[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S9431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]







             BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2003



  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 

proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 193, S. 764.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.

  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:



       A bill (S. 764) to extend the authorization of the 

     Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program.



  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is taking up 

and passing the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2003, S. 764, 

a bill to reauthorize an existing matching grant program to help State, 

tribal, and local jurisdictions purchase armor vests for use by law 

enforcement officers.

  This bill marks the third time that I have had the privilege of 

teaming with my friend and colleague Senator Campbell to work on this 

legislation. We authored the Bulletproof Vest Grant Partnership Act of 

1998 in response to the tragic Carl Drega shootout in 1997 on the 

Vermont-New Hampshire border, in which two State troopers who did not 

have bulletproof vests were killed. The Federal officers who responded 

to the scenes of the shooting spree were equipped with lifesaving body 

armor, but the State and local law enforcement officers lacked 

protective vests because of the cost.

  Two years later, we successfully passed the Bulletproof Vest 

Partnership Grant Act of 2000, and I hope we will go three-for-three 

this time around. Senator Campbell brings to our effort invaluable 

experience in this area and during his time in the Senate he has been a 

leader in the area of law enforcement. As a former deputy sheriff, he 

knows the dangers law enforcement officers face when out on patrol. I 

am pleased that we have been joined in this effort by Judiciary 

Chairman Hatch, Judiciary Committee Senators Biden, Schumer, Kohl and 

Feingold, as well as five other Senate cosponsors.

  Our bipartisan legislation will save the lives of law enforcement 

officers across the country by providing more help to State and local 

law enforcement agencies to purchase body armor. Since its inception in 

1999, this highly successful Department of Justice program has provided 

law enforcement officers in 16,000 jurisdictions nationwide with nearly 

350,000 new bulletproof vests. In Vermont, 148 municipalities have been 

fortunate to receive funding for the purchase of almost 1200 vests. 

Without the federal funding given by this program, I daresay that there 

would be close to that number of police officers without vests in 

Vermont today.

  The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2003 will further the 

success of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program by re-

authorizing the program through fiscal year 2007. Our legislation would 

continue the Federal-State partnership by authorizing up to $50 million 

per year for matching grants to State and local law enforcement 

agencies and Indian tribes at the Department of Justice to buy body 

armor.

  Not only should we reauthorize this program, but also we should work 

to see that it is fully funded. While the Bulletproof Vest Partnership 

Program funding has been consistently authorized at $50 million per 

year, that amount gets whacked in half during the appropriations 

process. Law enforcement agencies, however, clearly need our help to 

purchase vests--for the current fiscal year, the Bulletproof Vest 

Partnership office received funding requests from small jurisdictions, 

with populations under 100,000, totaling $59 million--more than double 

the funds appropriated. The authorizing legislation requires that 

smaller jurisdictions receive priority funding through this program. 

Those requests consumed the entire amount of funds available and for 

the first time ever awards could only be made to small jurisdictions.

  We know that body armor saves lives, but the cost has put these vests 

out of the reach of many of the officers who need them. This program 

makes it more affordable for police departments of all sizes. Few 

things mean more to me than when I meet Vermont police officers and 

they tell me that the protective vests they wear were made possible 

because of this program. This is the least we should do for the 

officers on the front lines who put themselves in danger for us every 

day. I want to make sure that every police officer who needs a 

bulletproof vest gets one.

  I look forward to Senate passage today of the bipartisan Bulletproof 

Vest Partnership Grant Act, and I hope the House and the President will 

promptly act on this lifesaving legislation to help better to protect 

our law enforcement officers.

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 

read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 

table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements 

relating to this measure be printed in the Record.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

  The bill (S. 764) was read the third time and passed, as follows:



                                 S. 764



       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 2003''.



     SEC. 2. 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 striking ``2004'' and inserting ``2007''.



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