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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10322 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROCUREMENT OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY ARMOR TO ENSURE THE 
              PROTECTION OF FEMALE AGENTS AND OFFICERS OF THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall require 
components of the Department of Homeland Security, when procuring 
ballistic resistant body armor for agents and officers, to procure 
ballistic resistant body armor that complies with the following 
requirements:
            (1) Is specifically designed to fully protect the body 
        shapes of 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.
            (5) Is certified by the National Institute of Justice 
        (NIJ), pursuant to the NIJ standard for ballistic resistant 
        body armor, and included 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, including 
        passing testing that uses, for each test sample, the following:
                    (A) Ballistic testing on clay or gelatin molds to 
                ensure better contact of nonplanar panels with such 
                clay or gelatin molds, as required by the body shapes 
                of agents and officers.
                    (B) Soft body armor front panels contained in soft 
                carriers on female-shaped clay or gelatin molds 
                designed to fill the space behind the panel.
                    (C) Shots to be placed on shaping features.
                    (D) Angled shots.
                    (E) An angled shot at the chest to address the 
                concern of a bullet skipping into the neckline.
                    (F) Any additional testing criteria recommended by 
                the NIJ on or after the date of the enactment of this 
                Act.
    (b) Annual Reports.--
            (1) Issuance of ballistic resistant body armor.--Not later 
        than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
        annually thereafter for the following two years, the head of 
        each relevant component of the Department of Homeland Security 
        shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security a report 
        regarding the ballistic resistant body armor issued to female 
        agents and officers of such component, including with respect 
        to the reporting period, information relating to the following:
                    (A) The number of female agents and officers to 
                whom ballistic resistant body armor was issued for 
                performance of their official duties.
                    (B) The number of ballistic resistant body armor 
                units issued to female agents and officers before the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the use of which was 
                discontinued due to noncompliance with the requirements 
                described in subsection (a).
                    (C) The number of ballistic resistant body armor 
                units issued to female agents and officers before the 
                date of the enactment of this Act that are compliant 
                with the requirements described in subsection (a).
                    (D) The percentage of female agents and officers of 
                such component who, as of the last day of the reporting 
                period, have been issued ballistic resistant body armor 
                that complies with the requirements described in 
                subsection (a), disaggregated by duty station.
            (2) Aggregate report.--Not later than 30 days after 
        receiving all of the reports required under paragraph (1) 
        during a reporting period, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report that 
        aggregates all of the data contained in such reports.
    (c) Effective Date.--Not later than three years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
ensure that all agents and officers of any component of the Department 
of Homeland Security whose duties require body armor shall have been 
issued body armor that complies with the requirements described in 
subsection (a).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``ballistic resistant 
body armor'' means torso ballistic protection containing either soft 
ballistic panels, hard ballistic panels, or a combination of both, 
contained within a carrier, which may be concealable for wear under a 
uniform shirt or external for wear over a uniform shirt, and holds 
panels and plates in position on the torso.
                                 <all>
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