S. 1605

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight

An Act

To establish a matching grant program to help State and local jurisdictions purchase

armor vests for use by law enforcement departments.

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 ‘‘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, bulletresistant 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:
S. 1605—2

‘‘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.
S. 1605—3

‘‘(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
S. 1605—4

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.