USA PATRIOT Act, Title VI

Title VI: Providing for victims of terrorism, public safety officers and their families is the sixth of ten titles which comprise the USA PATRIOT Act, an anti-terrorism bill passed in the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It provides aid to the families of Public Safety Officers who were injured or killed in terrorist attacks, and amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984.

Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 has provisions that provide for the payment of benefits for public safety officers or the family of those officers who are killed or who have suffered a catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty. Section 611 of the Patriot Act expedited such payments and they are now to be made not later than 30 days after the injury has been certified if it was sustained while investigating, undertaking rescue or recovery efforts related to a terrorist attack. Section 612 similarly amended Public Law 107-37, which also provides benefits for public safety officers who sustained catastrophic injuries sustained in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The amendment included "permanent and total disability" in the allowable reasons an officer may receive benefits. Benefits were increased from $100,000 to $250,000.

The Assistant Attorney General was given expanded authority under section 614 of the Patriot Act to make grants to any organization that administers any Office of Justice Programs, which were established under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The relevance to Subtitle A is that the Programs include the Public Safety Officers Benefits Program.

The Crime Victim Fund, which is regulated by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, allows private entities or individuals to give donations, gifts or bequests into the Fund. Section 621 of the Patriot Act amended the formula for distributions from the Fund. The Director must distribute not less than 90 percent nor more than 110 percent of the amount distributed from the Fund in the previous fiscal year. However, this does not apply if the amount of money in the Fund is twice what was distributed in the previous financial year — in this case the Director may distribute up to 120 percent of the amount distributed in the previous fiscal year. The Director is also directed to distribute amounts to cover the judicial branch's administrative costs along with amounts to grant programs. Any funds left over from the distribution were to remain in reserve in the Fund for future fiscal years, without a fiscal year limitation. These changes were later rolled back by section 111 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (H.R. 2500). The Patriot Act also changed the distribution percentages of the remaining amount in the Fund in a particular fiscal year. The percentage given to crime victim compensation programs and for crime victim assistance was lowered from 48.5% to 47.5%, while funds for demonstration projects, program evaluation, compliance efforts, training and technical assistance services to eligible crime victim assistance programs and for the financial support of services to victims of Federal crime by eligible crime victim assistance programs was raised from 3% to 5%.

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