[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2195-E2196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     INTRODUCING THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 1997

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 5, 1997

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I--along with our distinguished colleague 
from New Jersey, Mr. LoBiondo, and over 80 of our other House 
colleagues--am pleased to introduce the Bulletproof Vest Partnership 
Grant Act of 1997.
  I was inspired to introduce this legislation when I learned that gang 
members in Northwest Indiana had the protection of bulletproof vests, 
but that many police departments simply could not afford to buy them 
for their officers. In fact, figures from the U.S. Department of 
Justice indicate that approximately 150,000 law enforcement officers--
or 25 percent of the Nation's 600,000 State and local officers--do not 
have access to bulletproof vests.
  The legislation I am introducing today would form a partnership with 
State and local law enforcement agencies in order to make sure that 
every police officer who needs a bulletproof vest gets one. It would do 
so by authorizing up to $25 million per year for a new grant program 
within the U.S. Department of Justice. The program would provide 50-50 
matching grants to State and local law enforcement agencies to assist 
in purchasing bulletproof vests and body armor for their officers.
  These grants would be targeted to jurisdictions where most officers 
do not currently have access to vests, and they are designed to be free 
of the red tape that often characterizes other grant programs. In order 
to make sure that no community is left out of the program, the matching 
requirement could be waived for jurisdictions that demonstrate 
financial hardship in meeting their half of the match.
  This bipartisan bill has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of 
Police, the National Sheriff's Association, the International Union of 
Police Associations, the Police Executive Research Forum, the 
International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and the National 
Association of Police Organizations.
  Far too many police officers are needlessly killed each year while 
serving to protect our citizens. Since 1980, 1,182 police officers have 
been feloniously killed by a firearm. According to the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, 42 percent of those officers could have been saved if 
they had been wearing bulletproof vests.
  Bulletproof vests are so effective in protecting law enforcement 
officers from death and injury that the lives of more than 2,000 police 
officers have been saved because they were

[[Page E2196]]

wearing them. The FBI says that the risk of fatality to officers from a 
firearm while not wearing body armor is 14 times higher than for 
officers wearing body armor. One study indicates that between 1985 and 
1994, no police officer who was wearing a bulletproof vest was killed 
by a gunshot that penetrated the officer's vest.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are going to ask our law enforcement officials to 
risk their lives every day in the line of duty, it is incumbent upon us 
to give them every bit of protection possible. While no piece of 
equipment can save the life of every officer, having a bulletproof vest 
often means the difference between life and death. I would like to 
thank Mr. LoBiondo, and my other colleagues who have already co-
sponsored this important legislation, and I urge you and the rest of 
our colleagues to support it as well.

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