[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4033 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4033
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
clarify the procedures and conditions for the award of matching grants
for the purchase of armor vests.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2000
Mr. Visclosky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
clarify the procedures and conditions for the award of matching grants
for the purchase of armor vests.
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 Grant
Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. 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;
(2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law
enforcement officers in the United States were feloniously
killed in the line of duty;
(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) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-
resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000
law enforcement officers in the United States; and
(5) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law
Enforcement Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian
country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national
crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ``public safety
crisis in Indian country''.
SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS.
(a) Matching Funds.--Section 2501(f) (42 U.S.C. 3796ll(f) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``The portion'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) The portion'';
(2) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and all that follows
through the period at the end of the first sentence and
inserting ``subsection (a)--
``(A) may not exceed 50 percent; and
``(B) shall equal 50 percent, if--
``(i) such grant is to a unit of local
government with fewer than 100,000 residents;
``(ii) the Director of the Bureau of
Justice Assistance determines that the quantity
of vests to be purchased with such grant is
reasonable; and
``(iii) such portion does not cause such
grant to violate the requirements of subsection
(e).''; and
(3) by striking ``Any funds'' and inserting the following:
``(2) Any funds''.
(b) Allocation of Funds.--Section 2501(g) (42 U.S.C. 3796ll(g)) of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended to
read as follows:
``(g) Allocation of Funds.--Funds available under this part shall
be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each qualifying unit
of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents. Any remaining
funds available under this part shall be awarded to other qualifying
applicants.''.
(c) Applications.--Section 2502 (42 U.S.C. 3796ll-1) of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting
after subsection (c) the following new subsection:
``(d) Applications in Conjunction With Purchases.--If an
application under this section is submitted in conjunction with a
transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts under this
section may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase unless,
before the application is submitted, the applicant--
``(1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of
the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain;
and
``(2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the
transaction regardless of whether such amounts are received.''.
(d) Definition of Armor Vest.--Paragraph (1) of section 2503 (42
U.S.C. 3796ll-2) of such Act is amended--
(1) by striking ``means body armor'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(A) body armor''; and
(2) by inserting after the semicolon at the end the
following: ``or
``(B) body armor which has been tested through such
voluntary compliance testing program, and found to meet
or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or
any subsequent revision of such standard;''.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a)(23) of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3793(a)(23)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting
the following: ``, and $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002
through 2004.''.
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