[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 128 (Saturday, October 9, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S10984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that late last night the House 
of Representatives passed H.R. 2714 with the Leahy-Hatch amendment to 
reauthorize the highly successful Department of Justice Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Grant Program. I thank the Chairman of the Senate 
Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, for joining me on this amendment. 
This bipartisan legislation now goes to the president for his signature 
into law.
  Our amendment contains the same legislative language as the Campbell-
Leahy-Hatch Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2003, S. 764. The 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act passed the Senate by unanimous 
consent on July 15, 2003, and has been awaiting consideration by the 
House of Representatives since then.
  This measure marks the third time that I have had the privilege of 
teaming with my friend and colleague Senator Campbell to work on the 
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program. We authored the Bulletproof 
Vest Grant Partnership Act of 1998, which responded 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 life-saving 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 now we will go 3-for-3 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 12 other Senate cosponsors, 
including Senator Hatch.
  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, 60 municipalities have been 
fortunate to receive funding for the purchase of 1,905 vests.
  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.
  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.

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