[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2230 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2230

   To ensure that members of the Armed Forces have complete personal 
 armored protection necessary for their duties, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2006

 Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that members of the Armed Forces have complete personal 
 armored protection necessary for their duties, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Servicemember Safety Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. COMPLETE PERSONAL ARMORED PROTECTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    (a) Provision of Complete Personal Armored Protection.--
            (1) In general.--Commencing as soon as practicable after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of each 
        military department shall, except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        ensure that each covered member of the Armed Forces under the 
        jurisdiction of such Secretary is provided interceptor body 
        armor and such other appropriate protective gear as is 
        necessary to provide such member with complete personal armored 
        protection.
            (2) Exception.--A member of the Armed Forces described in 
        paragraph (1) may be provided body armor and other protective 
        gear that provides such member with less than complete personal 
        armored protection if a unit commander of such member (at such 
        level of command as the Secretary of the military department 
        concerned shall specify for purposes of this section) certifies 
        that the provision to such member of body armor and other gear 
        providing complete personal armored protection would impose on 
        such member a greater risk of injury or death than would be 
        borne by such member if provided body armor and other gear 
        under this paragraph.
    (b) Payment for Body Armor and Protective Gear.--
            (1) Temporary authority for payment.--During the period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 
        on the date of the commencement of the provision of body armor 
        and other protective gear under subsection (a) by the Secretary 
        of a military department, such Secretary shall provide to such 
        covered members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of 
        such Secretary as such Secretary shall designate for purposes 
        of this subsection an amount for the purchase by such members, 
        or for the reimbursement of purchases made by others on behalf 
        of such members, of such interceptor body armor and other 
        appropriate protective gear as is necessary to provide such 
        members with complete personal armored protection.
            (2) Designation of members.--In designating members of the 
        Armed Forces under paragraph (1), the Secretary of a military 
        department shall designate members whose military duties or 
        assignments most urgently require the acquisition by such 
        members of complete personal armored protection.
            (3) Amount of payment.--The total amount of the payment 
        made to a member of the Armed Forces under paragraph (1) may 
        not exceed the lesser of--
                    (A) $1,100; or
                    (B) the amount incurred by or on behalf of such 
                member to purchase body armor and other gear as 
                described in that paragraph.
            (4) Authorized producers and suppliers of armor and gear.--
        Payment may be made to a member of the Armed Forces under 
        paragraph (1) for the purchase of body armor or other gear only 
        if such body armor or other gear is purchased from such 
        producers and suppliers of military gear as the Secretary of 
        the military department concerned shall designate for purposes 
        of this subsection.
            (5) Coordination with provision of complete personal 
        armored protection.--A member of the Armed Forces who receives 
        a payment under this subsection is not entitled to the 
        provision of body armor or protective gear under subsection (a) 
        unless the Secretary of the military department concerned 
        determines that the provision of body armor or protective gear 
        to such member under that subsection is necessary in order to 
        meet the requirements of that subsection with respect to such 
        member.
    (c) Coordination Among Military Departments.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall ensure that the requirements of this section are, to the 
maximum extent practicable, carried out uniformly across the military 
departments.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``complete personal armored protection'', in 
        the case of a member of the Armed Forces, means such 
        interceptor body armor, other body armor, and other protective 
        gear as is necessary to fully shield the torso of the member 
        (including the shoulders, sides, and lower torso) with body 
        armor.
            (2) The term ``covered member of the Armed Forces'' means a 
        member of the Armed Forces who is ordered, assigned, or 
        deployed to a combat zone or on a combat operation.
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