II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2024 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mrs. BRITT) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (a) BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY ARMOR.—The term 

9 ‘‘ballistic resistant body armor’’ means torso ballistic proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4305.IS S4305

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4305 IS

1 tection containing soft ballistic panels, hard ballistic pan2 els, or a combination of both, contained within a carrier, 

3 which may be concealable for wear under a uniform shirt 

4 or external for wear over a uniform shirt, and holds panels 

5 and plates in position on the torso. 

6 (b) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ means 

7 the Department of Homeland Security. 

8 (c) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security. 

10 SEC. 3. PROCUREMENT OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY 

11 ARMOR TO ENSURE THE PROTECTION OF 

12 THE DEPARTMENT’S FEMALE AGENTS AND 

13 OFFICERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require com15 ponents of the Department, when procuring ballistic re16 sistant body armor for individuals whose body shapes are 

17 most closely associated with female agents and officers, 

18 to procure ballistic resistant body armor that— 

19 (1) is specifically designed to fully protect body 

20 shapes most closely associated with female agents 

21 and officers; 

22 (2) is made to conform to the individual wearer 

23 and provide the best possible fit and coverage to 

24 allow for either a flat or shaped front panel; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4305 IS

1 (3) is assessed and verified, upon delivery, to fit 

2 properly and have sufficient coverage in accordance 

3 with American Society for Testing and Materials 

4 (ASTM International) standards for fit; 

5 (4) has enhanced and advanced fit and tech6 nology that stops a bullet from skipping off the 

7 chest at an upward angle into the throat region or 

8 the spinal cord area; and 

9 (5) is certified by the National Institute of Jus10 tice (referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘NIJ’’), pursu11 ant to the NIJ standard for ballistic resistant body 

12 armor, and listed on the associated NIJ Compliant 

13 Products List as successfully passing the ballistic re14 sistant body armor standards in accordance with the 

15 applicable ballistic protection level recommended by 

16 the NIJ, including passing testing that uses— 

17 (A) ballistic testing on gender-specific clay 

18 or gelatin molds to ensure better contact of 

19 nonplanar panels with clay or gelatin molds; 

20 (B) soft body armor front panels contained 

21 in soft carriers on female-shaped clay or gelatin 

22 molds designed to fill the space behind the 

23 panel; 

24 (C) shots to be placed on shaping features; 

25 (D) angled shots; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4305 IS

1 (E) an angled shot at the chest that tests 

2 the concerns of bullet skipping into the neckline 

3 of each test sample to address the concern of a 

4 bullet skipping. 

5 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

6 (1) ISSUANCE OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY

7 ARMOR.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

9 the following 2 years, the head of each relevant com10 ponent agency of the Department shall submit a re11 port to the Secretary regarding the ballistic resistant 

12 body armor issued to female agents and officers of 

13 such component agency, including, with respect to 

14 the reporting period— 

15 (A) the number of female agents and offi16 cers to whom ballistic resistant body armor was 

17 issued for performance of their official duties; 

18 (B) the number of ballistic resistant body 

19 armor units the use of which was discontinued 

20 due to noncompliance with the requirements de21 scribed in subsection (a); 

22 (C) the number of ballistic resistant body 

23 armor units issued to female agents and officers 

24 that are compliant with the requirements de25 scribed in subsection (a); and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4305 IS

1 (D) the percentage of female agents and 

2 officers of such component agency who, as of 

3 the last day of the reporting period, have been 

4 issued and are regularly using ballistic resistant 

5 body armor that complies with the requirements 

6 described in subsection (a), disaggregated by 

7 duty station. 

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

9 days after receiving all of the reports required to be 

10 submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

11 submit a report that aggregates all of the data con12 tained in such reports to the Committee on Home13 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen14 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, all agents and officers of any component 

19 of the Department who have a body shape most closely 

20 associated with female agents and officers shall have been 

21 issued body armor that meets the requirements described 

22 in section 3(a). 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS