Date: 2016-05-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the authors of this legislation. as well as the previous speaker. my friend. for his articulation of this bill. and I thank all of the Members who are on the floor joining in support of H.R. 2137. the Federal Law Enforcement SelfDefense and Protection Act of 2015. I thank Mr. CONYERS. the ranking member. for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. let me express my recognition and appreciation of the thousands of families who will come to honor those police officers who have fallen in dutymany of them. their loved ones. We honor law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty. The loss of one officers life is one too many. In considering the myriad of dangers our officers face. we must ensure they have the appropriate authority to protect our communities and themselves. I support this legislation because it will make it clear that the brave Federal law enforcement officers who protect us will not be forced to lock away their governmentissued firearms in the event of official furloughs. such as those occasioned by government shutdowns. [ 1800 Our Federal law enforcement officers must be prepared to respond to numerous threats faced each day by our country. and this bill will help them do so without expanding any existing authority or creating new ones. This bill ensures our Federal law enforcement agencies uniformly provide our special agents and other law enforcement officers with the necessary support to respond to critical incidents. Our officers are highly trained and understand the importance associated with possessing governmentissued weapons. Let me conclude my remarks by again expressing my appreciation to the authors and the chairman and the ranking member of the full committee. I look forward as we move forward on legislation such as the Law Enforcement Integrity Act. We want to continue to give our police officers the skills and tools to be able to do the work that they love. and that is protecting the men and women of this Nation. Again. I offer my appreciation. respect. and sympathy as we honor those who have fallen in duty to all of their families. I ask support for H.R. 2137. I wish to express my full support for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2015. I am a cosponsor of the House version of this bill. and I support adoption of this Senatepassed bill so that we can send it to the President for signature. In an effort to keep our citizens safe. law enforcement and correctional officers put their lives on the line each day. in every state and territory of the United States. Gun violence poses a lethal threat to all of us. and our law enforcement officers are often particularly at risk while protecting us. Reauthorization of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program will provide our officers with needed protection when they come facetoface with individuals who seek to do harm to the officers and others. Last year. 42 law enforcement officers were killed by gunfire. Seventeen law enforcement officers have already been killed by gunfire this year. In some instances. greater availability of protective vests may have saved the lives of these officers. This program not only promotes the purchase of protective vests and body armor. but it also encourages officers to protect themselves by wearing the equipment. In order to receive funds. grantee jurisdictions must certify during the application process that they have a mandatory wear policy. This requirement ensures that all uniformed patrol officers in a grantee jurisdiction will wear protective vests or body armor while on duty. Each vest purchased through the program must pass strict performance standards set by the National Institute of Justice. The program also gives special consideration to jurisdictions with fewer than 100.000 residents. Without these grants. small jurisdictions might f not be able to include this lifesaving equipment in their budgetsleaving officers vulnerable to the daily dangers of policing. Last year. in my district. the Houston Community College Police Department received $8.260.45 from the BVP program. enabling the purchase of 24 protective vests. And the Jacinto City Police Department was able to purchase 7 armor vests with $2.135.90 received through the BVP program. The state of Texas received a total of $1.090.175.60 in matching funds from this program in 2015. which made the purchase of 2.834 new protective vests possible. Since its inception in 1999. the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program has helped provide more than 1 million vests as of December 2014. to law enforcement officers in more than 13.000 jurisdictions. The number of women in law enforcement continues to grow. Yet much of the protective armor currently offered is primarily designed for male officers. To be certain female officers receive the same level of protection as their male counterparts. the BVP program gives priority to jurisdictions that provide uniquelyfitted vests. including protective vests that conform anatomically to females. From conducting traffic stops to responding to domestic violence calls. our law enforcement officers often face extreme danger. Those dangers are evidenced this weekNational Police Weekas we honor the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect us and our communities. As we honor our law enforcement officers during National Police Week. with particular recognition for the sacrifice of fallen officers and their families. it is fitting that we complete work on this legislation today so that it may become law. Therefore. I urge my colleagues to support S. 125.