[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6462 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6462

  To require the Bureau of Prisons to provide stab-resistant personal 
 body armor to all correctional officers of the Bureau, and to require 
            such officers to wear such armor while on duty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2008

 Mr. Cardoza introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Bureau of Prisons to provide stab-resistant personal 
 body armor to all correctional officers of the Bureau, and to require 
            such officers to wear such armor while on duty.

    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 ``Jose Rivera Correctional Officer 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Federal correctional officers work in a volatile 
        environment where they face the Nation's most serious and 
        violent criminals every day.
            (2) Correctional officers are surrounded by inmates with a 
        history of violent behavior and materials which are converted 
        into weapons. Relatively harmless items converted into weapons 
        are used to assault correctional officers.
            (3) While several State correctional officers and local 
        city and county law enforcement officials are issued protective 
        ``stab-proof'' vests on duty, Bureau of Prisons correctional 
        officers are only issued protective vests for use in responding 
        to emergencies and when escorting inmates in the community, not 
        during the routine, everyday performance of their 
        responsibilities. Thus, Bureau of Prisons correctional officers 
        are the only segment of the correctional workforce not afforded 
        this additional safety precaution.
            (4) On June 20, 2008, two inmates brutally attacked and 
        killed Correctional Officer Jose Rivera at the Federal 
        Penitentiary in Atwater, California. The two inmates who 
        attacked Officer Rivera had been classified by the Bureau of 
        Prisons as ``unable to rehabilitate'', and were among the most 
        dangerous in the prison population.
            (5) Bureau of Prisons correctional officers should not be 
        forced to put their safety at risk in order to comply with an 
        outdated standard on protective enhancements to uniforms, 
        especially when directly interacting with the prison 
        population.

SEC. 3. STAB-RESISTANT PERSONAL BODY ARMOR REQUIRED.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Bureau of Prisons shall, subject to the availability of 
appropriations to carry out this Act, provide each correctional officer 
of the Bureau of Prisons with stab-resistant personal body armor, and 
shall require each such officer to wear such stab-resistant personal 
body armor at any time such officer is on duty.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.
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