[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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