Associated Press: Sen. Grassley calls delays at a benefits program for deceased officers ‘absolutely unacceptable’
By Ryan Foley
June 24, 2025
A powerful U.S. senator on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to fix a growing backlog and longtime management problems at the program that promises benefits 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 Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program 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 yearslong delays in processing and approving claims.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which he suggested she consider replacing longtime program leader Hope Janke.
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Grassley cited a Government Accountability Office report issued last year that detailed deficiencies in the program’s management dating back to 2009. He said the program had failed to make changes recommended by outside reviewers but that “government bureaucrats” such as Janke have never been held accountable.
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Grassley demanded the Department of Justice (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’s oversight of the program.
“We need movement. We need change and not only for my family,” she said. “They’ve lost sight of why the program was started.”
Read the full article HERE.
Read Grassley’s letter to DOJ HERE.
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