Congress restores funding to life-saving bulletproof vest program for police officers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, voted Thursday evening for a federal funding bill that includes $22.5 million for a life-saving bulletproof vest program. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership is a competitive grant program that subsidizes the purchase of bullet-resistant and stab-resistant body armor by state and local law enforcement agencies. The program has supplied Delaware law enforcement with nearly 4,000 vests in the last five years.

The President’s budget proposal for FY14 zeroed out funding for the program, but Senator Coons, co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, pushed to restore it in the omnibus bill passed by Congress on Thursday.

“Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe,” Senator Coons said. “We should be doing everything we can to keep them safe, too. Just last year, vests purchased through the federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership saved the lives of two officers when a gunman opened fire at the New Castle County Courthouse. With many police departments facing shrinking budgets, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership makes these vests – which can cost more than $500 each — more affordable, ensuring that officers are outfitted with the best protection possible. I am thankful that the funding in this bill will allow this critical program to continue to save lives.” 

Thousands of vests have been purchased by Delaware law enforcement through the Partnership over its 14-year history, including 3,852 in the last five years. Nationwide, the program has subsidized more than a million vests, saving the lives of more than 3,000 police officers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Agencies can be reimbursed for up to 50 percent of the cost of body armor that complies with National Institute of Justice standards.

On February 11, 2013, bulletproof vests purchased through the federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership saved the lives of two Capitol Police officers, Sergeant Michael Manley and Corporal Steve Rinehart, during a shooting at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. Both officers were struck, but survived because of their vests.

Last May, Senator Coons and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) re-introduced the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act to reauthorize the program, which is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.