The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“AN ISSUE OF LIFE-OR-DEATH IMPORTANCE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S687 on Jan. 23, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
AN ISSUE OF LIFE-OR-DEATH IMPORTANCE
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, on Tuesday, January 22, 1997, I introduced S. 112, the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1997. One day after its introduction, the Law Enforcement Steering Committee--a committee of 10 police associations, representing 500,000 law enforcement officers nationwide--wrote me to endorse this bill in the strongest terms.
This legislation will require the Treasury Department to work with the Justice Department in order to develop uniform ballistics standards for testing the capability of ammunition to pierce police body armor. This bill will, I hope, mark my final step in a 15-year journey to ban all cop-killer bullets in America. In 1986 and 1994, Congress recognized the importance of this issue, and we passed bills that established a content-based ban on this type of ammunition. But, until we ban these bullets based on performance, rather than on their physical characteristics, policemen everywhere will remain in extreme peril.
As the Law Enforcement Steering Committee wrote in their letter to me, ``This is an issue of life-or-death importance to every law enforcement officer in America.'' I have faith that my colleagues will once again recognize the crucial nature of this issue and enact S. 112 early in the 105th Congress.
I ask that the full text of the Law Enforcement Steering Committee's letter be printed in the Record.
The letter follows:
Law Enforcement Steering Committee,
Washington, DC, January 22, 1997.Hon. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,U.S. Senate,Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Moynihan: On behalf of the Law Enforcement Steering Committee, an organization representing approximately 500,000 law enforcement officers nationwide, we write in strong support of the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1997, your legislation to require uniform ballistics standards for testing the capability of ammunition to pierce police body armor. This is an issue of life-or-death importance to every law enforcement officer in America.
The existing statutory ban on armor-piercing bullets, which you wrote and successfully shepherded through Congress in 1986, and updated in 1993, has worked flawlessly for more than a decade. As you have pointed out, however, new styles of armor-piercing bullets continue to appear, making it impossible for the current content-based ban on ``cop-killer'' bullets to remain effective indefinitely. This is why we applaud your efforts to revise the law to ban any new bullets that are determined by a standardized ballistics test to have armor-piercing capability.
These ``cop-killer'' rounds have no legitimate sporting use, and it is imperative to ensure that criminals do not gain access to them. Now that the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated that it is possible to develop a ban based on performance standards, we agree with you that immediate action should be taken to enact such a ban.
Our members appreciate your continued attention to this issue since 1982, when you first introduced legislation to ban armor-piercing ammunition, and we hope that the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1997 will be enacted early in the 105th Congress.
Sincerely,
James A. Rhinebarger,
Chairman, National Troopers Coalition,
Chairman, LESC.
Members of the Law Enforcement Steering Committee
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Major Cities Chiefs, National Association of Police Organizations, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs' Association, National Troopers Coalition, Police Executive Research Forum, Police Foundation.
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