[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7280-S7282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 2253. A bill to establish a matching grant program to help State 
and local jurisdictions purchase bullet resistant equipment for use by 
law enforcement departments; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


   Officer Dale Claxton Bullet Resistant Police Protective Equipment

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to help 
our nation's state and local law enforcement officers acquire the 
bullet resistant equipment they need to protect themselves from would-
be killers. This bill, the Officer Dale Claxton Bullet Resistant Police 
Protective Equipment Act of 1998, is named after a Cortez, Colorado, 
police officer who was fatally shot through the windshield of his 
patrol car on May 29, 1998, after stopping a stolen truck. Officer 
Claxton was tragically and prematurely taken away from his wife and 
four children. Today, two of the three suspects are still at large, 
even after an extensive manhunt.
  Unfortunately, this type of incident is far from isolated. All across 
our nation law enforcement officers, whether parked on the side of the 
road or in hot pursuit, are at risk of being shot through their 
windshields. Another example that many of my colleagues may be aware of 
is the brutal murder of the District of Columbia's Officer Brian 
Gibson, who was ambushed and shot while sitting in his patrol car. We 
must do what we can to prevent tragedies like this.
  As a former deputy sheriff, I am personally aware of the dangers 
which law enforcement officers face on the front lines every day. One 
way in which the federal government can improve their safety is to help 
them acquire bullet resistant glass and other equipment for patrol 
cars. These partnership grants are especially crucial for officers who 
serve in small local jurisdictions that often lack the funds to provide 
their officers with all of the life saving equipment they may need.

[[Page S7281]]

  The Officer Dale Claxton bill builds on the impact of the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Act, S. 1605, which I introduced and the 
President signed into law on June 16, 1998. This new program provides 
grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase body armor for their 
officers. The Officer Dale Claxton bill extends this protection to 
include bullet resistant equipment for the officers' vehicles, shields, 
and any other equipment that officers may need when they are serving 
out on the front lines of law enforcement.
  The bill I introduce today has two major components. The first is to 
provide a matching grant program for state, county, local and tribal 
law enforcement agencies. This legislation would authorize the 
Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance to administer a 
$40 million matching grant program to assist these agencies purchase 
bullet resistant equipment for patrol cars, including bullet resistant 
glass, panels, and other safety devices.
  The program will provide 50-50 matching grants to state and local law 
enforcement agencies and Indian tribes to assist in purchasing 
bulletproof vests and body armor. 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 scarce.
  Additionally, those jurisdictions which do not receive any funding 
under the local law enforcement block grant program will be given 
preference. Furthermore, at least half of the funds available under 
this program will be awarded to jurisdictions with less than 100,000 
residents.
  The second component of this legislation would launch an expedited 
and targeted research and development effort to come up with new 
technologies and products. Promising new light-weight bullet proof 
materials now being developed could be as revolutionary in the year 
2000 as the development of Kevlar was in the 1970s for the manufacture 
of body armor. These exciting new technologies promise to be lighter, 
more versatile and hopefully less expensive than traditional heavy 
bulletproof glass.
  The Officer Dale Claxton bill authorizes $3 million over 3 years for 
the Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct 
research and development of a new bullet resistant technologies, such 
as bonded acrylic, polymers, polycarbons, aluminized material, and 
transparent ceramics. This R and D program would focus on specialized 
equipment, including windshield glass, car panels, police shields and 
other types of protective gear.
  The Officer Dale Claxton bill directs the National Institute of 
Justice to inventory existing technologies in the private sector, in 
surplus military property, and in use by other countries. The bill also 
directs the Institute to conduct: standards development; technology 
development; technical testing; operational testing; evaluation; and 
technology transfer.
  Under the bill, the Institute would give priority in testing and 
engineering surveys to law enforcement partnerships developed in 
coordination with existing High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas 
(HIDTAs).
  Our nation's police officers, sheriffs and deputies regularly put 
their lives in harm's way as they protect the people and preserve the 
peace. They deserve to have access to the bullet resistant equipment 
they need. The Officer Dale Claxton bill will both accelerate the 
development of new lifesaving bullet resistant technologies and then 
help get them deployed into the field where they are needed. Lives will 
be saved.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2253

       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 ``Officer Dale Claxton Bullet 
     Resistant Police Protective Equipment Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) Officer Dale Claxton of the Cortez, Colorado, Police 
     Department was shot and killed by bullets that passed through 
     the windshield of his police car after he stopped a stolen 
     truck, and his life may have been saved if his police car had 
     been equipped with bullet resistant equipment;
       (2) 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 access to 
     additional bullet resistant equipment;
       (3) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law 
     enforcement officers in the United States were feloniously 
     killed in the line of duty;
       (4) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the 
     risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not 
     wearing bullet resistant equipment, such as an armor vest, is 
     14 times higher than for officers wearing an armor vest;
       (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 bullet 
     resistant equipment.

     SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLET 
                   RESISTANT EQUIPMENT.

       (a) In General.--Part Y of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended--
       (1) by striking the part designation and part heading and 
     inserting the following:

         ``PART Y--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAMS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

             ``Subpart A--Grant Program For Armor Vests'';

       (2) by striking ``this part'' each place that term appears 
     and inserting ``this subpart''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:

       ``Subpart B--Grant Program For Bullet Resistant Equipment

     ``SEC. 2511. 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 bullet 
     resistant equipment 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 bullet resistant equipment 
     for law enforcement officers in the jurisdiction of the 
     grantee.
       ``(c) Preferential Consideration.--In awarding grants under 
     this subpart, 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 bullet resistant equipment 
     based on the percentage of law enforcement officers in the 
     department who do not have access to a vest;
       ``(2) has a violent crime rate at or above the national 
     average as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
     or
       ``(3) 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 
     each be allocated .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 subpart shall be awarded to units of 
     local government with fewer than 100,000 residents.

     ``SEC. 2512. APPLICATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this subpart, 
     the chief executive of a

[[Page S7282]]

     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.
       ``(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this subpart, 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 subpart shall not be eligible for a 
     grant under this subpart 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 bullet resistant equipment, but did not, or 
     does not expect to use such funds for such purpose.

     ``SEC. 2513. DEFINITIONS.

       ``For purposes of this subpart--
       ``(1) the term `equipment' means windshield glass, car 
     panels, shields, and protective gear;
       ``(2) 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;
       ``(3) 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;
       ``(4) 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
       ``(5) 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 striking paragraph (23) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(23) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     part Y--
       ``(A) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 
     2001 for grants under subpart A of that part; and
       ``(B) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 
     2001 for grants under subpart B of that part.''.

     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.

     SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 202 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3722) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Bullet Resistant Technology Development.--
       ``(1) In General.--The Institute is authorized to--
       ``(A) conduct research and otherwise work to develop new 
     bullet resistant technologies (i.e. acrylic, polymers, 
     aluminized material, and transparent ceramics) for use in 
     police equipment (including windshield glass, car panels, 
     shields, and protective gear);
       ``(B) inventory bullet resistant technologies used in the 
     private sector, in surplus military property, and by foreign 
     countries;
       ``(C) promulgate relevant standards for, and conduct 
     technical and operational testing and evaluation of, bullet 
     resistant technology and equipment, and otherwise facilitate 
     the use of that technology in police equipment.
       ``(2) Priority.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
     Institute shall give priority in testing and engineering 
     surveys to law enforcement partnerships developed in 
     coordination with High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.
       ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $3,000,000 
     for fiscal years 1999 through 2001.''.
                                 ______