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.
“THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S10990-S10991 on Oct. 25, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000
Mr. LEAHY. I am pleased that the House of Representatives tonight approved the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000, S. 2413, and sent it to the president for his signature. President Clinton has already endorsed this legislation to support our nation's law enforcement officers and is eager to sign it into law.
Senator Campbell and I introduced this bipartisan bill on April 12, 2000. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed our bill unanimously on June 29. For the past four months, we have been urging passage of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000. The Senate finally passed our bipartisan bill on October 11, 2000 by unanimous consent.
I want to thank Senators Hatch, Schumer, Kohl, Thurmond, Reed, Jeffords, Robb, Reid, Sarbanes, Bingaman, Ashcroft, Edwards, Bunning, Cleland, Hutchison, Abraham and Grams for cosponsoring and supporting our bipartisan bill.
To better protect our Nation's law enforcement officers, Senator Campbell and I introduced the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998. President Clinton signed our legislation into law on June 16, 1998, pubic law 105-181. That law created a $25 million, 50 percent matching grant program within the Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement agencies purchase body armor for fiscal years 1999-2001.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than 40 percent of the 1,182 officers killed by a firearm in the line of duty since 1980 could have been saved if they had been wearing body armor. Indeed, the FBI estimates that the risk of fatality to officers while not wearing body armor is 14 times higher than for officers wearing it.
In its two years of operation, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program funded more than 325,000 new bulletproof vests for our nation's police officers, including more than 536 vests for Vermont police officers with federal grant funds of $140,253 for Vermont law enforcement agencies. More information about the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program is available at the program's web site at http://vests.ojp.gov/. The entire process of submitting applications and obtaining federal funds is completed through this web site.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 builds on the success of this program by doubling its annual funding to $50 million for fiscal years 2002-2004. It also improves the program by guaranteeing jurisdictions with fewer than 100,000 residents receive the full 50-50 matching funds because of the tight budgets of these smaller communities. In addition, under the Leahy-Campbell floor amendment to this bill, the purchase of stab-proof vests will be eligible for grant awards to protect corrections officers and sheriffs who face violent criminals in close quarters in local and county jails.
More than ever before, police officers in Vermont and around the country face deadly threats that can strike at any time, even during routine traffic stops. Bulletproof vests save lives. It is essential the we update this law so that many more of our officers who are risking their lives everyday are able to protect themselves.
In the last Congress, we created the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program in part in response to the tragic Drega incident along the Vermont and New Hampshire border. On August 19, 1997, Federal, State and local law enforcement authorities in Vermont and New Hampshire had cornered Carl Drega, after hours of hot pursuit. This madman had just shot to death two New Hampshire state troopers and two other victims earlier in the day. In a massive exchange of gunfire with the authorities, Drega lost his life.
During that shootout, all federal law enforcement officers wore bulletproof vests, while some state and local officers did not. For example, Federal Border Patrol Officer John Pfeifer, a Vermonter, who was seriously wounded in the incident. If it was not for his bulletproof vest, I would have been attending Officer Pfeifer's wake instead of visiting him, and meeting his wife and young daughter in the hospital a few days later. I am relieved that Officer John Pfeifer is doing well and is back on duty today.
The two New Hampshire state troopers who were killed by Carl Drega were not so lucky. They were not wearing bulletproof vests. Protective vests might not have been able to save the lives of those courageous officers because of the high-powered assault weapons used by this madman. We all grieve for the two New Hampshire officers who were killed. Their tragedy underscore the point that all of our law enforcement officers, whether federal, state or local, deserve the protection of a bulletproof vest. With that and lesser-known incidents as constant reminders, I will continue to do all I can to help prevent loss of life among our law enforcement officers.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 will provide state and local law enforcement agencies with more of the assistance they need to protect their officers. Our bipartisan legislation enjoys the endorsement of many law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Sheriffs' Association. In my home State of Vermont, the bill enjoys the strong support of the Vermont State Police, the Vermont Police Chiefs Association and many Vermont sheriffs, troopers, game wardens and other local and state law enforcement officials.
Since my time as a State prosecutor, I have always taken a keen interest in law enforcement in Vermont and around the country. Vermont has the reputation of being one of the safest states in which to live, work and visit, and rightly so. In no small part, this is due to the hard work of those who have sworn to serve and protect us. And we should do what we can to protect them, when a need like this one comes to our attention.
Our Nation's law enforcement officers put their lives at risk in the line of duty everyday. No one knows when danger will appear. Unfortunately, in today's violent world, even a traffic stop may not necessarily be ``routine.'' Each and every law enforcement officer across the nation deserves the protection of a bulletproof vest.
Mr. President, I look forward to President Clinton signing this life-
saving legislation into law.
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