Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998

Summary: Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to:  (1) make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers; and (2) give preferential consideration to applications from jurisdictions that have the greatest need, have or will institute a mandatory wear policy, and have a violent crime rate at or above the national average or have not received specified grants under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program (makes local governments receiving funding under such program ineligible for a grant under this Act unless the chief executive officer of such local government certifies that it considered or will consider using funding received under such program for costs of armor vests but does not expect to use such funds for that purpose). 
Provides that a qualifying State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe may not receive less than .5 percent nor more than five percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for such grants, and that a State, together with grantees within the State, may not receive more than 20 percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for such grants. 
Limits the portion of program costs provided by such grant to 50 percent.  Authorizes the use of funds appropriated by the Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law enforcement functions on Indian lands for the non-Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this Act.  Requires that at least half of the funds available under this Act be awarded to local governments with fewer than 100,000 residents. 
Sets forth application requirements. 
Authorizes appropriations. 
Expresses the sense of the Congress that entities receiving assistance under this Act should, in expending such assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant 
Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) the number of law enforcement officers who are killed in 
    the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law 
    enforcement officer in the United States had the protection of an 
    armor vest;
        (2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law 
    enforcement officers in the United States were feloniously killed 
    in the line of duty;
        (3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the risk 
    of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing an armor 
    vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing an armor vest;
        (4) the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 
    150,000 State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, nearly 
    25 percent, are not issued body armor;
        (5) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-
    resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000 law 
    enforcement officers in the United States; and
        (6) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law Enforcement 
    Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian country has risen 
    sharply, despite a decrease in the national crime rate, and has 
    concluded that there is a ``public safety crisis in Indian 
    country''.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to save lives of law 
enforcement officers by helping State, local, and tribal law 
enforcement agencies provide officers with armor vests.

SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating part Y as part Z;
        (2) by redesignating section 2501 as section 2601; and
        (3) by inserting after part X the following new part:

    ``PART Y--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS

``SEC. 2501. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
is authorized to make grants to States, units of local government, and 
Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by State, local, and 
tribal law enforcement officers.
    ``(b) Uses of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be--
        ``(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
    government, or Indian tribe; and
        ``(2) used for the purchase of armor vests for law enforcement 
    officers in the jurisdiction of the grantee.
    ``(c) Preferential Consideration.--In awarding grants under this 
part, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance may give 
preferential consideration, if feasible, to an application from a 
jurisdiction that--
        ``(1) has the greatest need for armor vests based on the 
    percentage of law enforcement officers in the department who do not 
    have access to a vest;
        ``(2) has, or will institute, a mandatory wear policy that 
    requires on-duty law enforcement officers to wear armor vests 
    whenever feasible; and
        ``(3) has a violent crime rate at or above the national average 
    as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or
        ``(4) has not received a block grant under the Local Law 
    Enforcement Block Grant program described under the heading 
    `Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement 
    Assistance' of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
    Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public 
    Law 105-119).
    ``(d) Minimum Amount.--Unless all eligible applications submitted 
by any State or unit of local government within such State for a grant 
under this section have been funded, such State, together with grantees 
within the State (other than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each 
fiscal year under this section not less than 0.50 percent of the total 
amount appropriated in the fiscal year for grants pursuant to this 
section, except that the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 
Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall each be allocated .25 
percent.
    ``(e) Maximum Amount.--A qualifying State, unit of local 
government, or Indian tribe may not receive more than 5 percent of the 
total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under this 
section, except that a State, together with the grantees within the 
State may not receive more than 20 percent of the total amount 
appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under this section.
    ``(f) Matching Funds.--The portion of the costs of a program 
provided by a grant under subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent. Any 
funds appropriated by Congress for the activities of any agency of an 
Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law 
enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the 
non-Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this 
subsection.
    ``(g) Allocation of Funds.--At least half of the funds available 
under this part shall be awarded to units of local government with 
fewer than 100,000 residents.

``SEC. 2502. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the chief 
executive of a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe shall 
submit an application to the Director of the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance in such form and containing such information as the Director 
may reasonably require.
    ``(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this part, the Director of the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance shall promulgate regulations to implement this section 
(including the information that must be included and the requirements 
that the States, units of local government, and Indian tribes must 
meet) in submitting the applications required under this section.
    ``(c) Eligibility.--A unit of local government that receives 
funding under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program (described 
under the heading `Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local 
Law Enforcement Assistance' of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, 
and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 
(Public Law 105-119)) during a fiscal year in which it submits an 
application under this part shall not be eligible for a grant under 
this part unless the chief executive officer of such unit of local 
government certifies and provides an explanation to the Director that 
the unit of local government considered or will consider using funding 
received under the block grant program for any or all of the costs 
relating to the purchase of armor vests, but did not, or does not 
expect to use such funds for such purpose.

``SEC. 2503. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this part--
        ``(1) the term `armor vest' means body armor, no less than Type 
    I, which has been tested through the voluntary compliance testing 
    program operated by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections 
    Technology Center of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and 
    found to meet or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0101.03, 
    or any subsequent revision of such standard;
        ``(2) the term `body armor' means any product sold or offered 
    for sale as personal protective body covering intended to protect 
    against gunfire, stabbing, or other physical harm;
        ``(3) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
    District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 
    States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 
    Mariana Islands;
        ``(4) the term `unit of local government' means a county, 
    municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other 
    unit of general government below the State level;
        ``(5) the term `Indian tribe' has the same meaning as in 
    section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
    Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)); and
        ``(6) the term `law enforcement officer' means any officer, 
    agent, or employee of a State, unit of local government, or Indian 
    tribe authorized by law or by a government agency to engage in or 
    supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation of any 
    violation of criminal law, or authorized by law to supervise 
    sentenced criminal offenders.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(23) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part Y, 
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2001.''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    In the case of any equipment or products that may be authorized to 
be purchased with financial assistance provided using funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act, it is the sense 
of the Congress that entities receiving the assistance should, in 
expending the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and 
products.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.