[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. FRANK A. LoBIONDO

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2000

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to come before you today 
in support of H.R. 4033, the Bulletproof Vest Reauthorization Act of 
2000. This noncontroversial, bipartisan legislation was introduced by 
the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Visclosky and myself on March 20, and 
passed out of the full Judiciary Committee by voice vote on July 20.
  To me, this is a very simple issue and one that I know well. I firmly 
believe that when a police officer is issued a badge and a gun, they 
should also be issued a bulletproof vest. When police officers put 
their lives on the line everyday protecting our neighborhoods--they 
deserve the highest level of protection and security, which only a 
bulletproof vest can provide.
  When I first introduced the original Bulletproof Vest bill during the 
105th Congress, I modeled the program after the Vest-a-Cop and Shield-
The-Blue programs established in Southern New Jersey many years ago. 
When I was first elected to Congress, then-Sergeant Rich Gray, an 
Atlantic County police officer in Pleasantville came to me telling me 
of a program that they had put together in Atlantic County, NJ.
  Sergeant Gray, who is now Chief Rich Gray of the Pleasantville Police 
Department, and a very dedicated group of police officers decided that 
it was time to do something about those who were defending our citizens 
every day without protection. They started a program called Vest-A-Cop. 
The Vest-A-Cop program began to grow in Atlantic County and it was the 
genesis for the idea that I had and subsequently found out that my 
colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), had from his 
district in Indiana.
  At that time, the Vest-A-Cop program was actually raising money in a 
variety of different ways. They were reaching out to the community 
asking people to understand the needs of police officers and asking 
those in the community to contribute. We had Scouts who were basically 
baking cookies and cupcakes and selling them. We had events of all 
different kinds that were providing vests one and two and three at a 
time.
  This program is one that we modeled after at, and we realized that 
doing it piecemeal was not going to really cut it and protect our 
officers for what they needed.
  The current Bulletproof Vest Partnership program has enabled police 
jurisdictions across the nation to purchase over 180,000 bulletproof 
vests in the last 2 years--180,000 vests that probably would not have 
been purchased otherwise. However, due to the tremendous popularity of 
the program, and the program became much more popular than we ever 
anticipated, we were not able to meet all of the demands. None of the 
jurisdictions received the full 50-50 federal/state match this year, 
and, in fact, the Department of Justice reported that jurisdictions 
with under 100,000 residents received a disproportionately low share of 
federal funds--an average of only .22 cents on the dollar came from the 
federal government.
  Mr. Speaker, that is not what we in this House originally intended, 
and this legislation helps correct that.
  This bill before us today will extend and improve the current 
Bulletproof Vest program. First, the annual authorization will be 
doubled from $25 million to $50 million per year through the year 2004, 
extending the program for 3 more years. Extending this program is 
critical in enabling officers across the nation with the opportunity to 
take advantage of this program which has been proven to save lives.
  Second, language was included in the bill which guarantees smaller 
jurisdictions a fair portion of funding.
  Finally, those jurisdictions and corrections officers who have been 
waiting for the national stab-proof standard to be approved by the 
Department of Justice will be able to purchase state-approved 
bulletproof and stab-proof vests. This is a very big improvement from 
where we were on the last go-around.
  The stab-proof issue is of particular interest to me because it hits 
very close to home. Corrections Officer Fred Baker of my district in 
New Jersey was stabbed to death while on duty at the Bayside State 
Prison. Officer Baker was not wearing a vest at the time. We can only 
speculate as to whether his life would have been spared had he been 
given an opportunity to wear a vest, but many of us believe that he 
been given that opportunity, Officer Baker would be alive today and his 
wife and child would have a husband and father to come home to.
  If Officer Baker had the chance to wear a vest, I am sure that he 
would not have hesitated to put that vest on.
  It is critical that Members vote in favor of this legislation. 
According to the FBI, an average of over 100 officers are assaulted 
every day, and in 1999, 139 officers were slain while in the line of 
duty. There are still thousands of officers on duty who do not have 
access to these life-saving vests. This is an opportunity for us as 
Members of Congress, who talk so often about the importance of law 
enforcement, who talk about what we can do to protect themselves as 
they keep our citizens safe, this is our opportunity.
  This common-sense bill has gained the support of 264 bipartisan 
cosponsors as well as major law enforcement organizations across the 
Nation. I would like to commend those involved with bringing this bill 
to the floor today.
  I would first like to thank the majority leader, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Armey), who put up with my pleas and pestering for so very 
long about the importance of this bill; the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde); and the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. McCollum).
  I would also like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Scott), for his help in this effort. The gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Scott) was influential on the Committee on the Judiciary as we 
were moving this bill through the legislative process; and saving for 
last, my colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).
  The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) and I have worked on this 
bill from the very beginning. This is probably a great example of a 
bipartisan partnership developed to move legislation that is meaningful 
and can do something in a very positive way to save lives. This is the 
bottom line here.
  Mr. Speaker, many times in the House when there are good ideas that 
come before us, we do not get a chance to act on them. I think, to 
reiterate what I mentioned earlier, this is a great example of a 
positive partnership. These are ideas that are generated within our 
districts from citizens and police officers and law enforcement 
officers and corrections officers who are in the real world every day, 
protecting our neighborhoods, as we heard our other colleagues talk 
about.
  Instead of having to have local community groups raise money just a 
little bit at a time, the officers in New Jersey in the Second 
District, officers like Dominic Romeo in Cape May County, in the city 
of Wildwood, Chief Rich Gray, Shield-the-Blue, the corrections officers 
of PBA-105, all those who are associated with the Vest-A-Cop program 
can look to us here in Washington and realize that we have joined 
together in a very special way, in a very bipartisan way, to generate 
legislation that means a great deal to law enforcement across this 
Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of this body to vote for this 
legislation and show their commitment to law enforcement officers by 
voting for H.R. 4033.

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