[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3046-H3054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 1998

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2829) to establish a matching grant program to help state 
and local jurisdictions purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement 
departments, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2829

       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 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

       (a) 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) the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 
     150,000 State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, 
     nearly 25 percent, are not issued body armor;
       (5) 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
       (6) 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''.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to save lives of 
     law enforcement officers by helping State, local, and tribal 
     law enforcement agencies provide officers with armor vests.

     SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR 
                   VESTS.

       (a) In General.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating part Y as part Z;
       (2) by redesignating section 2501 as section 2601; and
       (3) by inserting after part X the following new part:

    ``PART Y--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS

     ``SEC. 2501. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice 
     Assistance is authorized to make grants to States, units of 
     local government, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests 
     for use by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers.
       ``(b) Uses of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section 
     shall be--
       ``(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
     government, or Indian tribe; and
       ``(2) used for the purchase of armor vests for law 
     enforcement officers in the jurisdiction of the grantee.
       ``(c) Preferential Consideration.--In awarding grants under 
     this part, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
     may give preferential consideration, if feasible, to an 
     application from a jurisdiction that--
       ``(1) has the greatest need for armor vests based on the 
     percentage of law enforcement officers in the department who 
     do not have access to a vest;
       ``(2) has, or will institute, a mandatory wear policy that 
     requires on-duty law enforcement officers to wear armor vests 
     whenever feasible; and
       ``(3) has a violent crime rate at or above the national 
     average as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
     or
       ``(4) has not received a block grant under the Local Law 
     Enforcement Block Grant program described under the heading 
     `Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law 
     Enforcement Assistance' of the Departments of Commerce, 
     Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-119).
       ``(d) Minimum Amount.--Unless all eligible applications 
     submitted by any State or unit of local government within 
     such State for a grant under this section have been funded, 
     such State, together with grantees within the State (other 
     than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each fiscal year 
     under this section not less than 0.50 percent of the total 
     amount appropriated in the fiscal year for grants pursuant to 
     this section, except that the United States Virgin Islands, 
     American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall 
     be each be allocated 0.25 percent.
       ``(e) Maximum Amount.--A qualifying State, unit of local 
     government, or Indian tribe may not receive more than 5 
     percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year 
     for grants under this section, except that a State, together 
     with the grantees within the State may not receive more than 
     20 percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal 
     year for grants under this section.
       ``(f) Matching Funds.--The portion of the costs of a 
     program provided by a grant under subsection (a) may not 
     exceed 50 percent. Any funds appropriated by Congress for the 
     activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government or 
     the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law enforcement 
     functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the non 
     Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this 
     subsection.
       ``(g) Allocation of Funds.--At least half of the funds 
     available under this part shall be awarded to units of local 
     government with fewer than 100,000 residents.

     ``SEC. 2502. APPLICATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the 
     chief executive of a State, unit of local government, or 
     Indian tribe shall submit an application to the Director of 
     the Bureau of Justice Assistance in such form and containing 
     such information as the Director may reasonably require.

[[Page H3047]]

       ``(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of enactment of this part, the Director of the Bureau of 
     Justice Assistance shall promulgate regulations to implement 
     this section (including the information that must be included 
     and the requirements that the States, units of local 
     government, and Indian tribes must meet) in submitting the 
     applications required under this section.
       ``(c) Eligibility.--A unit of local government that 
     receives funding under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant 
     program (described under the heading `Violent Crime Reduction 
     Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance' of the 
     Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 
     105-119)) during a fiscal year in which it submits an 
     application under this part shall not be eligible for a grant 
     under this part unless the chief executive officer of such 
     unit of local government certifies and provides an 
     explanation to the Director that the unit of local government 
     considered or will consider using funding received under the 
     block grant program for any or all of the costs relating to 
     the purchase of armor vests, but did not, or does not expect 
     to use such funds for such purpose.

     ``SEC. 2503. DEFINITIONS.

       ``For purposes of this part--
       ``(1) the term `armor vest' means body armor, no less than 
     Type I, which has been tested through the voluntary 
     compliance testing program operated by the National Law 
     Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center of the National 
     Institute of Justice (NIJ), and found to meet or exceed the 
     requirements of NIJ Standard 0101.03, or any subsequent 
     revision of such standard;
       ``(2) the term `body armor' means any product sold or 
     offered for sale as personal protective body covering 
     intended to protect against gunfire, stabbing, or other 
     physical harm;
       ``(3) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
     United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
     Northern Mariana Islands;
       ``(4) the term `unit of local government' means a county, 
     municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or 
     other unit of general government below the State level;
       ``(5) the term `Indian tribe' has the same meaning as in 
     section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
     Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)); and
       ``(6) the term `law enforcement officer' means any officer, 
     agent, or employee of a State, unit of local government, or 
     Indian tribe authorized by law or by a government agency to 
     engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or 
     investigation of any violation of criminal law, or authorized 
     by law to supervise sentenced criminal offenders.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of 
     the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
     U.S.C. 3793(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(23) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     part Y, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 
     2001.''.

     SEC. 4 SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

       In the case of any equipment or products that may be 
     authorized to be purchased with financial assistance provided 
     using funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this 
     Act, it is the sense of the Congress that entities receiving 
     the assistance should, in expending the assistance, purchase 
     only American-made equipment and products.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H.R. 2829.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Act. This Friday afternoon, the families, 
friends and colleagues of police officers who have lost their lives in 
the line of duty this past year will gather on the West Front of the 
Capitol and remember the courage and sacrifice of their fallen loved 
ones at the 17th annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service. This 
solemn ceremony is the climax of National Police Week here in 
Washington.
  Later today, this House will pay tribute to these fallen men and 
women of law enforcement in a special resolution commending their 
heroism. It will be a privilege to join in this recognition. As we 
remember with great sadness the ultimate sacrifice of America's police 
officers, both today and on Friday, the legislation before us provides 
a measure of comfort.
  It serves, Mr. Speaker, as an encouragement for us in two ways. 
First, H.R. 2829 introduced by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Visclosky) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), reminds if 
it were not for the bulletproof vest already being worn by thousands of 
police officers throughout the country, we would certainly be mourning 
the loss of even more police officers this week.
  Second, this bill, in establishing a matching grant program for 
states and localities to purchase armor vests, offers the real hope of 
fewer officers being killed in the years ahead.
  Mr. Speaker, the men and women in blue on the front line fight 
against violent crimes, and they are always doing so as targets for 
violent criminals. H.R. 2829 represents a joint effort by the Federal, 
state and local governments to protect these officers. The bill creates 
a matching grant program through which the Federal Government, acting 
in concert with localities, will provide help for vests for every 
police officer who needs one.
  Today I am bringing forward an amendment to this bill, which the 
House and Senate have crafted in a fair and bipartisan agreement, to 
ensure that the funding goes first to those police departments which 
need it most. The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance is given 
discretion to give preferential consideration to smaller departments 
whose budgets are stretched thin. Also those jurisdictions which do not 
receive any funding under the local law enforcement block grant program 
will be given preference. Additionally, at least half of the funds 
available under this program shall be awarded to jurisdictions with 
fewer than 100,000 residents.
  The agreement sunsets the program after three years so that Congress 
can reassess it at that time. In the interim, I fully expect the 
Department of Justice to review this program and report back to 
Congress on its progress.
  Among the most important elements of this legislation is a 
requirement that local governments receiving the local law enforcement 
block grant must consider using their block grants to purchase body 
armor before becoming eligible for a bulletproof vest grant. The block 
grant program was established in the Contract with America and has 
provided $1.5 billion to localities over the last three years. This 
provision will ensure that this new vest grant program does not 
undermine the block grant's important goals of local control and 
flexibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Schumer), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) and their staffs for their 
willingness to be flexible and their unyielding commitment to ensure 
the passage of this bill.
  If every officer routinely wears a bullet resistant vest, we may be 
able to return to a time when we are all astonished, not just saddened, 
to learn that a police officer was wounded or killed by a criminal with 
a gun.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2829. The body armor should be 
standard equipment for police officers. When a new officer joins the 
force, he or she is issued a badge and a gun. A bulletproof vest should 
be part of that package. When a police officer walks out of the station 
house each morning, that officer is putting his or her life at risk in 
order to protect the rest of us. Thankfully, there is equipment 
available that will minimize the risk; not eliminate it, certainly, but 
minimize it.
  You can walk into virtually any big city police precinct and find an 
officer whose life may have been saved by a bulletproof vest. 
Unfortunately, rural and suburban officers are increasingly at risk. An 
officer making a routine traffic stop on a highway has no idea 
whatsoever whether the driver is armed and how the driver will respond. 
We owe it to the men and women who undertake the responsibility of 
being police officers to make sure that they have the potentially 
lifesaving equipment that is available.
  This bill would authorize $25 million a year in grants to state and 
local governments to purchase body armor for law enforcement officers. 
This is not a Federal giveaway. The grant recipient

[[Page H3048]]

must put up half of the funds. The real purpose is to use a Federal 
incentive to get local police departments to see vests as standard 
equipment.
  I commend my colleagues, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) 
and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) for their sponsorship 
of this bill. I understand the differences between the House and Senate 
versions of this bill have been resolved and that the bill offered by 
the gentleman from Florida (Chairman McCollum) incorporates the 
amendments necessary to harmonize the two versions so that we can get 
this bill on the president's desk by the end of this week. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), the coauthor of this legislation.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great appreciation and 
satisfaction that I am here today to speak on behalf of the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Act. As our friends from the law enforcement 
community gather in Washington to recognize National Peace Officers' 
Memorial Week, the House's consideration of a program to help protect 
the lives of those officers seems a fitting and timely tribute.
  To me the issue is rather simple: It is as equally ludicrous to put a 
police officer on the street without a firearm as it is to put that 
officer on the street without a vest. These men and women pledge to 
protect and defend our lives and property, and society's commitment 
back to their personal safety should and must be total.
  This bill is on the floor today because of the dedication of my 
colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky). Without his 
commitment to this issue and the diligent efforts of Jeff Gerhardt of 
his staff, this initiative would not have happened. I have enjoyed 
working with the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) on this, and I 
thank him very much for his hard work.
  I also want to take the opportunity to thank Carlyle Thorsen from my 
staff, who has put countless hours in on moving this initiative forward 
as well.
  The legislation makes sense, a Federal matching grant program to help 
states and local governments buy bullet resistant vests for law 
enforcement officers. As Republicans, we speak often of refraining from 
micromanaging how states and localities spend Federal resources. 
However, the fact that close to 150,000 state and local law enforcement 
officers across the country do not have access to vests makes a 
powerful case that this bill represents a unique exception to such 
philosophical resistance.
  I am not surprised that our aggressive cosponsorship drive was so 
successful. Over 100 of our colleagues cosponsored it within the first 
week of introduction, and a total of 306 members signed on within just 
a few months. Getting that many cosponsors so early helped us make a 
convincing case for the bill, and I thank them for validating what the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) and I knew was a good idea and 
for being part of our effort.
  First among equals on that list of coequals was the gentleman from 
Illinois (Chairman Hyde), and he played no small part in the success of 
this measure.

                              {time}  1600

  My thanks go out to the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Armey) for his support as well.
  Let me also recognize the guidance and assistance of the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. McCollum), chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime of 
the Committee on the Judiciary. The gentleman worked with us from day 
1, offering suggestions of how we could improve the bill and holding a 
hearing for its consideration.
  Also of great assistance in shepherding this measure through the 
process was the gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty) and Nicole Nason 
of the Subcommittee on Crime staff, and I thank them for their 
competence and accessibility. I am looking forward to working with the 
chairman of the subcommittee and his excellent staff in the future.
  Again, for me, this is about saving lives of our law enforcement 
officers on the street or in the prison yard. We in government are not 
the only ones who recognize and address this need. My efforts on a 
national level to provide officers with body armor are rooted in the 
great example set by private organizations in my own home district like 
Vest-A-Cop and Shield The Blue in southern New Jersey.
  States and localities should not have to choose between having enough 
officers on the street, funding necessary training programs for those 
officers, or purchasing bullet- or stab-resistant vests. The local law 
enforcement block grant program goes a long ways towards funding their 
priorities, and many localities are too small to receive funding. So I 
was surprised to learn that of 46 townships in my district that operate 
municipal police forces, only 12 received block grants.
  It is reassuring that this legislation will provide an additional 
option for small towns in both southern New Jersey and across America. 
I ask my colleagues to support the legislation.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), the leading sponsor of the 
bill.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time.
  At the outset of my remarks, I too would like to thank the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. McCollum), the chairman of the subcommittee, and the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) the ranking member, for their 
tireless work on behalf of this legislation.
  I would be remiss also at the outset of my remarks if I did not 
express my heartfelt gratification and thanks to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), the lead cosponsor of this legislation. Without 
his tireless efforts on behalf of securing most of those 306 
cosponsors, we would not be here this afternoon, and I deeply 
appreciate his help.
  I also want to recognize the tireless efforts of Jeff Gerhardt, a 
member of my staff, who worked tirelessly on behalf of passage of this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I am in support of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act, 
which I sponsored. I initially identified the need for such a bill when 
I found out that many gang members and drug dealers in northwest 
Indiana had the protection of bulletproof vests, while many of the 
police officers that patrol the streets in my district did not. I was 
stunned.
  I believe that sworn police officers who are issued a badge should 
also be issued a bulletproof vest. I believe that if we are going to 
ask men and women to risk their lives to make our streets safe, then we 
owe them every bit of protection possible. Unfortunately, we often fall 
short.
  Studies show that between 1985 and 1994, 709 police officers were 
killed while on duty, and over 92 percent of those deaths were caused 
by firearms. It is a nondisputed fact that bulletproof vests are 
extremely effective in protecting officers from death and injury. 
Between 1985 and 1994, no police officer who was wearing a vest was 
killed by a firearm penetrating the vest. Unfortunately, before today 
ends, 2 police officers in the United States of America will be shot.
  Despite these statistics, close to 25 percent of the Nation's 600,000 
State and local law enforcement officers do not have access to a vest. 
That means that there are approximately 150,000 officers that are 
placed in harm's way without the most effective protection we can give 
them.
  I was even more troubled to learn the reason why so many officers do 
not have vests. During a visit I made to the local chapter of the 
Fraternal Order of Police in Dyer, Indiana, officers explained to me 
that bulletproof vests are prohibitively expensive. A good vest can 
cost upwards of $500. Many small departments, as well as some larger 
ones, simply cannot afford to purchase vests for all of their officers, 
a fact which sometimes forces officers to purchase their own.
  The problem is particularly pronounced for small, rural police 
departments. Statistics show that officers in smaller departments are 
much less likely to have vests than their counterparts in large 
metropolitan staffs.
  H.R. 2829 would meet the goal of saving officers' lives by 
authorizing up to $25 million per year for a new grant

[[Page H3049]]

program within the Justice Department providing 50-50 matching grants 
to State and local law enforcement agencies. 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, half of the funds are reserved 
for jurisdictions with fewer than 100,000 residents.
  In closing, our legislation is intended to create 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.
  Mr. Speaker, this Friday the Nation will come together to mourn the 
loss of its slain officers on National Police Memorial Day. We pass 
this bill with the hope that next year, when our Nation's police 
officers meet in Washington, D.C. to mourn the loss of their fallen 
colleagues, there will be fewer names added to the wall. There will be 
more children who still have a mother or father because of what we do 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up in support of police 
officers everywhere and vote for passage of H.R. 2829.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Buyer), a member of the committee.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I want to commend my colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) for seeing the 
need of our law enforcement communities and addressing it. I also am a 
cosponsor of this measure and I appreciate the gentleman's work. We 
also share Lake County, Indiana, so I thoroughly understand the need in 
the northern part of the county.
  This bill will provide local communities with the means to provide 
its law enforcement officers with bulletproof vests. It also addresses 
those who are on the lines everyday. The bulletproof vests, as was 
stated by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler), and I agree with 
him, the vests should be as much a part of the equipment when officers 
are issued their badge, when they get their night stick, when they get 
their sidearm, when they are issued an automobile and they get a 
shotgun. Why they also do not get a bulletproof vest is beyond me. I 
think it is completely unfortunate.
  Let me share one other thing. Even though I am a cosponsor of this 
bill, what I do not want to do is to build a constituency for that 
which communities should be doing in the first place. I agree with the 
50-50 match, and I kind of look at this in my own mind as an 
opportunity to send a really good message out across the country, and 
that is to ensure that the county councils, the city councils are doing 
the job, providing the funding and the standard operating equipment, 
and we believe here in Congress that a vest is part of that standard 
operating equipment.
  So I am interested, I want to move forward; and I want Congress to 
pass this bill and provide the money. But in the long run, I am not 
interested in growing the Federal Government, in growing a 
constituency. I want to ensure that jurisdictions across the country do 
their job.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson).
  Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) and the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) on this legislation, H.R. 2829, and to lend my 
support to protect police officers.
  Earlier this year I traveled around the 13 counties in my district, 
met with sheriffs, chiefs of police, law enforcement officers, all 
across northeast Wisconsin to discuss the need for better access to 
bulletproof vests. These are the men and women who protect us literally 
with their lives. They get up every morning with the sole purpose and 
incredible responsibility of keeping our families and neighborhoods 
safe. They are our everyday heroes.
  To a person, these local sheriffs, deputies and officers applauded 
our effort to help State and local law enforcement departments purchase 
bulletproof vests and body armor. They told me they need them, they use 
them, they want them, and even, yes, in rural areas they are shot at; 
yet, it is one of the most expensive items on their law enforcement 
budget.
  Our police officers put their safety at risk, their lives on the line 
every day to protect us and keep our communities safe. If they need new 
resources to purchase bulletproof vests and it would make their jobs 
just a little easier and a little safer, it is a worthy investment. It 
is the reason I signed my name as an original cosponsor of this bill. 
It is why I will vote today in favor of its passage.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Iowa (Mr. Latham).
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill H.R. 
2029, to help safeguard the men and women in law enforcement who 
protect us and our families every day.
  This $25 million a year matching grant program will provide 
bulletproof vests for our Nation's 150,000 law enforcement officers 
that are currently not protected. In fact, 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. That is what makes this bill so important to 
rural areas across the Nation like my district in Iowa where small 
towns have such small budgets that they cannot afford to hire more than 
a few law enforcement officers, let alone bulletproof vests.
  However, because of the growing methamphetamine problem in Iowa and 
throughout the Midwest, even rural, small town police are encountering 
well-armed narcotics dealers. Our rural officers need this protection 
in order to effectively confront this wave of violent crime sweeping 
across the heartland.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this legislation to protect our men and women in law 
enforcement.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I too support H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof 
Vest Grant Partnership Act. Our law enforcement officers deserve every 
protection available. Mr. Speaker, 62 percent of the officers killed in 
the last 10 years were not wearing bulletproof vests. This program 
helps police in every jurisdiction, large and small, to purchase body 
armor.
  In the face of the epidemic of gun violence in this country, there 
are, in fact, things we can do, and I sincerely hope that this 
legislation sparks other congressional action to make our law 
enforcement officers and the communities they serve safer.
  One area that I hear from law enforcement officials in my community 
is the access of crooks to getting body armor themselves. Another area 
deals with the safe storage of guns. Guns are kept in nearly half the 
homes in America, and a large percentage of these gun owners keep their 
guns loaded and ready for use. A million and a half children have 
access to guns when they get home from school every day.
  We can do more to ensure that children learn the lesson early that 
guns are dangerous and should be stored safely in lockboxes. The 
children accused of killing their classmates in Jonesboro, AR, tried to 
open a lockbox with a blow torch and failed, only to find other guns 
that were unlocked. If all of the guns had been locked away, these 
children may have gotten discouraged and their classmates and teacher 
might still be alive.
  If more guns were stored safely, think of all of the children who 
might still be alive today, some of whom might grow up to be police 
officers themselves. Think of the officers whose body armor might not 
be put to the test.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. McInnis).
  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time and the courtesy of 
the gentleman from Florida. Unfortunately, I think the previous speaker 
kind of sidelined this issue into a second amendment issue. That is not 
what this is about.

[[Page H3050]]

  I used to be a cop. I was a police officer, and I can tell my 
colleagues my first day on the job actually was not on the job; I had 
to go to the police academy. The first day I was at the academy, they 
came up to me and said, as they were explaining the benefits of a 
police officer, what you signed up for, they said, by the way, the 
cheapest life insurance you can buy in this country is a bulletproof 
vest. The cheapest life insurance you can buy. Go out and buy it. And I 
went out and bought it. It makes a difference, and it is an important 
issue. It is an issue that obviously is bipartisan.
  Take a look at that clock up there. Twenty-four hours from now when 
that clock is right where it is today, 2 more police officers in this 
country will have been shot. If we pass this bill, if we pass this 
bill, we will save 1 police officer's death, 1 police officer a week 
from dying if we pass this bill and those officers wear these vests.

                              {time}  1615

  I can tell you from experience that some of the officers I worked 
with, good, close friends of mine, did get into that habit of, well, it 
won't happen to me, or it is uncomfortable in the heat of the summer.
  So we have to take this a step further. We can supply this for them, 
but we have to urge those officers to wear the darned things. They do 
not do you any good if you do not wear them. It does not guarantee us 
that we are going to save that officer a week, but if these officers 
wear these vests that we are going, together, jointly with the local 
communities, going together to supply, if they wear them, that clock 
will run 1 extra week before another officer dies. We can save the life 
of a police officer once a week.
  I think it is a terrific bill. I think it does exactly what we should 
do, and that is sharing with the community, cost-sharing. It gives them 
an incentive to go out and buy their officers vests. I could never 
figure out why it was not standard issue to give out a bulletproof 
vest.
  Those who say these things are expensive, they are outrageously 
inexpensive. A good vest you can buy for under 700 bucks. That seems 
like a lot of money, until you figure out your life is on the line. As 
they told me that first day in the Police Academy, it is the cheapest 
life insurance you can buy.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Klink).
  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, let me take us back in our mind's eye to a tiny town 
called Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Settled by hardworking German 
immigrants, it is the kind of picturesque farm town, an affluent 
community, a safe community, that all of us would like to live in and 
all of us would like to raise our children in.
  Back in 1980, the chief of police in that town was a young man named 
Greg Adams. Greg Adams had patrolled the streets of Washington, D.C., 
and had taken his two young sons and his wife back home to Saxonburg. 
As he was patrolling the town on December 4th of 1980, Greg Adams 
pulled a car over for a traffic violation into the parking lot of an 
Agway store. He did not know at that time that the man behind the wheel 
was a career criminal who had found his way to Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, 
who was wanted on interstate flight to avoid prosecution. No one knows 
exactly what happened, but when it was over, Greg Adams was shot. As he 
was bleeding and losing life, he was beaten to death.
  I arrived at the scene, as a television reporter, within minutes of 
the time he was assaulted, and within minutes of the time that he 
finally breathed his last gasp of breath. His last words were ``Pray 
for me,'' as he died.
  Those who investigated that shooting incident will tell you that if 
Greg Adams had had a bulletproof vest, his wife would not have become a 
widow, his young children would not have lost their father in this 
safe, picturesque farm town where you would not expect danger to prowl 
the streets.
  This is a good bill. It is a good bill not only for those officers 
who are on the streets today, but for those who will patrol the streets 
and protect us in small towns, in rural communities, and in cities 
across this Nation, and in communities like Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.
  I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2829. In a day and age when 
gangsters and gang members have bulletproof vests, it only makes sense 
that police officers like Greg Adams would be able to have that kind of 
protection when they are on the streets.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox).
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise in support of this forward-
thinking legislation. I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) for their 
superb leadership on this issue.
  The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act will provide local police 
organizations with the much-needed resources that will make sure all 
officers have the protection of body armor they should have. We need to 
do everything we can to provide these heroes with the tools they need 
to protect their lives as they work each day to protect our lives.
  These vests can literally mean the difference between life and death. 
Since 1980, Mr. Speaker, there have been 1,182 felonious deaths of 
police officers due to firearms. Of that number, 389 were due to shots 
to the torso area which could have been mitigated by body armor. The 
risk of fatality increases 14 times when an officer is not vested.
  We should do all we can to keep our police as safe as possible. Since 
1980 we could have possibly prevented 42 percent of these deaths. I see 
no reason why we can not turn that 42 percent loss into 42 percent 
saved with the adoption of this important legislation.
  The district attorney in my district of Montgomery County, 
Pennsylvania, Michael Morino, like most DAs across the United States, 
have endorsed this legislation, saying that there is no higher priority 
in government than to support and protect our law enforcement 
professionals.
  Nowhere is that more clear than the story of Ed Setzer of my 
district. On September 30, 1988, Lower Merion Township Officer Setzer 
responded to an emergency without the protection of a bulletproof vest. 
He was shot and killed, leaving his children without a father, and his 
wife Julie to raise them alone. He was an outstanding police officer, 
husband, and father whom we will miss forever.
  For me, the Officer Ed Setzer is the inspiration for the Bulletproof 
Vest Grant Act, which is designed to assist State and local law 
enforcement agencies, and provide officers with the protection of 
bulletproof vests by authorizing up to $25 million per year for a new 
Justice Department program that would help local law enforcement 
agencies defray the costs of bulletproof vests, and require State and 
local governments to split the costs of these vests 50-50 with the 
Federal Government, and further, to give preference in awarding grants 
to jurisdictions where officers do not currently have vests.
  I take great pride in cosponsoring this bill and in supporting it, 
and hope that all my colleagues in the House will join the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Visclosky) in making sure this bill becomes law as soon as possible.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Florida, Mr. Rothman.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, my colleague makes a joke. I am proud to be 
from New Jersey.
  Today, with the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, Congress is 
taking a major step forward in protecting the safety of our law 
enforcement officers. Bulletproof vests should become standard issue 
for every police officer in America. By paying half the cost of the 
vests for our police and corrections officers, the Federal Government 
will help save the lives of the people we ask to protect us.
  What do we ask from them? We ask from them a lot. Whether it is 
pulling over a speeding car, responding to a domestic violence call or 
walking a beat, our officers can be confronted by an armed assailant at 
any time. They can be just as soon shot in the head as being said hello 
to on the highway. If

[[Page H3051]]

we are asking them to protect us, then we must give them the best 
protection available.
  As has been said many times before, our law enforcement officers 
represent the thin blue line separating civilized society and the good 
and decent, law-abiding citizens from anarchy and the law of the 
jungle.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) for their leadership on this 
issue. I have been delighted to work on this issue as a member of the 
Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary, and I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 2829.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).
  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time. I also want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for 
their collective and outspoken support on this issue.
  As we all know, this legislation serves one very important purpose, 
saving lives. We have all heard the stories about these vests saving 
peace officers from armed criminals, but I think it is also very 
important and very useful to understand, and I want to take this 
opportunity to point out, that providing protective vests to our law 
enforcement personnel has saved lives over the years in many 
nonshooting instances as well.
  For example, in 1978, Deputy Gary Bale of the Washoe County Sheriff's 
Department was struck by a drunk driver while responding to a call for 
assistance from another officer. After sorting through the wreckage, it 
was determined that Deputy Bale's vest saved his life by absorbing the 
impact of the horrific accident.
  Again, in 1987, Deputy Douglas Brady was directing traffic when he 
was struck by a vehicle. He was thrown off the road and over a 
guardrail, yet survived, because, it was again determined, his 
protective vest absorbed the potential lethal impact.
  In another example, Deputy Earl Walling was working as a guard in the 
Washoe County Jail when an inmate attacked him with a sharpened object. 
Had Deputy Walling not been wearing his vest, he would have suffered 
life-threatening injuries.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to realize that our law enforcement personnel 
are not just dodging bullets. It is my hope that by bringing each of 
these potentially fatal occurrences to mind, we can further stress the 
importance of providing vests to these officers.
  Passage of this bill will allow the families of our law enforcement 
officers to each year look forward to celebrating another Mother's Day 
or another Father's Day together with their family. I urge a yes vote 
on H.R. 2829.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Reyes).
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2829. As a former 
law enforcement officer for 26 years, I know firsthand how our men and 
women that are peace officers put their lives on the line every day. 
They courageously defend our borders, our States, our cities, and our 
neighborhoods. The well-being of our Nation's peace officers should 
therefore be the highest priority for all of us.
  As a Border Patrol chief, my officers confronted numerous criminals 
who were armed and often dangerous. Bulletproof vests provided my 
officers with additional protection from firearms and reduced injuries 
and saved lives. Nonetheless, today many of our Nation's police and 
sheriff's departments are without this vital piece of equipment. The 
Justice Department estimates that 150,000 officers nationwide do not 
have access to these vests. Some communities simply cannot afford them.
  This, in my mind, is simply unacceptable. In my opinion, every 
officer should be provided with a vest. This bill will address this 
goal. I am personally grateful for this legislation that will authorize 
$25 million in grant money to help pay for the purchase of bulletproof 
vests.
  As we celebrate this week, National Police Week, let us remember 
those officers who died in the line of duty by honoring their memory 
and unanimously passing this legislation. Let us give our officers this 
important protection. Therefore, I strongly support this bill, and ask 
this Congress to unanimously support its passage.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. McCarthy).
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. I 
want to thank the gentleman from Indiana for sponsoring this 
legislation and for all the hard work on behalf of our country's law 
enforcement officers. I also want to thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey, as well as the ranking member and the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Crime, for their leadership in bringing this important 
legislation before us.
  As everyone knows, this week we are celebrating Police Week all 
across America. It is time to say thank you to all of the law 
enforcement officers who keep our streets safe. It is also a time to 
remember and honor those officers who have given their lives for our 
safety.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to let our policemen and women 
know that we stand with them, and that we are committed to making their 
jobs as safe as possible. That is what this bill is all about. The FBI 
reported that 64 law enforcement officers were murdered in the line of 
duty nationwide in 1997. That is an increase over 1996, when 56 
officers were murdered. Clearly, it is a dangerous time for those who 
help to protect our families. However, the Department of Justice 
estimates that 150,000 of American law enforcement officers do not have 
bulletproof vests.
  We can do a better job protecting our law enforcement officers. H.R. 
2829 will establish a grant program through the Department of Justice 
to help local police departments purchase bulletproof vests. The bill 
requires local law enforcement agencies to match the Federal funds. 
This is legislation that will help pay for as many as 100,000 
bulletproof vests.
  I know that bulletproof vests do not guarantee the safety of our 
policemen and women. I personally believe we need to do more to get 
weapons off the street and make sure our law enforcement officers are 
not outgunned.
  We can and should do a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of 
criminals, and improve our efforts to tracking and tracing firearms 
used in crime. However, that is a debate for another day. Today, in 
honor of our police and in honor of those officers killed in the line 
of duty, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2829. It is the least 
that we can do for the dedicated law enforcement officers of America.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Stupak).
  (Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to compliment both sides on the 
issue being brought up here today, and the scope of the debate that is 
going on here. It is great to see so many people supporting law 
enforcement on this issue.
  I would like to go back, when I was in law enforcement back in 1973, 
in 1974, when vests started to get really sort of popular. We have 
heard some comments here that the first thing you should buy is a vest, 
because it is a good life insurance policy. We often wonder why our 
departments, why don't they just go ahead and provide the vests?

                              {time}  1630

  Back in 1974, when we were just getting going with the bulletproof 
vests, they were quite expensive, and being a young police officer, and 
I was, you live from paycheck to paycheck. You are trying to support 
your family and get things going. The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Visclosky), the main sponsor here, mentioned about rural areas.
  While I was in the Michigan State Police then, we were up in Alpena, 
Michigan, an area that I represent now, we were tracking some safe 
crackers and it was December of 1974, and I guess I will probably never 
forget this. While were sitting there working and

[[Page H3052]]

trying to work these guys and trying to catch them, unfortunately when 
the squad car stopped them, the individual State trooper that stopped 
them was gunned down as he stepped from his car. The sad part about the 
story is that he actually had a bulletproof vest; it was at home. It 
was a Christmas present from his wife.
  It still took us another 10 years to get our department to provide 
bulletproof vests for members of the Michigan State Police. Actually 
that came about not because management wanted it, but it was because we 
finally got collective bargaining rights and we then made it part of 
our negotiations and our contract that we would give up pay and other 
incentives to have bulletproof vests issued to each and every member.
  So when we talk about the need for this, there are about 600,000 law 
enforcement officers right now who do not have access to bulletproof 
vests for whatever reason. So if we certainly could get these vests, 
not only would we save a lot of lives but I think we would save a lot 
of heartache and a lot of other problems throughout this Nation.
  Since we are here and it is Police Officers Memorial Week and we will 
be doing a number of things and today, actually, we have three bills on 
the floor supporting law enforcement, I hope we just do not stop here 
today and do this one shot. Being the founder and cochairman of the Law 
Enforcement Caucus for several years, we have been working on several 
pieces of legislation to benefit law enforcement. I hope with everybody 
here that they listen well and that we actually take up H.R. 959, the 
body armor bill, which would prevent mail orders of body armor to 
unknown individuals so we do not have the criminals armed as well as 
the police officers are protected.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Act. Since bulletproof materials became 
available to law enforcement, the lives of more than 2,000 police 
officers have been saved, and this bill will help make bulletproof 
vests available to more officers.
  This bill creates a new Department of Justice grant program which 
will assist state and local law enforcement agencies in providing their 
officers with the protection of bulletproof vests. The bill would 
authorize up to $25 million for this new program, and would require the 
federal government to split the costs of these vests with state and 
local governments.
  As a former law enforcement officer, I know first hand the necessity 
of bullet proof vests for the men and women who put their lives on the 
line every day. Unfortunately, 25 percent of the nation's 600,000 state 
and local law enforcement officers do not have access to bulletproof 
vests.
  The Department of Justice has reported that between 1985 and 1994, 
709 police officers were killed while on duty, 92 percent of them 
killed by a firearm. Studies by the ATF show that no officer killed 
during that time period died because a bullet penetrated a bulletproof 
vest. It is clear that bulletproof vests play an important role in the 
safety of law enforcement officers, and saves lives.
  As founder and the Co-Chairman of the Law Enforcement Caucus, I have 
worked for several years to inform my colleagues about the value of 
bulletproof vests and the dangers of body armor when it gets in the 
hands of armed criminals. This bill will go a long way to help protect 
the men and women who protect us. With the passage of this bill, police 
departments will be able to provide vests to more officers, and we will 
be able to reduce the number of officers that are killed each year. I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2829, and support our law 
enforcement officers.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding the time 
to me and I rise to commend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) 
as the principal sponsor of this legislation; also the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and others on the committee who have worked on 
this legislation. This is truly bipartisan legislation which is aimed 
at trying to make our law enforcement officers safer.
  We ask some Americans to do an extraordinary thing; that is, to put 
on a badge, put on a uniform or in plain clothes to protect us every 
day, to face the most dangerous people in our society who would 
undermine our safety, would take our property, and place at risk our 
families and our neighbors. This bill is a bill that will, I think, 
enjoy overwhelming support. It is appropriate that we tell local 
subdivisions, both State and local, municipal, that we will participate 
with them in trying to ensure further the safety of those we ask to 
defend what is vital in any democracy, and that is peace and good 
order.
  Obviously, democracy cannot flourish in a society if law and order is 
not also present in that society. So the very essence of a police 
officer's duty is to preserve and protect the Constitution and the 
democratic way of life. So this is a very, very important piece of 
legislation.
  It is appropriate that we pass it this week when we make note of the 
contributions and the sacrifices and the courage shown by so many in 
law enforcement throughout this country. I am pleased to be a supporter 
of this legislation.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I do not believe that I will consume all of it. I just want to 
comment about this at the end of the debate and say once again how 
important this bill is. We have had a number of Members speak on both 
sides. It is, as the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) said, a truly 
bipartisan piece of legislation.
  But this is an exceedingly important piece of legislation because it 
does present us an opportunity to save lives and save the lives of the 
people out there protecting our kids and our families every day by 
putting their lives on the line. It is not very often we get a chance 
to do that. Usually we are up here after the cow is out of the barn or 
the horse is gone or whatever and trying to do some remedial correction 
to help law enforcement.
  Today we have a chance to do something in advance to help people who 
are on the street every day to provide a new grant program, a grant 
program carefully tailored only to those communities in this country 
that are not able or have not used their local community block grant 
monies to provide these vests or those very small communities that do 
not qualify otherwise, but nonetheless tailored to assure that every 
community can provide and is providing vests, bulletproof vests for 
their police officers.
  I urge passage of the bill. Again, I commend its authors, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Indiana 
(Mr. Visclosky). I think it is tremendous that they brought it forward. 
I have been proud to bring this out of the Subcommittee on Crime and 
urge its adoption.
  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 2829, the 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. I am proud to be a cosponsor of 
this bill that will help save the lives of men and women who serve and 
protect our communities--our law enforcement officers.
  Under this legislation, the Justice Department will administer grants 
to assist state and local authorities in purchasing bulletproof vests 
for their officers. The grant would provide up to 50% of the cost of 
the vest with local and state governments matching the remaining costs.
  Right now, in my home state of Wisconsin, many officers are either 
wearing secondhand vests not fitted properly to protect them, paying 
for their own vests, or wearing vests that have passed the 5-year 
expiration date. In Milwaukee, even though each officer receives a vest 
at no cost to them, many of them are past the 5-year expiration date, 
putting the officers' lives in danger. In addition, the vests' 
integrity is often compromised when they get wet, rendering them 
useless.
  We should not be sending our police out on the streets with 
bulletproof vests that only work some of the time. The average cost of 
a bulletproof vest is about $500. Aren't our law enforcement officers' 
lives worth that?
  This bill has been endorsed by numerous groups, including the 
Fraternal Order of Police and the Wisconsin Professional Police 
Association. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this 
lifesaving bill.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. According to the 
Justice Department about 150,000 law enforcement officers nationwide do 
not have access to bulletproof vests. That is one out of four of the 
nation's 600,000 state and local law enforcement officers. Even though 
a bulletproof vest is a terrible thing to need, the reality of life is 
that our officers of the law often have to stare death in the eye in 
order to protect all of us from danger. Our law enforcement officers 
need every advantage, protection and privilege related to the 
performance

[[Page H3053]]

of their duties that we can give them. To this regard, the matching 
grant program in H.R. 2829 is a fabulous way to achieve this objective.
  Under the provisions of the bill, local law enforcement agencies need 
only supply half of the costs of the equipment that they need. At 
present, a vest costs about $500, so this $25 million allocation of 
funds could provide up to 100,000 vests to those who do not currently 
have them. Furthermore, the priority for the distribution of the funds 
provided for under the bill has two conditions. First of all, local 
police agencies with high numbers of unprotected officers in heavy 
crime areas are given first priority, as well as those agencies that do 
not have a local law enforcement grant program to assist them.
  The need for this legislation is unquestionable; nearly 1900 officers 
have been saved from death or serious injury because of wearing body 
armor. But this legislation, we can prevent a repeat of the 600+ police 
officers that were killed in the line of duty with a firearm between 
1985 and 1994. These numbers equate to two officers being shot in the 
United States every twenty-four hours; frankly, a chilling statistic. 
But the pace has not slowed; in 1997, 160 more law enforcement officers 
were killed in the line of duty, most of which with a firearm. With 
this kind of rampant crime and lawlessness abounding, we need to 
protect those who dedicate their lives to protecting us. I sincerely 
hope that by passing H.R. 2829, we will not need to use resolutions 
like H. Res. 422 very often. So I urge all of my colleagues to join 
with me, and support the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, H.R. 
2829.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this vitally 
important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join with me in 
voting to pass it.
  As we in North Carolina know all too well, violent crime can strike 
anywhere. All too frequently, that violence is aimed at our men and 
women in uniform as they patrol our communities. Last year alone, five 
officers in and around the Second Congressional District of North 
Carolina were gunned down in the line of duty.
  I believe Congress has a duty to help protect our officers. Last 
November, I joined a bipartisan group of my colleagues in introducing 
H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. This legislation 
will provide $25 million in matching grants through the Department of 
Justice to help local law enforcement agencies purchase vests for their 
officers. This bill has been endorsed by the National Fraternal Order 
of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the International Union 
of Police Associations, the National Association of Police 
Organizations and other law enforcement groups. H.R. 2829 enjoys the 
support of more than 300 cosponsoring Members of this House, and the 
Senate recently passed a companion bill.
  On March 23, I participated in a live-fire demonstration of the life-
saving usefulness of bulletproof vests to bring attention to the need 
for this equipment. This event demonstrated in dramatic terms the 
effectiveness bulletproof vests can have in protecting our officers.
  The national statistics are compelling. Since the introduction of 
modern bulletproof material, the lives of more than 2,000 police 
officers have been saved because they were wearing bulletproof vests or 
some other form of body armor, according to the Department of Justice. 
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reports that between 1985 
and 1994, no police officer who was wearing a bulletproof vest was 
killed by a gunshot wound penetrating the officer's vest. The FBI tells 
us the risk of fatality from a firearm while not wearing body armor is 
fourteen times higher than for officers wearing body armor. Since 1980, 
924 officers were killed while not wearing a vest. Of those 924 
officers, 389 (42 percent) were shot in the torso area and could have 
been saved by a bulletproof vest. Approximately 150,000 of the nation's 
600,000 state and local law enforcement officers (25 percent) do not 
currently have access to a vest. On March 25, I testified in front of 
the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime in support of this important 
legislation.
  In my Congressional District, I have been surveying local 
jurisdictions to assess law enforcement needs. Although there is 
universal recognition of the importance of bulletproof vests, small 
towns and rural counties in North Carolina are having a difficult time 
providing them to their officers. Of the 1,619 officers in law 
enforcement agencies in my District, 299 officers--almost one in five--
either have no vest or only have an expired vest which cannot guarantee 
protection. The need is particularly acute in smaller communities. In 
law enforcement agencies with forces of less than ten officers, more 
than one in three officers do not have a vest or only have an expired 
vest.
  Despite the difficulty of equipping officers with bulletproof vests, 
their utility has been vividly on display in recent days. In March, 
Kenly Police Officer Todd Smith was shot at point-blank range by a 
suspect he had pulled over for missing tags. According to the physician 
who attended to Smith, without his vest, he would have died on the 
spot. One police chief wrote in response to my survey, ``I can't think 
of a better use of our tax dollars, and our officers deserve no less.''
  Mr. Speaker, I believe Congress has an obligation to help protect the 
men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day to 
keep our streets and communities safe and free of crime and violence. 
H.R. 2829 will make a big difference in my District and across America. 
I urge the House to pass this bill.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2829, the 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. This legislation will authorize 
the Bureau of Justice assistance to establish grants to local and State 
governments to purchase bulletproof vests.
  The Department of Justice released statistics which stated that 
approximately 25 percent of State and local law enforcement officers do 
not have access to bulletproof vests. That is unacceptable. With the 
extent of violent crime that occurs in our Nation each year, we need to 
do something to help protect the men and women who put their lives on 
the line for our citizens each and every day.
  This bill authorizes up to $25 million per year for this new grant 
program which the Department of Justice will oversee. The program will 
consist of matching grants to help State and local law enforcement 
groups purchase bulletproof vests and body armor to be used by their 
officers. This bill also provides for the matching provision to be 
waived in certain instances of jurisdictions which cannot pay their 
half of the costs of the vests.
  Additionally, this measure would prohibit any group which 
participates in this program from purchasing equipment and products 
which were made by prison labor. It also urges these State and local 
agencies which receive assistance through this program, to purchase 
American-made enforcement products.
  It has been demonstrated that bulletproof vests do help save lives. 
Since 1980, 1,182 police officers have been killed by a firearm in the 
line of duty. The FBI has stated that, had those officers been wearing 
vests, 42 percent of them would have survived. More than 2000 law 
enforcement officials have been saved by wearing a bulletproof vest 
while on duty. This legislation will help protect and save more lives 
of our dedicated police officers who protect us all.
  I applaud Mr. Visclosky for bringing this important piece of 
legislation before the House, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
2829. Passage of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act illustrates 
a deep commitment to protecting the lives of our Nation's dedicated law 
enforcement officers.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of HR 2829, the 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1997. I believe this 
legislation takes an important step towards providing badly needed 
funds to law enforcement officers in communities facing violent crime. 
According to the Uniform Crime Reports, between 1987 and 1996, nearly 
700 officers were killed in the line of duty. Of those officers, 63 
were feloniously killed by firearms.
  We cannot bring back those brave officers who gave their lives to 
protect us. But we can take action today for those police officers who 
continue to risk their lives in the line of duty. We should pass this 
legislation to offer needed protection from gunfire. Bulletproof vests 
will not prevent all deaths; but they will prevent many and provide a 
means of mitigating the danger that our officers face on a daily basis.
  This bill will make grants to units of local government to purchase 
bulletproof vests for use by law enforcement officers, while giving 
preferential consideration to communities with the greatest need, a 
mandatory wear policy, and a violent crime rate at or above the 
national average. I believe this is a fair and sensible approach to 
protecting our officers to better help them protect and serve.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
support for H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. This 
legislation is essential to the survival of our police officers who 
risk their lives daily. Mr. Speaker, this is a measure that I believe 
all law abiding citizens should strongly believe in and support.
  H.R. 2829 addresses the issue of improving officer safety. Between 
1985 and 1994, 709 police officers were killed while on duty. Ninety-
two percent of those murders were committed with a firearm. Since the 
introduction of modern bulletproof material, the lives of more than 
2,000 police officers have been saved because they were wearing 
bulletproof vests. From these invaluable statistics, we can obviously 
see the impact that bulletproof vests have on saving the lives of our 
police officers.
  Thus, the need to provide every police officer with a bulletproof 
vest is obvious and necessary. The Bulletproof Vest Parthnership

[[Page H3054]]

Grant Act is a legislative measure that will assist police departments 
in providing their officers with such protection. This bill would 
authorize up to $25 million per year for a new matching grant program 
to help state and local law enforcement authorities purchase 
bulletproof vests and body armor. Furthermore, the bill makes 
preferences in granting awards toward jurisdictions where officers do 
not currently have vests, and reserves half of the money for 
jurisdictions with fewer than 100,000 residents. This legislation is 
very important in light of the fact that on the average, two officers 
are shot every twenty-four hours. This is disturbing news simply 
because these figures indicate that approximately 150,000 of the 
nation's 600,000 state and local law enforcement officers do not 
currently have access to bulletproof vests.
  In consideration of the dangers that today's officers face, I 
strongly support the passage of H.R. 2829, the Bulletproof Vest 
Partnership Grant Act. This legislation is needed by the men and women 
who risk their lives daily for our protection. For their commitment and 
service, we owe every police officer our support on this issue. As the 
Representative of the Thirty-Seventh Congressional District of 
California, I am in strong support of this important legislation. This 
legislation 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 National Association of Police 
Organizations, the Long Beach Police Officer's Association and the 
Compton Police Officer's Association.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hefley). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2829, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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