[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3751-H3755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REAUTHORIZING BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2379) to reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest
Partnership Grant Program, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2379
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM
REAUTHORIZATION.
(a) In General.--Section 1001(a)(23) of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C.
10261(a)(23)) is amended by striking ``part Y'' and all that
follows and inserting ``part Y, $30,000,000 for fiscal year
2020, and each fiscal year thereafter.''.
(b) Program Name.--Part Y of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531 et
seq.) is amended by inserting before section 2501 the
following:
``SEC. 2500. PATRICK LEAHY BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT
PROGRAM.
``The program under this part shall be known as the
`Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant
Program'.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program stands as a shining
example of the public safety collaboration between Congress and local
governments to improve public safety and protect the officers who
protect us.
In the 20 years that the program has been in existence, Congress has
allocated funds that have enabled local law enforcement agencies to
purchase more than 1.3 million bulletproof vests. Through this program,
thousands of officers have survived what would otherwise have been
deadly shootings.
Without the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, local
jurisdictions that lack the financial means to purchase vests would
simply be unable to do so.
As reauthorized under H.R. 2379, the program would give priority to
small jurisdictions that apply for assistance. Those that most need the
Federal support will continue to have priority.
An often-overlooked element of the program is the supporting role the
National Institute of Justice plays in providing expert analysis on the
quality and life expectancy of bulletproof vests, ensuring that
officers who patrol our streets every day and every night wear vests
that will give them the measure of safety that they deserve.
Importantly, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program has worked
in recent years to ensure the vests that female officers are issued fit
properly and provide the same protection as the vests that male
officers are issued.
With H.R. 2379, the House today takes a crucial step toward ending an
uncertainty concerning the future of the program by permanently
authorizing its funding at $30 million per year.
It is fitting that we consider this important legislation at the
start of National Police Week, which honors those who serve and have
paid the ultimate price and sacrifice in protecting our communities.
Since President John F. Kennedy first signed the proclamation
designating National Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, officers and
citizens assemble in our Nation's Capital during Police Week to thank
law enforcement officers for their service, dedication, and commitment.
It is in that spirit that we seek to reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest
Partnership Grant Program. It is also fitting that this bill names the
program in honor of the distinguished Senator from Vermont, Patrick
Leahy, who played a critical role in conceiving it and who has been a
consistent champion of its continuation and, now, its permanent
reauthorization.
I thank Senator Leahy for his leadership.
I would be remiss if I were not to recognize the tireless efforts of
the author of H.R. 2379, my good friend Congressman Bill Pascrell, who
has worked diligently to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill that will help protect those
who put their lives on the line to protect us. I urge my colleagues to
support it today, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2379, a bill to
reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, and I would
also like to thank Mr. Pascrell for his work on this. This is something
that we have seen over many years, and I appreciate the chairman and my
friend from Georgia on the committee for bringing this forward as well.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership, or the BVP, created by the
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998, is a unique U.S.
Department of Justice initiative designed to provide a critical
resource to State and local law enforcement. The goal of the BVP is to
support the purchase of body armor that has been tested and found to
comply with applicable ballistic and stab standards promulgated by the
National Institute of Justice.
For the past 20 years, the BVP has awarded more than 13,000
jurisdictions a total of $467 million in Federal funds for the purchase
of over 1.3 million vests.
From fiscal year 2015 through 2017, protective vests were directly
attributable to saving the lives of at least 129 law enforcement and
corrections officers. BVP funds helped purchase 21 of those vests.
In short, body armor saves lives. For 30 years, bullet-resistant body
armor has protected law enforcement officers from ballistic and
nonballistic incidents. As recorded by the IACP/DuPont Kevlar
Survivors' Club, more than 3,100 officers have survived potentially
fatal or disabling injuries because they were wearing their body armor.
The bill before us today permanently reauthorizes this vitally
important program. It will ensure our local heroes are protected from
those who try to do them harm.
When a law enforcement officer leaves home in the morning, there is
no guarantee he or she will return home safely that evening. This
program makes it more likely, though, that these heroes will see their
families again.
That is why I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 2379. As the son of a
Georgia State trooper, I know what that means.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
brave
[[Page H3752]]
men and women who place their lives on the line to protect our
communities. They deserve every ounce of support from their government.
I introduced H.R. 2379 to permanently authorize the Bulletproof Vest
Partnership Grant Program at $30 million every year. Our bill will help
struggling law enforcement agencies maintain the necessary lifesaving
bulletproof vests for each of their officers.
Making this important grant program permanent is one of the most
sensible policies Congress can pursue. According to the Government
Accountability Office, more than 3,000 law enforcement lives have been
saved by armored vests since 1987.
But vests are costly, and they wear out. Thankfully, this Federal
program has ensured our Nation's police officers are equipped with the
latest technology to keep them safe.
For the last two decades, the program has awarded more than 13,000
jurisdictions a total of $467 million in matching Federal funds to help
purchase more than 1.3 million vests.
Mr. Speaker, we know that having well-staffed, well-trained, and
properly equipped public safety departments is critical to ensuring our
communities are safe. The importance of sustained Federal funding on
this front cannot be overstated.
I am proud the House of Representatives is considering this
legislation during National Police Week, as was just mentioned. We
mourned the loss of 158 law enforcement officers in 2018 who died in
the line of duty, three of whom served in New Jersey. At 53, this was
the deadliest year for law enforcement officers being shot.
Ensuring more vests are in the field, which can help reduce the
statistics, is our goal.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize the three
officers from New Jersey who died while serving in the line of duty.
First was my friend from New Jersey, Tamby Yagan of the Paterson
Police Department. With 13 years of service in his hometown, Officer
Yagan died in an automobile crash while on duty on April 22, 2018.
Lieutenant Christopher Robateau from Jersey City passed on January 5,
2018, after being struck by a vehicle.
New Jersey State Police Trooper Robert Emmet Nagle passed on November
26, 2018, because of 9/11-related illness.
Mr. Speaker, I grieve for their families, as do you, and their loved
ones. I know this House does, too.
Our Nation's local, State, and Federal law enforcement officers
constitute both the first and last lines of protection for the American
people. These officers deserve our support, and I am committed to
ensuring that they have the resources needed to protect the public's
safety.
Congress has renewed the program five times, most recently in 2016.
The current authorization expires next year.
I especially thank Congressman Peter King from New York, who is
always there on the firing line for our police officers. On every bill,
on every piece of legislation, he is there.
I also thank Lindsey Graham from South Carolina and, of course, the
bill's namesake, Patrick Leahy.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from New
Jersey an additional 1 minute.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, this bill has strong support from several
law enforcement groups, including the National Sheriffs' Association,
the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police
Organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the
Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Major County Sheriffs'
Association.
I thank Chairman Nadler for allowing our bill to be released.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in strongly supporting
H.R. 2379.
{time} 1545
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I do appreciate this time. This is a special week for me personally
because it is recognizing something that I grew up with. It recognizes
something that I am that I can't get a part of who I am. And I
appreciate Mr. Pascrell, my friend from New Jersey, talking about this
and what that actually means.
But for what I will just term as a trooper's kid, this week means a
lot. And it would mean even more when we come here if really, we had
had more to do this week. I say that with respect, and I say that with
love, because this is a good bill, and I urge everyone to support it,
and I want to.
But just this past week, in Georgia, just as was recommended and said
in New Jersey, just in the past few days in Savannah, Georgia, we lost
another officer, Sergeant Kelvin Ansari, in an incident. He went to
work and did not come home.
For the past few years, I have been in this body, and we have worked
during Police Week, even beforehand, to bring up bills and to bring up
issues that involve our law enforcement community because I recognize,
and I know others in this body do as well, that on those mornings when
they get up to go to work, the ladies and gentlemen who serve us in our
law enforcement community, all of us, they are giving a gift of life to
go serve others.
And on many days, unfortunately, the headlines will show to us that
they don't return home; some through violence; some through activity;
some, as we have seen this past year in this country, ambushed in front
of their own police departments; cruelly murdered by those anarchists
in this country who believe that the police are the enemy; and
sometimes, fed by others who want a different version of what upholding
the law means. And that is sad.
My heart breaks, because when those officers don't come home, there
is a space left at the table. There is a void left in the hearts of
families and communities.
One of my earliest remembrances of my dad as a trooper, and one of
the biggest things that made an impression on me, was years ago there
was a trooper who had made a stop on 129 South out of Gainesville,
Georgia, T.C. Dillard. As he made that stop, a young man who was not in
his right mind through drugs, came over a hill and hit him.
I remember hearing about it. I was young at the time, and I remember
him being taken to the hospital. And I can remember my dad and other
officers all going to the hospital, and they were giving blood and
doing whatever they could. It was one of the first times I remember of
my earliest remembrances of watching my dad cry.
To a scrawny kid from north Georgia, who had a dad, and has a dad who
is 6 feet 2 inches, 250 pounds, carried a .357 on his hip, and wore the
badge of the Georgia State Patrol, he was and is my hero. To see him
cry was something I had not experienced. To watch him love another
officer and do anything for that officer is something that has impacted
me today.
As we move forward, and we look at the things today, I guess my only
thing--and I wanted to spend just a few more moments on this, because
this is our only chance. This is the only bill that we have dealing
with Law Enforcement Week this week.
I know that we are busy in the Judiciary Committee. I know that we
have got a lot of other things going on. I know that we have so many
things that we need to investigate, and I get that.
I am not--for once, I am just honestly speaking as much as a
Congressman as I am as a trooper's kid.
Thirty thousand officers will be coming to Washington, D.C. over the
next few days to honor those who have fallen, and to remember this
week. And this bill, which is a good bill, is it. It is all we are
offering. It is all we are discussing.
In years past, in 2018, we had six bills, including one rule bill. In
2017, nine bills, including two rule bills. 2016, eight bills,
including two rule bills. Protect and Serve, Thin Blue Line, Probation
Officer Protection Act of 2017, the Comprehensive Opioid and Abuse Act,
which gave our officers training in how they can actually help in an
opioid crisis.
I understand that we have a lot going on, but in our committee right
now we have H.R. 816, which would ensure certain law enforcement
officers on college campuses and their families are eligible for death
and disability benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefit
Program.
H.R. 816 is named in honor of Sean Collier, a police officer at MIT
who was
[[Page H3753]]
murdered by one of the Tsarnaev brothers after the attack at the Boston
Marathon. This is to make sure their family has security.
Another bill from my committee colleague, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), is his aim to prevent law enforcement
suicides. Other bills that we have pending for law enforcement by
helping them provide resources to combat opioid crisis or curb sex
trafficking. In years past, we have considered numerous bills, not all
of them, in fact, most of them noncontroversial. But we didn't seem to
have time to mark them up this year or to bring them forward.
I understand, and I am trying my best to just bring an honest
concern, because when you look at these officers--and I used to ride
with them; as I got older and I went to seminary and I was a chaplain
for the Gainesville Police Department--it never leaves you.
As I came here today, and I appreciate my friend from Georgia, we
have shared so many things together, we have done this, and Mr.
Pascrell and others who have talked about this.
But this is it. This is our only chance to actually say to these
people--instead of just saying we appreciate you; we love you; and we
are glad that you do what you do and offer them help in the things that
they do, we offer them bulletproof vests, which is good; but it is all
we are offering right now.
And I want to make sure, on this floor, for those kids whose dads and
moms didn't come home this past year, just a reminder that it is not
about what we say to those officers, it is also what we do.
I live each day, as best as I possibly can, to do as best as I
possibly can for the ones who have given me so much; my mom, who I lost
last June, my dad, who I still have, who taught me how to grow up; how
to love; how to care; taught me to serve my country in the military and
to serve my country here.
But when I come to a discussion today, and I heard my friend from New
Jersey so eloquently discuss those who lost their lives in New Jersey
and here in Savannah, the one thing that gets me up every morning, and
if I have had a bad day, or if I am thinking about it, and when I hear
all the discussion in this country about officers who are bad, or
officers who are not doing it right, and officers--I understand the
discussion that we need to have in our communities, and how we need to
come together as communities to help each other and to lift each other
up, from the poorest communities to the richest; the police are there
to take the law. And if there are bad ones, they need to be got out.
But they are 99.99 percent good, who honestly just want to do a good
job, and we need to honor that.
But when we talk about bulletproof vests, when we talk about other
issues of how we care for officers, just remember those this week,
especially those who didn't come home because, Mr. Speaker, except by
the grace of God, I would have not known my father, because on a
traffic stop, when I was still a small child, he walked up to a car. He
caught a glint of a gun laying on the shoulder of the driver. He,
fortunately, was able to pull his gun, and they stood there for many
minutes in a standoff until the gentleman threw the gun out of the car
window. That incident almost deprived me of knowing my hero.
When we talk about police, when we talk about law enforcement and the
other first responders on all sides, but the police we are talking
about today, I just humbly believe that there is more that we can do,
and I look forward to working with our committee to do more throughout
this year.
But on this week, it is worth pointing out that these folks stand in
the line, many of them not sleeping while we sleep, and they are worth
protecting, and they are worth more, frankly, than this one bill; and I
look forward to working with my Democratic colleagues to make sure that
we see more come across this floor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
This could not be a more solemn moment than what my friend from
Georgia just expressed to the Nation about our State and local law
enforcement personnel, male, female, Black, White, Latino, Asian, this
legislation is an effort to protect them.
And I will note that there have not been just one, but actually three
deaths of law enforcement officers already this year in the State of
Georgia. The numbers are up. It is very concerning, and this is
something that we can do to help protect the lives of our law
enforcement officers.
I know that my friend from Georgia, Representative Collins, has a
long and storied history of support for State and local law
enforcement, and I stand with him in his concern, and I stand with him
in his support for this very important legislation that my friend, Bill
Pascrell, has introduced.
I will note that a lot of little boys and girls who first go into law
enforcement, they go into local and State law enforcement, and then
they are able to attain their ultimate dream, which is to become an FBI
agent.
FBI agents are Federal law enforcement agents. They are sworn to
protect and serve; they wear a gun, and they wake up every morning not
knowing what they will face during that day. Some have given their
lives in the ultimate sacrifice for this Nation.
So, in addition to our State and local law enforcement agents, we,
today, uphold our Federal law enforcement agents who work for the
various Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, with its
storied history of integrity.
So, it is not about what we say; it is about what we do. It is about
what we say also, because what we say has an impact on those who serve
us. And we cannot, because of one or two outliers, indict the entire
State or local law enforcement agency for the imperfections of the few;
nor can we do so with our Federal law enforcement agencies,
particularly our premier Federal law enforcement agency, the FBI.
I support the FBI. I support our State and local law enforcement
agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Visclosky).
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2379, which
will permanently reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program.
I want to particularly thank Mr. Pascrell, as well as Mr. King, for
taking the lead on this very important legislation.
In 1997, I co-authored the original legislation to create the
Bulletproof Vest Partnership program with the gentleman who originated
the idea for this legislation, and who was the original cosponsor, our
good friend, former colleague, Representative Frank LoBiondo, from the
State of New Jersey; he had been active over the last 22 years in
having the act reauthorized, which is why I strongly support this bill
to add permanence to it.
As has been mentioned during the debate, there have been over 13,000
jurisdictions who have been helped. I represent the First Congressional
District in Indiana, and in Fiscal Year 2018 the Bulletproof Vest
Partnership program provided $80,738 to local law enforcement in
Northwest Indiana. This assisted in the purchase of about 200 new vests
for officers who are protecting our communities.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here to reiterate my strong support for this
legislation, and I ask my colleagues to support it.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I am almost at the end, but as I was finishing up--and I appreciate
the gentleman from Georgia's words, and I agree that we can--but I
would be remiss if I didn't share what I just got in my inbox. I just
got this in my inbox.
It is a letter signed by my chairman of my committee and four other
members of our committee on Police Week. After I just talked about how
we can do more, this is what we are doing more.
``As you know, the House Judiciary Committee exercises legislative
and oversight jurisdiction in the areas of civil rights and criminal
law enforcement. These areas continue to be subjects of intense
national concern in the wake of high-profile incidents involving the
fatal use of force by law enforcement against unarmed people in cities
such as Ferguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, Falcon Heights, Tulsa,
Pittsburgh, and Dallas. In 2018, 992 people were shot and killed by
police. In the first 2 months of this year, at least 265 people have
suffered the same fate.''
[[Page H3754]]
Mr. Speaker, I include the May 14, 2019, letter in the Record.
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC, May 14, 2019.
Hon. William P. Barr,
Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice,
Washington, DC.
Dear Attorney General Barr: As you know, the House
Judiciary Committee exercises legislative and oversight
jurisdiction in areas of civil rights and criminal law
enforcement. These areas continue to be subjects of intense
national concern in the wake of high-profile incidents
involving the fatal use of force by law enforcement against
unarmed people in cities such as Ferguson, Baltimore,
Cleveland, Chicago, Falcon Heights, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, and
Dallas, In 2018, 992 people were shot and killed by police.
``In the first two months of this year, at least 265 people
have suffered the same fate.``
Despite continuing concerns from civil rights and
community-based organizations, the Department has sharply
curtailed its statutory role in identifying and eradicating
civil rights abuses by law enforcement. Excessive force in
police-civilian encounters presents a crisis of trust
throughout our nation. Changes to Department policy and
failure to uphold the law run the risk of undermining federal
oversight authority in this space.
Congress identified the need for the Department and
community stakeholders to play a role in eliminating unjust
and discriminatory practices by law enforcement. With that
goal in mind, Congress has provided the Department with the
authority to identify and eliminate patterns and practices of
unconstitutional conduct in law enforcement agencies through
civil action and administrative authority. Additionally, it
provided the Department the ability to encourage communities
to have a voice in how they are policed through programs
offered by the Community Oriented Policing Services or ``COPS
Office.'' These tools must be used to promote Constitutional
poJicing practices that support public safety and respect
civil rights and civil liberties.
Accordingly, we write to request information related to the
manner in which the Department of Justice is currently
carrying out its statutory responsibilities to eliminate
patterns and practices of unconstitutional conduct in law
enforcement agencies. We respectfully request you provide
complete responses and produce the relevant documents and
communications listed below by no later than June 5, 2019:
1. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2017
to March 31, 2017, relating to Attorney General Sessions's
March 31, 2017 Memorandum, ``Supporting Federal, State,
Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement.'' This should include any
prior drafts of the memorandum. Please include a list
identifying all individuals involved in the decision to
conduct the review of ``existing or contemplated consent
decrees.''
2. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2017
to November 7, 2018, relating to Attorney General Sessions's
November 7, 2018 Memorandum ``Principles and Procedures for
Civil Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements with State
and Local Government Entities.'' This should include any
prior drafts of the memorandum. Please include a list
identifying all individuals involved in the decision to
identify issues arising from the Department's ``civil
action[s] against a state or local government . . . by
consent decree or settlement agreement.''
3. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2017
to November 21, 2018, from or to the Acting Associate
Attorney General Jesse Panuccio and Deputy Associate Attorney
General Stephen Cox concerning the Department's recession or
withdrawal of policies, procedures, and guidance issued by
the Civil Rights Division, the Office of Justice Programs,
the COPS Office, and the Office of Violence Against Women.
4. Please provide copies of any standards or guidelines, by
which the Department identifies potential patterns or
practices of conduct by law enforcement agencies that deprive
persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or
protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
5. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2017
to the date of this letter, identifying any Department-
negotiated consent decree, authorized under 34 U.S.C. Section
12601 (b), that has ``deprived the elected representatives of
the people of any affected jurisdiction of control over their
government.''
6. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2017
to the date of this letter, identifying any Department-
negotiated consent decree, authorized under 34 U.S.C. Section
12601 (b), that has subjected a law enforcement agency to
ongoing court oversight after the Department determined that
the purpose of the consent decree had been achieved.
7. Documents and Communications dated from January 1, 2017
to the date of this letter, from non-government organizations
relating to the Department's review of existing or proposed
consent decrees or reform agreements pursuant to the Attorney
General's March 31, 2017 Memorandum.
8. Documents and communications dated from November 7, 2018
to the date of this letter, relating to updating standards or
guidelines used to identify patterns and practices
of discriminations by state or local law enforcement
agencies. This response should include how complaints
against recipients of federal financial assistance from
the Office of Justice Programs, other grant making
agencies, and participants in the Asset Forfeiture Program
are centrally accounted for or tabulated and considered in
opening investigations into alleged discriminatory
patterns and practices by law enforcement agency.
9. Copies of standards or guidelines in force as of January
1, 2017, that the Department uses to determine whether the
Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a
violation of 34 U.S.C. Section 1260l(a) has occurred.
10. Documents and communications dated from November 7,
2018 to the date of this letter, relating to updating
guidelines or standards used to determine whether the
Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a
violation of 34 U.S.C. Section 1260l(a) has occurred.
11. Copies of any evidence-based study, analysis, or report
supporting the decision to adopt the general statement of
principles as memorialized in the Attorney General's November
7, 2018 Memorandum.
12. Documents and communications dated from January 1, 2018
to the date of this letter, relating to proposed changes to
the existing memorandums of understanding or agreement,
resolution agreements, or consent decrees, including but not
limited to the matters open in Baltimore, Chicago, and
Ferguson.
13. Total number of preliminary inquiries and
investigations of law enforcement agencies opened, initiated,
or given a case or other tracking number by the Civil Rights
Division or civil rights matters opened by the Office of
Justice Programs after January 1, 2017. Please include a list
identifying each law enforcement agency subject to a
preliminary investigation or inquiry after January 1, 2017,
and a brief description of the basis for the preliminary
investigation or inquiry.
14. Total number of preliminary inquiries or investigations
of law enforcement agencies closed after March 31, 2017.
Please include a list identifying the date each case was
closed, the identity of the law enforcement agency subject of
the preliminary inquiry or investigation, and a brief
description of the basis for closing the preliminary
investigation or inquiry.
15. Total number of complaints, referrals, or multi-party
complaints received by the Department after January 1, 2017,
from a federal, state, or local public official relating to
potential pattern or practice violations by a law enforcement
agency. Please provide brief descriptions of each referral or
complaint.
16. Documents and communications dated from February 9,
2017 to the date of this letter, relating to modifications of
existing agreements for technical assistance with law
enforcement agencies, COPS Office proposed budget, or changes
to existing Department guidelines or standards relating to
the administration of the Collaborative Reform Initiative for
Technical Assistance.
17. Total number of requests, including any memorandums or
communications dated after January 1, 2017 to the date of
this letter, to open investigations of law enforcement agency
officers or agencies from the Special Litigation Section to
the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under section
12601.
18. Documents or Communications dated from January 1, 2017
to the date of this letter, related to the review and
decision to retreat from the agreement in principle with the
Chicago Police Department and Chicago, including any review
or analysis of the findings by the AG and his office of
evidence of constitutional violations presented in the
findings letter dated January 3, 2017.
19. An account of open investigations alleging an unlawful
pattern and practice or disparate impact involving law
enforcement agencies and explanation of what steps the
Department has taken to withdraw federal funding of law
enforcement agencies that are subject to the grant conditions
pursuant to Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968. In your response, please address the
Department's investigations of the Springfield, Massachusetts
Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and
the Orange County District Attorney's Office and Sheriffs
Department.
Thank you for your prompt attention on this matter. We look
forward to working more closely with your office in the 116th
Congress.
Sincerely,
Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary.
Karen Bass,
Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security, House Committee on the Judiciary.
Mary Gay Scanlon,
Vice Chair, House Committee on the Judiciary.
Steve Cohen,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and
Civil Liberties, House Committee on the Judiciary.
[[Page H3755]]
Sheila Jackson Lee,
Member of Congress.
{time} 1600
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Are you kidding me? We couldn't wait a week?
Look, vote for this bill. This bill is a good bill. But this shows
the dedication of the majority to Police Week right here. It is about
what my chairman of the committee did. It is about what we say and what
we do. This is what we did.
On the first part of Police Week, we sent to the Attorney General a
discussion about people who are shot by police, many of which in no
context here of how the accidents occurred or how it occurred or what
was actually happening; it is just that we need to go investigate, a 4-
, 5-page letter.
Vote for the bill. The bill is a good bill.
This letter is embarrassing.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining for
both sides?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) has
6\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) has
6\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close, and I yield
myself the balance of my time.
Again, I will come back to the issue. This bulletproof vest bill is a
great bill. It needs to be permanent. In fact, if we can do better, it
would be great. We need to do more.
I made my point about this letter, and, unfortunately, this is a
stain on Police Week, and hopefully we can do better, and I know we
will.
I trust my friend from Georgia. I trust my friend from New Jersey. We
can do this, and we can do this better. I am sorry that this is the way
it has had to start, but actions do speak louder than anything else,
than words, like I said, and this is an action on Police Week that,
frankly, is unbelievable.
Support this underlying bill. Support this bill for bulletproof
vests. Support our officers not just with words, but with actions as
well, and I know the Members here on this floor are doing that. It is
just a shame that this had to come out with that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
The top law enforcement individual in the country is the Attorney
General, and our Attorney General has declared war on the FBI by
ordering a third investigation into the origins of the Mueller
investigation. This is nothing more than an attack on our own premier
law enforcement agency. It is politics reduced to its lowest level at
the same time as Police Week is occurring.
What does it say to those down the line, to those aspiring boys and
girls who aspire to be FBI agents?
What does it say to the men and women who are currently in law
enforcement and looking to move into Federal law enforcement?
Well, it doesn't tell them to not aspire to that height. I think most
look beyond the politics of the day, and when they consider the
legislation that is at hand, they support it without regard to
political persuasion. They support the fact that H.R. 2379, introduced
by my friend Bill Pascrell, is a testament to the important role that
Congress plays in promoting officer safety today and for decades to
come.
In passing this bill during Police Week, we acknowledge the many
contributions that law enforcement officers make to public safety, and
we thank them for their service. We also recognize that there are
challenges within law enforcement that we must weed out and that are an
affront to the ideals that law enforcement officers are taught to
adhere to, and we must do that, as well.
But today it is not about that. Today it is about bulletproof vests
for our law enforcement officers on the State and local level. We will
make sure that our Federal officers are always protected, but today it
is about State and local law enforcement agents and agencies,
particularly those that cannot afford to purchase these bulletproof
vests or to keep current in terms of these vests when they wear out.
They do wear out, and they have to be replaced, and they have to have
money to do that. This bill will enable $30 million per year to be
permanently authorized. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2379, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that, I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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