I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2829
To establish a matching grant program to help State and local jurisdictions
purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement departments.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 5, 1997
Mr. VISCLOSKY
(for himself, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr.
BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BOEHLERT,
Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BUYER, Mr. CASTLE, Mr.
CRAMER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. COYNE, Ms. CARSON, Mr. DAVIS of Vir-
ginia, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mrs. EMERSON, Ms. ESHOO, Mr.
ETHERIDGE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FAZIO of California,
Mr. FILNER, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts,
Mr. FROST, Ms. FURSE, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GORDON,
Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY,
Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HORN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Wis-
consin, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK,
Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KLUG, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LAZIO of
New York, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MANTON, Mr.
MARTINEZ, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCINTYRE,
Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. NEY, Mr.
OLVER, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr.
REYES, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr.
SAXTON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SKEEN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STOKES, Mr.
STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr.
TOWNS, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. VENTO, Mr. WELLER, Mr. WHITFIELD,
Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. YATES) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bulletproof Vest Part-
nership Grant Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) too many law enforcement officers die, while
protecting the public, as a result of gunshot wounds;
(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) more than 92 percent of such law enforce-
ment officers were killed by firearms;
(4) the number of law enforcement officers who
die as a result of gunshot wounds has declined sig-
nificantly since the introduction of modern bullet-
proof material;
(5) according to studies, between 1985 and
1994, bullet resistant materials helped save the lives
of more than 2,000 law enforcement officers in the
United States; and
(6) the number of law enforcement officers who
are killed in the line of duty would significantly de-
crease if every law enforcement officer in the United
States has access to an armor vest.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to save
lives of law enforcement officers by helping State and local
law enforcement departments provide officers with armor
vests.
SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Director of the
Bureau of Justice Assistance is authorized to make grants
to States or units of local government to purchase armor
vests for use by law enforcement officers.
(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Awards shall be distributed
directly to the State or unit of local government and shall
be used for the purchase of not more than 1 armor vest
for each police officer in a jurisdiction.
(c) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding
grants under this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Jus-
tice Assistance may give preferential consideration, where
feasible, to applications from jurisdictions that—
(1) have the greatest need for armor vests
based on the percentage of officers in the depart-
ment who do not have access to a vest;
(2) have a mandatory wear policy that requires
on-duty officers to wear armor vests whenever fea-
sible; and
(3) have a violent crime rate at or above the na-
tional average as determined by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
(d) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Unless all applications sub-
mitted by any State or unit of local government pursuant
to subsection (a) have been funded, each qualifying State
or unit of local government shall be allocated in each fiscal
year pursuant to subsection (a) not less than 0.25 percent
of the total amount appropriated in the fiscal year for
grants pursuant to that subsection.
(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A qualifying State or unit
of local government may not receive more than 5 percent
of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for
grants pursuant to subsection (a).
(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of
a program provided by a grant under subsection (a) may
not exceed 50 percent, unless the Director of the Bureau
of Justice Assistance determines a case of fiscal hardship
and waives, wholly or in part, the requirement under this
subsection of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of
a program.
(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—At least half of the
funds awarded under this program shall be allocated to
units of local government with fewer than 100,000 resi-
dents.
SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.
(a) STATE APPLICATIONS.—To request a grant
under this Act, the chief executive of a State shall submit
an application to the Director of the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, signed by the Attorney General of the State
requesting the grant, in such form and containing such
information as the Director may reasonably require.
(b) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.— To request a grant
under this Act, the chief executive of a unit of local gov-
ernment shall submit an application to the Director of the
Bureau of Justice Assistance, signed by the chief law en-
forcement officer of the unit of local government request-
ing the grant, in such form and containing such informa-
tion as the Director may reasonably require.
(c) RENEWAL.—A State or unit of local government
is eligible to receive a grant under this Act every 3 years.
(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau
of Justice Assistance shall promulgate regulations to im-
plement this section (including the information that must
be included and the requirements that the States and
units of local government must meet) in submitting the
applications required under this section.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF PRISON INMATE LABOR.
Any State or unit of local government that receives
financial assistance provided using funds appropriated or
otherwise made available by this Act may not purchase
equipment or products manufactured using prison inmate
labor.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) The term ‘‘armor vest’’ means—
(A) body armor which has been tested
through the voluntary compliance testing pro-
gram operated by the National Law Enforce-
ment and Corrections Technology Center of the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and found
to comply with the requirements of NIJ Stand-
ard 0101.03, or any subsequent revision of such
standard; or
(B) body armor which exceeds the speci-
fications stated in subparagraph (A), and which
the law enforcement officer’s agency or depart-
ment permits the officer to wear on duty.
(2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and
the Northern Mariana Islands.
(3) The term ‘‘qualifying State or unit of local
government’’ means any State or unit of local gov-
ernment which has submitted an application for a