In 1998, I authored and introduced the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act to create an ongoing program to help provide vests to those officers who do not have them. The bill passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by the President in the summer of 1998. I have made it one of my top priorities to see that our police officers have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively and as safely as possible. I've helped to put 105 new police officers on the streets of Northwest Indiana over the last five years. I've also helped police departments obtain new technology, including night vision goggles, computer equipment and ballistics testing equipment.
Bulletproof vests are another part of that effort.
Our police officers put their lives on the line to protect our safety. We should do all that we can to see that they can do their jobs as safely as possible. It is the least we can do.