I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10322 

To improve the effectiveness of body armor issued to female agents and 

officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Mrs. MCIVER (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. EZELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To improve the effectiveness of body armor issued to female 

agents and officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Better Ballistic 

5 Body Armor Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROCUREMENT OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY 

2 ARMOR TO ENSURE THE PROTECTION OF FE3 MALE AGENTS AND OFFICERS OF THE DE4 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu6 rity shall require components of the Department of Home7 land Security, when procuring ballistic resistant body 

8 armor for agents and officers, to procure ballistic resistant 

9 body armor that complies with the following requirements: 

10 (1) Is specifically designed to fully protect the 

11 body shapes of agents and officers. 

12 (2) Is made to conform to the individual wearer 

13 and provide the best possible fit and coverage to 

14 allow for either a flat or shaped front panel. 

15 (3) Is assessed and verified, upon delivery, to 

16 fit properly and have sufficient coverage in accord17 ance with American Society for Testing and Mate18 rials (ASTM International) standards for fit. 

19 (4) Has enhanced and advanced fit and tech20 nology that stops a bullet from redirecting off the 

21 chest at an upward angle into the throat region or 

22 the spinal cord area. 

23 (5) Is certified by the National Institute of Jus24 tice (NIJ), pursuant to the NIJ standard for bal25 listic resistant body armor, and included on the as26 sociated NIJ Compliant Products List as successVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Dec 31, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10322.IH H10322

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1 fully passing the ballistic resistant body armor 

2 standards in accordance with the applicable ballistic 

3 protection level recommended by the NIJ, including 

4 passing testing that uses, for each test sample, the 

5 following: 

6 (A) Ballistic testing on clay or gelatin 

7 molds to ensure better contact of nonplanar 

8 panels with such clay or gelatin molds, as re9 quired by the body shapes of agents and offi10 cers. 

11 (B) Soft body armor front panels con12 tained in soft carriers on female-shaped clay or 

13 gelatin molds designed to fill the space behind 

14 the panel. 

15 (C) Shots to be placed on shaping features. 

16 (D) Angled shots. 

17 (E) An angled shot at the chest to address 

18 the concern of a bullet skipping into the neck19 line. 

20 (F) Any additional testing criteria rec21 ommended by the NIJ on or after the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

24 (1) ISSUANCE OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY

25 ARMOR.—Not later than one year after the date of 


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1 the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

2 for the following two years, the head of each relevant 

3 component of the Department of Homeland Security 

4 shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

5 a report regarding the ballistic resistant body armor 

6 issued to female agents and officers of such compo7 nent, including with respect to the reporting period, 

8 information relating to the following: 

9 (A) The number of female agents and offi10 cers to whom ballistic resistant body armor was 

11 issued for performance of their official duties. 

12 (B) The number of ballistic resistant body 

13 armor units issued to female agents and officers 

14 before the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the use of which was discontinued due to non16 compliance with the requirements described in 

17 subsection (a). 

18 (C) The number of ballistic resistant body 

19 armor units issued to female agents and officers 

20 before the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 that are compliant with the requirements de22 scribed in subsection (a). 

23 (D) The percentage of female agents and 

24 officers of such component who, as of the last 

25 day of the reporting period, have been issued 


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1 ballistic resistant body armor that complies 

2 with the requirements described in subsection 

3 (a), disaggregated by duty station. 

4 (2) AGGREGATE REPORT.—Not later than 30 

5 days after receiving all of the reports required under 

6 paragraph (1) during a reporting period, the Sec7 retary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

8 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

9 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home10 land Security of the House of Representatives a re11 port that aggregates all of the data contained in 

12 such reports. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Not later than three years 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security shall ensure that all agents and offi16 cers of any component of the Department of Homeland 

17 Security whose duties require body armor shall have been 

18 issued body armor that complies with the requirements de19 scribed in subsection (a). 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘bal21 listic resistant body armor’’ means torso ballistic protec22 tion containing either soft ballistic panels, hard ballistic 

23 panels, or a combination of both, contained within a car24 rier, which may be concealable for wear under a uniform 


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1 shirt or external for wear over a uniform shirt, and holds 

2 panels and plates in position on the torso. 

Æ 


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