[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10990-S10991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. LEAHY. I am pleased that the House of Representatives tonight 
approved the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000, S. 2413, 
and sent it to the president for his signature. President Clinton has 
already endorsed this legislation to support our nation's law 
enforcement officers and is eager to sign it into law.
  Senator Campbell and I introduced this bipartisan bill on April 12, 
2000. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed our bill unanimously on 
June 29. For the past four months, we have been urging passage of the 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000. The Senate finally 
passed our bipartisan bill on October 11, 2000 by unanimous consent.
  I want to thank Senators Hatch, Schumer, Kohl, Thurmond, Reed, 
Jeffords, Robb, Reid, Sarbanes, Bingaman, Ashcroft, Edwards, Bunning, 
Cleland, Hutchison, Abraham and Grams for cosponsoring and supporting 
our bipartisan bill.
  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, pubic law 105-181. That 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.
  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.
  In its two years of operation, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant 
Program funded more than 325,000 new bulletproof vests for our nation's 
police officers, including more than 536 vests for Vermont police 
officers with federal grant funds of $140,253 for Vermont law 
enforcement agencies. More information about the Bulletproof Vest 
Partnership Grant Program is available at the program's web site at 
http://vests.ojp.gov/. 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. In addition, under the Leahy-Campbell floor 
amendment to this bill, the purchase of stab-proof vests will be 
eligible for grant awards to protect corrections officers and sheriffs 
who face violent criminals in close quarters in local and county jails.
  More than ever before, police officers in Vermont and around the 
country

[[Page S10991]]

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.

  In the last Congress, we created the Bulletproof Vest Partnership 
Grant Program in part in response to the tragic Drega incident along 
the Vermont and New Hampshire border. On August 19, 1997, Federal, 
State and local law enforcement authorities in Vermont and New 
Hampshire had cornered Carl Drega, after hours of hot pursuit. This 
madman had just shot to death two New Hampshire state troopers and two 
other victims earlier in the day. In a massive exchange of gunfire with 
the authorities, Drega lost his life.
  During that shootout, all federal law enforcement officers wore 
bulletproof vests, while some state and local officers did not. For 
example, Federal Border Patrol Officer John Pfeifer, a Vermonter, who 
was seriously wounded in the incident. If it was not for his 
bulletproof vest, I would have been attending Officer Pfeifer's wake 
instead of visiting him, and meeting his wife and young daughter in the 
hospital a few days later. I am relieved that Officer John Pfeifer is 
doing well and is back on duty today.
  The two New Hampshire state troopers who were killed by Carl Drega 
were not so lucky. They were not wearing bulletproof vests. Protective 
vests might not have been able to save the lives of those courageous 
officers because of the high-powered assault weapons used by this 
madman. We all grieve for the two New Hampshire officers who were 
killed. Their tragedy underscore the point that all of our law 
enforcement officers, whether federal, state or local, deserve the 
protection of a bulletproof vest. With that and lesser-known incidents 
as constant reminders, I will continue to do all I can to help prevent 
loss of life among our law enforcement officers.
  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. In my 
home State of Vermont, the bill enjoys the strong support of the 
Vermont State Police, the Vermont Police Chiefs Association and many 
Vermont sheriffs, troopers, game wardens and other local and state law 
enforcement officials.
  Since my time as a State prosecutor, I have always taken a keen 
interest in law enforcement in Vermont and around the country. Vermont 
has the reputation of being one of the safest states in which to live, 
work and visit, and rightly so. In no small part, this is due to 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 everyday. 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.
  Mr. President, I look forward to President Clinton signing this life-
saving legislation into law.

                          ____________________