, which honors AFSCME's heroic priest, Father Mychal Judge, was signed into law on June 24. The bill extends federal death benefits to families and other designees of police and fire chaplains killed in the line of duty. It also expands the pool of beneficiaries for payment of public safety-officer death benefits, which cover COs, law enforcement and emergency medical technicians, to include those designated by the officer's most recent life insurance policy.

Father Judge, the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department and a member of AFSCME Local 299 (DC 37), was struck by debris at the World Trade Center as he ministered to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

He was a Catholic priest whose parents predeceased him. Without the change in the beneficiary law and the coverage of chaplains, no one would have received the $250,000 benefit stemming from his death. The legislation, retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, will cover nine other public safety officers who were killed and left no surviving spouses, children or parents.