[Senate Report 118-214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 492
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-214
_______________________________________________________________________
BETTER BALLISTIC BODY ARMOR ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 4305
TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BODY ARMOR
ISSUED TO FEMALE AGENTS AND OFFICERS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Benjamin J. Schubert, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Megan M. Krynen, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 492
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-214
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BETTER BALLISTIC BODY ARMOR ACT
_______
September 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 4305]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4305), to improve
the effectiveness of body armor issued to female agents and
officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends
that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 4305, the DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor Act, requires
the Secretary of Homeland Security to require components of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), when procuring ballistic
resistant body armor for individuals whose body shapes are most
closely associated with female agents and officers, to procure
ballistic resistant body armor that: (1) is specifically
designed to fully protect body shapes most associated with
female agents and officers; (2) is made to conform to the
individual wearer and provide the best possible fit and
coverage to allow for either a flat or shaped front panel; (3)
is assessed and verified, upon delivery, to fit properly and
have sufficient coverage in accordance with American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) standards for
fit; (4) has enhanced and advanced fit and technology that
stops a bullet from redirecting off the chest at an upward
angle into the throat region or the spinal cord area; and (5)
is certified by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ),
pursuant to the NIJ standard for ballistic resistant body
armor, and listed on the associated NIJ Compliant ProductsList
as successfully passing the ballistic resistant body armor standards in
accordance with the applicable ballistic protection level recommended
by the NIJ.
Finally, after one year of the enactment of this bill, and
annually for the following two years, this legislation requires
each head of relevant component agencies at DHS to submit a
report to the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding the
ballistic resistant body armor issued to female agents and
officers. After 30 days of receiving all of the reports
required to be submitted, the Secretary of Homeland Security
must submit a report that aggregates all of the data contained
in the reports to Congressional committees. Finally, the bill
imposes a three-year deadline for DHS to provide the updated
body armor to the agencies who meet the requirements.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
Law enforcement in the United States remains a male-
dominated profession with women representing roughly 13% of
full-time officers.\1\ As more women become law enforcement
officers, the demand for gender-specific personal protective
equipment, including body armor, has increased. Body armor
should account for the female physique to ensure the highest
levels of protection.
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\1\National Institute of Justice, Women in Policing: Breaking
Barriers and Blazing a Path (NCJ-252963) (July 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 2019, the National Urban Security Technology
Laboratory, a national laboratory organized within the DHS
Science and Technology Directorate, convened a focus group with
female responders who use ballistic resistant body armor to
identify what evaluation criteria should be used to assess body
armor. The results from the focus group identified usability
and capability of the body armor as the top two groups of
evaluation criteria, followed by deployability,
maintainability, and affordability. The specific criteria
identified by the focus group, ranked in level of importance,
were: belt and vest compatibility, comfort, cup size, fit
measurement process, female design fit, non-prohibitive
movement and methods used to secure the covert body.\2\
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\2\National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, Ballistic-
Resistant Body Armor for Women (SAVER-T-FGR-8) (Feb. 2020).
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In August 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
published findings of a study they conducted which examined the
risk posed to female law enforcement officers that wear soft
body armor.\3\ The testing, conducted with women and certain
males with large chests, identified a condition where the
projectile can ``skip'' off the top center of the front armor
panel and into the throat area. At the time of the improved
testing, body armor designs did not address this risk factor.
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\3\Federal Bureau of Investigation, Female Body Armor Risk
Identification & Mitigation (Aug. 23, 2022).
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Since the updated testing and unexpected results, improved
body armor has been created to include enhanced technology
concealed within the armor. The FBI has since provided all of
its female special agents, and others whose safety would be
impacted by these results, with the enhanced ballistic body
armor. In combination with the improved female shape gelatin
mold and the enhanced technology, test results proved that the
bullets did not skip, and instead were captured by the new
technology in the improved body armor.
In November 2023, the NIJ's most recent ballistic
standards, as was the case with its previous 2008 standards,
``specifies minimum performance requirements and test methods
for the ballistic resistance of body armor used by U.S. law
enforcement that is intended to protect the torso against
handgun and rifle ammunition.''\4\ NIJ noted that the most
recent standard differs from the previous NIJ standard in
several important ways, including harmonizing, where possible,
laboratory test procedures and practices relevant to ballistic
testing; changing ballistic threat levels; improving test
methods for armor designed for women; and adding new testing
standards for soft armor vests.\5\ The updated standards
require testing to be conducted on both female and male molds.
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\4\National Institute of Justice, Ballistic Resistance of Body
Armor (NCJ-307346) (Oct. 2023).
\5\Id.
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To increase female law enforcement officer safety, the DHS
Better Ballistic Body Armor Act requires the vests will
incorporate improved ballistic resistant body armor standards
tailored to the coverage, fit, and functionality with enhanced
technology. This improved technology will save the lives of law
enforcement personnel and implement higher standards to ensure
the protection of law enforcement.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 4305, the DHS
Better Ballistic Body Armor Act, on May 9, 2024, with original
cosponsor Senator Katie Britt (R-AL). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4305 at a business meeting on
May 15, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Peters offered a
substitute amendment to the bill. The Peters substitute
amendment makes several technical changes in response to
feedback from DHS, including clarifying that the NIJ testing
criteria used to certify the body armor procured under this
legislation can be updated after the date of enactment, and
that body armor is only being issued to DHS personnel whose
duties should require body armor. The Peters substitute
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent with Senators
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall present.
The bill, as amended by the Peters substitute amendment was
ordered favorably by roll call vote of 10 yeas and 0 nays, with
Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Blumenthal, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall voting in the affirmative.
Senators Sinema, Ossoff, Butler, and Johnson voted yea by
proxy, for the record only. Senator Paul was recorded as
``Present.''
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor Act.''
Section 2. Findings and purposes
This section defines the terms ``ballistic resistant body
armor,'' ``Department,'' and ``Secretary.''
Section 3. Procurement of ballistic resistant body armor to ensure the
protection of the Department's female agents and officers
Subsection (a) instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security
to require components of DHS, when procuring ballistic
resistant body armor for individuals whose body shapes are most
closely associated with female agents and officers, to procure
ballistic resistant body armor that: (1) is specifically
designed to fully protect body shapes most associated with
female agents and officers; (2) is made to conform to the
individual wearer and provide the best possible fit and
coverage to allow for either a flat or shaped front panel; (3)
is assessed and verified, upon delivery, to fit properly and
have sufficient coverage in accordance with ASTM International
standards for fit; (4) has enhanced and advanced fit and
technology that stops a bullet from skipping off the chest at
an upward angle into the throat region or the spinal cord area;
and (5) is certified by the NIJ, pursuant to the NIJ standard
for ballistic resistant body armor, and listed on the
associated NIJ Compliant Products List as successfully passing
the ballistic resistant body armor standards in accordance with
the applicable ballistic protection level recommended by the
NIJ.
Subsection (b) requires that after one year following the
enactment of this bill and annually for the following two
years, each head of relevant component agencies at DHS must
submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding
the ballistic resistant body armor issued to female agents and
officers. The Secretary of Homeland Security, after 30 days of
receiving all of the reports required to be submitted, must
submit a report that aggregates all of the data contained in
the reports to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland
Security.
Section 4. Effective date
This section sets a three-year deadline to provide all
agents and officers at any DHS component whose duties require
body armor and who have a body shape most closely associated
with female agents and officers body armor that meets the
requirements described in section.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees withthe Congressional Budget
Office's statement that the bill contains no intergovernmental or
private sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 4305 would require the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to procure body armor for female body shapes that meet
certain criteria, including the standards issued by the
National Institute for Justice and the American Society for
Testing and Materials. Specifically, the bill would require
that DHS equip all female agents with armor that meets those
specifications within three years of enactment. Lastly, S. 4305
would require DHS to report annually to the Congress on the
number of body armor units it purchases for each of the three
years after enactment.
Using information from DHS, CBO expects that to comply with
those requirements, the department would need to purchase an
additional 3,200 units of body armor annually over the next
three years at a cost of about $1,800 per unit. On that basis,
and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would cost $6 million annually for three
years to purchase the necessary equipment and comply with the
bill's reporting requirements. In total, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 4305 would cost $18 million over the 2024-2029
period. Any related spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
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