[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 96 (Friday, July 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7435-S7436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I will try not to delay my good friend from 
Kansas too long. I know he, like others, wishes to leave.
  I speak only because I am disappointed the Senate has not yet passed 
the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 that is S. 2413. The 
Senate Judiciary Committee passed this bill unanimously on June 29. All 
Members, Republicans and Democrats, voted for it. Since then, I have 
checked with the Democratic caucus. All 45 Democratic Senators support 
this bill. All 45 are perfectly agreeable to have it either come to an 
immediate vote or passed by unanimous consent.
  But it still has not passed the full Senate. This is very 
disappointing to our nation's law enforcement officers who need life-
saving bulletproof vests to protect themselves. Protecting and 
supporting our law enforcement community should not be a partisan 
issue.
  Senator Campbell and I worked together closely and successfully with 
the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the last Congress to pass 
the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 into law. Senator 
Hatch is an original cosponsor this year's bill to reauthorize this 
grant program. Senators Schumer, Kohl, Thurmond, Reed, Jeffords, Robb, 
Reid, Sarbanes, our late colleague, Senator Coverdell, Bingaman, 
Ashcroft, Edwards, Bunning, Cleland, Hutchison, and Abraham also 
cosponsored our bipartisan bill.
  I mention this because I have been receiving calls from a number of 
people in the law enforcement community asking why it has not passed. I 
did not know the answer. As I said, I checked and found the 45 
Democratic Senators all said they had no objection to it being passed 
by voice vote today, yesterday, whenever--but we have been told a 
Republican Senator has stopped this bill from passing. He has a hold on 
the bill, a bill that is intended to provide protection to our Nation's 
law enforcement officers.
  According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than 40 
percent of the 1,182 officers killed by a firearm in the line of duty 
since 1980 could have been saved if they had been wearing body armor. 
Indeed, the FBI estimates that the risk of fatality to officers while 
not wearing body armor is 14 times higher than for officers wearing it.
  When we introduced the original Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant 
Act of 1998, President Clinton invited Senator Campbell and me down for 
the signing of it. Shortly after it was passed into law, we funded 
92,000 new bulletproof vests for our Nation's police officers. You can 
now make application on web sites. The whole thing has worked extremely 
well.
  To better protect our nation's law enforcement officers, Senator 
Campbell and I introduced the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 
1998. President Clinton signed our legislation into law on June 16, 
1998 (Public Law 105-181).
  The law created a $25 million, 50 percent matching grant program 
within the Department of Justice to help state and local law 
enforcement agencies purchase body armor for fiscal years 1999-2001.
  In its first year of operation, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership 
Grant Program funded 92,000 new bulletproof vests for our nation's 
police officers, including 361 vests for Vermont police officers. 
Applications are now available at the program's web site at http://
vests.ojp.gov/ for this year's funds.
  The entire process of submitting applications and obtaining federal 
funds is completed through this web site.
  The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 builds on the 
success of this program by doubling its annual funding to $50 million 
for fiscal years 2002-2004. It also improves the program by 
guaranteeing jurisdictions with fewer than 100,000 residents receive 
the full 50-50 matching funds because of the tight budgets of these 
smaller communities and by making the purchase of stab-proof vests 
eligible for grant awards to protect corrections officers in close 
quarters in local and county jails.
  More than ever before, police officers in Vermont and around the 
country face deadly threats that can strike at any time, even during 
routine traffic stops. Bulletproof vests save lives. It is essential 
the we update this law so that many more of our officers who are 
risking their lives everyday are able to protect themselves.
  The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 will provide state 
and local law enforcement agencies with more of the assistance they 
need to protect their officers.
  Our bipartisan legislation enjoys the endorsement of many law 
enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police and 
the National Sheriffs' Association.
  We need to recognize the hard work of those who have sworn to serve 
and protect us. And we should do what we can to protect them, when a 
need like this one comes to our attention.
  Our nation's law enforcement officers put their lives at risk in the 
line of duty every day. No one knows when danger will appear.
  Unfortunately, in today's violent world, even a traffic stop may not 
necessarily be ``routine.'' Each and every law enforcement officer 
across the nation deserves the protection of a bulletproof vest.
  I hope this mysterious ``hold'' on the other side of the aisle will 
soon disappear. The Senate should pass without delay the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000, S. 2413, to ensure that each and 
every law enforcement agency in Vermont and across the nation can 
afford basic protection for their officers.
  I just want to speak a little bit personally about this. I spent the 
first 8 years of my public life in law enforcement. I have said many 
times on the floor of the Senate that it was in so many ways the most 
rewarding career I had. I got to know the men and women in law 
enforcement who are called upon to go out at 3 o'clock in

[[Page S7436]]

the afternoon or 3 o'clock in the morning and put their lives on the 
line for us.

  I thought this legislation was something that would help. I have 
received hundreds of letters and e-mails from police officers across 
the country who use the Campbell-Leahy law to get themselves 
bulletproof vests. I know Senator Campbell has, too. We joke about it, 
but we call it the Campbell-Leahy, Colorado-Leahy, Campbell-Vermont 
law--police officers know what it is. It is the bulletproof vest law.
  I was so glad to tell the leaders of law enforcement, the sheriffs, 
the police officers, and others that we had put together, once again, a 
bipartisan coalition and were moving through the reauthorization in 
what has proven to be one of the most successful pieces of law 
enforcement legislation we have had.
  That is why when they started calling me and asking, ``why hasn't it 
passed; if everybody supports it, why hasn't it passed,'' I had to tell 
them an anonymous Republican Senator has stopped it from passing. 
Whoever that Senator might be has a right to object to it going forward 
under our practices, if not under our rules.
  I ask if that Senator might be willing to put first, and foremost, 
the needs of our law enforcement officers. If they do not like the 
bill, then let's bring it to a rollcall vote and they can vote against 
it. I suspect it will be a 98-1 vote on this. I know every Democrat is 
going to vote for it because they have told me they will. Every single 
Republican I have talked with said they will vote for it. I suspect the 
vast majority of the Senate will vote for it.
  I call on that anonymous Senator to step forward and either allow us 
to pass it by a voice vote or let us bring it to a rollcall vote and 
vote it up or down. The President has assured me personally that he 
will sign this bill. He has no hesitation signing it. He wants to sign 
it.
  Senator Campbell and I will support it throughout the appropriations 
process to get the money. The most conservative, most liberal, and the 
moderate Senators in this body have all supported it. Let's do the 
right thing. Let's tell the same police officers we ask to go out at 3 
o'clock in the morning to protect us that we will not do the closed-
door withholding of the bulletproof vest legislation.

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