Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee - Justice Denied? Implementation of the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act
Interview
Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee - Justice Denied? Implementation of the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act
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SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): -- (audio break) -- inviting these witnesses here to share with us their experiences, and particularly appreciate your inviting Jo Ann Tilton of Katy, Texas to testify.
I just received word that her claim was finally approved yesterday, two-and-a-half years after it was filed, thanks to the attention that this hearing has brought to her case, and the case of others like her. But I think we should all agree that it should not take a congressional hearing to cut through the red tape and motivate the bureaucracy to finally act appropriately on the claim.
On October the 20th, 2004, volunteer firefighter Jerry Tilton died of a heart attack. Three years later Jo Ann Tilton comes before this committee seeking answers. Ms. Tilton wrote to my Dallas office in May of 2006 about the adjudication of her husband's public safety officer's benefit claim, which she submitted to the Department of Justice in January of 2005.
The determination still to be made is whether or not Mr. Tilton's cardiac event was actually in the line of duty. His heart attack occurred while performing his duties as a volunteer fire chief for the Katy Fire Department. Not only did the Department of Justice taken an extraordinarily long time to process the claims, but DOJ gave Ms. Tilton different answers every time she made an inquiry, most of the time telling her nothing.
On April 24th, 2007, my office received a letter from the DOJ stating that the PSOB office had completed its review of Ms. Tilton's claim, and she would receive a written notification within the next 10 days. Then on September 5th, 2007, my office received another letter from the DOJ stating that her husband's file had been sent to the forensic pathologist to undergo another medical review.
Mr. Chairman, Ms. Tilton has been waiting for about three years for a decision to be made on her claim, and waiting for a straightforward answer. This is, by any measure, unacceptable. It speaks to the need to reform the tangled bureaucracy that is unable to manage, even in a timely, efficient way, decisions that have great personal importance to the families of our nation's first responders.
So I hope this hearing highlights that need so that people like Ms. Tilton may receive closure on this chapter of their lives, instead of facing continued confusion, frustration and disappointment.
Ms. Tilton, thank you for coming from Houston, from Katy, Texas, to share your story with the committee. And Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for allowing me to make a brief opening statement.
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