Only seven of the more than 250 claims for Public Safety Officers' Benefits administered by the Department of Justice for the families of firefighters who died of a stroke or heart attack have been approved. Forty-seven have been denied, and the rest remain in limbo.

Philip Stittleburg is a lawyer, fire chief and four-term chairman of the National Volunteer Firefighters Council. He's been pushing for better benefits long before the Hometown Heros Act became law in December 2003. Shortly after this interview, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned.

In terms of money, how serious are the delays or denials to the families?

For a lot of these families it is a major impact. The thing that troubles me more than the financial aspect of it is the inability to reach closure of this event. Having to pursue this Public Safety Officers' Benefit claim is really to have to relive this traumatic event. The dollars are important … but just having this wound continually reopened is every bit as significant. The total dollars at issue, if every one of these pending claims was paid, is maybe $6 million. We're not talking about balancing the federal budget here by denying these claims. The money is terribly significant in terms of the individuals involved, but it is a pretty insignificant amount in terms of the federal government's budget.

Why has this program been so poorly administered?

It seems that it is stuck in the bureaucracy. It was passed unanimously by a republican Congress, signed by a republican president, yet we've got a republican administration that refuses to pay these claims. Politics just doesn't seem to be the explanation here. I'm convinced there's somebody in the Department of Justice that simply has some objection to expanding this law and is in a position to block it.

I'm doubtful it goes as far as the White House. All of this is a big matter for the fire service, but is a pretty small blip for the White House given all the things that are going on right now. Although the White House may be aware of it, it doesn't care enough to take the action to fix it. With Gonzales, I'm inclined to think that it doesn't quite reach that level. Part of the reason is that Gonzales is under heavy fire. It just seems that a way for him to have a good day is to say, “Hey, I'm breaking this log jam, I'm paying these claims, I'm inviting all the families to come to Washington and am making a check presentation.” The guy could come off looking really, really good. Why that isn't happening is a mystery to me.

Will Sen. Patrick Leahy's order to fix the problem get the ball rolling?

I don't think it's going to get the ball rolling. They've had three and a half years to process some of these claims. That signals to me that there is no interest in fixing it. Probably a congressional investigation is the most useful tool that is out there. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) has mentioned that he's thinking along those lines and Leahy (D-Vt.) has made the same remark. I'm not sure waiting until the next presidential administration comes in is going to solve the problem. Whoever is blocking this may be a bureaucrat who is going to survive an administration change.

Given all that Congress has on its plate, can they take this up?

You wonder. On the other hand, Leahy is a very powerful senator and Etheridge is a well-known congressman, between the two of them they garnered over 100 signatures on the letter they sent to the president complaining about this.

Will this issue have any ramifications in the 2008 elections?

It's not going to make a difference. It is a major issue for us in the fire service and the families directly involved, but we're talking 260 applications here. As much as it pains me to say it, from a pragmatic point of view, I don't think this will play out in the presidential election.

What's the prognosis for these families?

The International Association of Fire Chiefs and NVFC have sent people into the DOJ office that is handling these claims to literally go through the claims to see what is missing and what can be done to expedite them. I think we will see some good results. The bigger issue is correcting how the DOJ is interpreting this law. This requirement of showing that there was some nonroutine, stressful or strenuous activity is just so mushy that if DOJ wants to take that approach can say “you haven't demonstrated that kind of activity.” Congress wanted these to be paid. We have to reformulate the language that DOJ is using to interpret this. Emergency response by its very nature is stressful; it seems like an oxymoron to say nonstressful emergency response.