[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10871-H10872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2413) to amend the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to clarify the procedures and 
conditions for the award of matching grants for the purchase of armor 
vests, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I ask the 
distinguished gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) to explain the 
purpose of his request.

[[Page H10872]]

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SCOTT. I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, S. 2413, the Bulletproof Vest 
Partnership Grant Act of 2000, is identical to its House counterpart 
H.R. 4033, which passed the House on January 26, 2000, by a margin of 
413-3.
  This legislation will reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership 
Grant Program through fiscal year 2004. It will increase the authorized 
funding to $50 million per year and guarantee that smaller 
jurisdictions receive full funding available under the program.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for 
making that inquiry.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, with that explanation, I support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 2413

       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 2000''.

     SEC. 2. 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 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) 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
       (5) 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''.

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

       (a) Matching Funds.--Section 2501(f) of part Y of title I 
     of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
     U.S.C. 3796ll(f)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``The portion'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--The portion'';
       (2) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and all that follows 
     through the period at the end of the first sentence and 
     inserting ``subsection (a)--
       ``(A) may not exceed 50 percent; and
       ``(B) shall equal 50 percent, if--
       ``(i) such grant is to a unit of local government with 
     fewer than 100,000 residents;
       ``(ii) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
     determines that the quantity of vests to be purchased with 
     such grant is reasonable; and
       ``(iii) such portion does not cause such grant to violate 
     the requirements of subsection (e).''; and
       (3) by striking ``Any funds'' and inserting the following:
       ``(2) Indian assistance.--Any funds''.
       (b) Allocation of Funds.--Section 2501(g) of part Y of 
     title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
     1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ll(g)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(g) Allocation of Funds.--Funds available under this part 
     shall be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each 
     qualifying unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 
     residents. Any remaining funds available under this part 
     shall be awarded to other qualifying applicants.''.
       (c) Applications.--Section 2502 of part Y of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
     3796ll-1) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Applications in Conjunction With Purchases.--If an 
     application under this section is submitted in conjunction 
     with a transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant 
     amounts under this section may not be used to fund any 
     portion of that purchase unless, before the application is 
     submitted, the applicant--
       ``(1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of 
     the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain; 
     and
       ``(2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the 
     transaction, regardless of whether such amounts are 
     received.''.
       (d) Definition of Armor Vest.--Section 2503(1) of part Y of 
     title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
     1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ll-2(1)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``means body armor'' and inserting the 
     following: ``means--
       ``(A) body armor'';
       (2) by adding ``or'' at the end; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) body armor that has been tested through the voluntary 
     compliance testing program, and found to meet or exceed the 
     requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or any revision of such 
     standard;''.
       (e) Interim Definition of Armor Vest.--For purposes of part 
     Y of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
     Act of 1968, as amended by this Act, the meaning of the term 
     ``armor vest'' (as defined in section 2503 of such Act (42 
     U.S.C. 37966ll-2)) shall, until the date on which a final NIJ 
     Standard 0115.00 is first fully approved and implemented, 
     also include body armor which has been found to meet or 
     exceed the requirements for protection against stabbing 
     established by the State in which the grantee is located.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a)(23) 
     of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
     of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(23)) is amended by inserting 
     before the period at the end the following: ``, and 
     $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2004''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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