WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is an original co-sponsor of legislation to fund mental health treatment for firefighters, paramedics, and dispatchers.
The bill would authorize $7.5 million a year through the 2032 fiscal year to fund mental health and wellness services, including suicide prevention, counseling and support. It also would fund programs for spouses and children.
Lawmakers said that the federal government already funds mental health programs for law enforcement personnel, and the legislation would take care of EMS, firefighters, and other first responders as well.
“This bill would provide critical access to mental health support for those on the front lines who are at risk of higher rates of trauma and mental health struggles than the general population,” said Kean (R-Westfield), who was hospitalized for depression earlier this year and was absent from Capitol Hill for four months.
“Ensuring they have the resources they need will strengthen the safety and well-being of both those in EMS agencies and the communities they serve.”
Booker calls for freeze on ICE hiring and more training for officers
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) have introduced legislation to freeze hiring for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and set up new training standards for all federal law enforcement personnel.
The bill would establish minimum standards for recruitment, vetting, training, and accountability, including comprehensive background investigations, medical evaluations, and physical fitness testing, and require officers to complete training programs.
It would prevent ICE from hiring new officers until the agency ensures that its current personnel meet those standards.
“When the federal government gives someone the power to carry a badge, make arrests, and use force, it has a responsibility to ensure that person has been thoroughly vetted, properly trained, and prepared to serve,” Booker said.
The senators said that the Trump administration has weakened requirements for ICE officers in an attempt to ratchet up hiring to carry out its efforts to deport millions of immigrants
Just last month, the senators noted, ICE officers killed two American residents sitting in their cars.
“ICE officers have relentlessly disregarded the Constitution and violated fundamental rights—breaking down doors, detaining people in mass sweeps, and engaging in brutal and violent tactics,” Blumenthal said. “As a whistleblower revealed to my office earlier this year, ICE has drastically reduced its training standards, accelerating the risks of death and destruction by its officers.
Booker, Kim, Menendez join Democratic colleagues to support childhood vaccines
Booker, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) were among 88 congressional Democrats demanding that President Donald Trump rescind his executive order weakening longstanding recommendations for when, if and how children should be vaccinated.
“At a moment when the United States is experiencing the highest surge in measles cases in thirty-five years and an increasing number of states forced to declare public health emergencies — your administration is placing more children in harm’s way rather than protecting them,” the lawmakers wrote.
Trump has embraced U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts against vaccines despite decades of evidence showing how effective they are.
“The health and safety of America’s children must not be sacrificed for political theater and ideology,” the lawmakers wrote. “The administration’s politicization of vaccines makes American families less safe, threatens to return the U.S. to an era before routine vaccination prevented millions of infections, and is already resulting in unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths, particularly among children.”
