[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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