118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4305 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Body Armor Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 ‘‘ballistic resistant body armor’’ means torso ballistic pro8 tection containing either soft ballistic panels, hard ballistic 

9 panels, or a combination of both, contained within a car10 rier, which may be concealable for wear under a uniform 

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

12 panels and plates in position on the torso. 

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

14 the Department of Homeland Security. 

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

16 Secretary of Homeland Security. 

17 SEC. 3. PROCUREMENT OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY 

18 ARMOR TO ENSURE THE PROTECTION OF 

19 THE DEPARTMENT’S FEMALE AGENTS AND 

20 OFFICERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require com22 ponents of the Department, when procuring ballistic re23 sistant body armor for agents and officers, to procure bal24 listic resistant body armor that— 

25 (1) is specifically designed to fully protect the 

26 body shapes of agents and officers; 
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1 (2) is made to conform to the individual wearer 

2 and provide the best possible fit and coverage to 

3 allow for either a flat or shaped front panel; 

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

5 properly and have sufficient coverage in accordance 

6 with American Society for Testing and Materials 

7 (ASTM International) standards for fit; 

8 (4) has enhanced and advanced fit and tech9 nology that stops a bullet from redirecting off the 

10 chest at an upward angle into the throat region or 

11 the spinal cord area; and 

12 (5) is certified by the National Institute of Jus13 tice (referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘NIJ’’), pursu14 ant to the NIJ standard for ballistic resistant body 

15 armor, and listed on the associated NIJ Compliant 

16 Products List as successfully passing the ballistic re17 sistant body armor standards in accordance with the 

18 applicable ballistic protection level recommended by 

19 the NIJ, including passing testing that uses, for 

20 each test sample— 

21 (A) ballistic testing on clay or gelatin 

22 molds to ensure better contact of nonplanar 

23 panels with clay or gelatin molds, as required 

24 by the body shapes of agents and officers; 
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1 (B) soft body armor front panels contained 

2 in soft carriers on female-shaped clay or gelatin 

3 molds designed to fill the space behind the 

4 panel; 

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

6 (D) angled shots; 

7 (E) an angled shot at the chest to address 

8 the concern of a bullet skipping into the neck9 line; and 

10 (F) any additional testing criteria rec11 ommended by the NIJ after the date of the en12 actment of this Act. 

13 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

14 (1) ISSUANCE OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY

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

16 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

17 the following 2 years, the head of each relevant com18 ponent agency of the Department shall submit a re19 port to the Secretary regarding the ballistic resistant 

20 body armor issued to female agents and officers of 

21 such component agency, including, with respect to 

22 the reporting period— 

23 (A) the number of female agents and offi24 cers to whom ballistic resistant body armor was 

25 issued for performance of their official duties; 
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1 (B) the number of ballistic resistant body 

2 armor units issued to female agents and offi3 cers, the use of which was discontinued due to 

4 noncompliance with the requirements described 

5 in subsection (a); 

6 (C) the number of ballistic resistant body 

7 armor units issued to female agents and officers 

8 that are compliant with the requirements de9 scribed in subsection (a); and 

10 (D) the percentage of female agents and 

11 officers of such component agency who, as of 

12 the last day of the reporting period, have been 

13 issued ballistic resistant body armor that com14 plies with the requirements described in sub15 section (a), disaggregated by duty station. 

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

17 days after receiving all of the reports required to be 

18 submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

19 submit a report that aggregates all of the data con20 tained in such reports to the Committee on Home21 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen22 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

23 House of Representatives. 
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1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, all agents and officers of any component 

4 of the Department whose duties require body armor shall 

5 have been issued body armor that meets the requirements 

6 described in section 3(a). 

Passed the Senate December 2, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4305 

AN ACT 

To improve the effectiveness of body armor issued 

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