[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1605 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                S. 1605


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 1998

               Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To establish a matching grant program to help States, units of local 
 government, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by law 
                         enforcement officers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the number of law enforcement officers who are killed 
        in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law 
        enforcement officer in the United States had the protection of 
        an armor vest while performing their hazardous duties;
            (2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that more 
        than 30 percent of the almost 1,182 law enforcement officers 
        killed by a firearm in the line of duty could have been saved 
        if they had been wearing body armor;
            (3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the 
        risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing 
        an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing an 
        armor vest;
            (4) the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 
        150,000 State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, 
        nearly 25 percent, are not issued body armor;
            (5) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law 
        Enforcement Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian 
        country has risen sharply, despite decreases in the national 
        crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ``public safety 
        crisis in Indian country''; and
            (6) many State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, 
        especially those in smaller communities and rural 
        jurisdictions, need assistance in order to provide body armor 
        for their officers.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to save lives of law 
enforcement officers by helping State, local, and tribal law 
enforcement agencies provide those officers with armor vests.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Armor vest.--The term ``armor vest'' means body armor 
        that has been tested through the voluntary compliance testing 
        program operated by the National Law Enforcement and 
        Corrections Technology Center of the National Institute of 
        Justice (NIJ), and found to comply with the requirements of NIJ 
        Standard 0101.03, or any subsequent revision of that standard.
            (2) Body armor.--The term ``body armor'' means any product 
        sold or offered for sale as personal protective body covering 
        intended to protect against gunfire, stabbing, or other 
        physical harm.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the Department of Justice.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the same 
        meaning as in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
            (5) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law enforcement 
        officer'' means any officer, agent, or employee of a State, 
        unit of local government, or Indian tribe authorized by law or 
        by a government agency to engage in or supervise the 
        prevention, detection, or investigation of any violation of 
        criminal law, or authorized by law to supervise sentenced 
        criminal offenders.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
        Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
            (7) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government'' means a county, municipality, town, township, 
        village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government 
        below the State level.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Grant Authorization.--The Director may make grants to States, 
units of local government, and Indian tribes in accordance with this 
Act to purchase armor vests for use by State, local, and tribal law 
enforcement officers.
    (b) Applications.--Each State, unit of local government, or Indian 
tribe seeking to receive a grant under this section shall submit to the 
Director an application, in such form and containing such information 
as the Director may reasonably require.
    (c) Uses of Funds.--Grant awards under this section shall be--
            (1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
        government, or Indian tribe; and
            (2) used for the purchase of armor vests for law 
        enforcement officers in the jurisdiction of the grantee.
    (d) Preferential Consideration.--In awarding grants under this 
section, the Director may give preferential consideration, where 
feasible, to applications from jurisdictions that--
            (1) have a violent crime rate at or above the national 
        average, as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
        and
            (2) have not been providing each law enforcement officer 
        assigned to patrol or other hazardous duties with body armor.
    (e) Minimum Amount.--Unless all applications submitted by any 
State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe for a grant under this 
section have been funded, each State, together with grantees within the 
State (other than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each fiscal 
year under this section not less than 0.75 percent of the total amount 
appropriated in the fiscal year for grants pursuant to this section, 
except that the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and 
the Northern Mariana Islands shall each be allocated 0.25 percent.
    (f) Maximum Amount.--A qualifying State, unit of local government, 
or Indian tribe may not receive more than 5 percent of the total amount 
appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under this section, except 
that a State, together with the grantees within the State may not 
receive more than 20 percent of the total amount appropriated in each 
fiscal year for grants under this section.
    (g) Matching Funds.--The portion of the costs of a program provided 
by a grant under this section may not exceed 50 percent, unless the 
Director determines a case of fiscal hardship and waives, wholly or in 
part, the requirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 
contribution to the costs of a program.
    (h) Allocation of Funds.--Not less than 50 percent of the funds 
awarded under this section in each fiscal year shall be allocated to 
units of local government, or Indian tribes, having jurisdiction over 
areas with populations of 100,000 or less.
    (i) Reimbursement.--Grants under this section may be used to 
reimburse law enforcement officers who have previously purchased body 
armor with personal funds during a period in which body armor was not 
provided by the State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe.

SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director shall promulgate regulations to carry out this Act, which 
shall set forth the information that must be included in each 
application under section 4(b) and the requirements that States, units 
of local government, and Indian tribes must meet in order to receive a 
grant under section 4.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF PRISON INMATE LABOR.

    Any State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe that receives 
financial assistance provided using funds appropriated or otherwise 
made available by this Act may not purchase equipment or products 
manufactured using prison inmate labor.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    In the case of any equipment or product authorized to be purchased 
with financial assistance provided using funds appropriated or 
otherwise made available under this Act, it is the sense of Congress 
that entities receiving the assistance should, in expending the 
assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to carry out this Act.

            Passed the Senate March 11, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.