WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, earned support from Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday for efforts to restore funding to Children’s Advocacy Centers and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, two critical law enforcement programs administered through the Department of Justice.

Children’s Advocacy Centers serve child victims of violent crimes and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase life-saving body armor. Federal funding for both programs was zeroed out in the President’s proposed budget for 2014, but restored in the omnibus appropriations bill passed by Congress earlier this month.

“Children’s Advocacy Centers are an important tool that has played a central role in strengthening our enforcement against sex trafficking,” Senator Coons said. “The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act has made possible the deployment of cutting-edge vests that protect local law enforcement officers, particularly in smaller, or more rural departments where they could not sustainably field them themselves.”

Questioning the Attorney General during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Coons asked Holder to comment on the importance of preserving funding for the programs in the FY15 budget.

“I think Children's Advocacy Centers…are a good tool for people in law enforcement to successfully prosecute cases that involve children who are victims,” Attorney General Holder responded. “But beyond that, it also helps the healing process for young victims so they don’t get re-victimized by the process that they go through, and then once through with the process, can try to get on and to heal. For too long, we did not understand the unique needs that children had, and Children’s Advocacy Centers have really gone a long way to increase our sensitivity in that regard.”

The Attorney General continued, “I will be advocating on behalf of these Children’s Advocacy Centers. I think they are proven to work, and given who they assist, I think that as we’re trying to decide what our priorities are, the protection of our most vulnerable citizens, our children, has to be a place where we put our money.” 

In December, Senator Coons introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act, which provides funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers. Read more about the bill here: http://1.usa.gov/1f747jY

Attorney General Holder also agreed that bulletproof vests provide critical protection for law enforcement and should be made readily available to all officers. “To the extent that we can, we want to get as many of these vests out there as we can,” Holder said. 

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. Read more about the bill here: http://1.usa.gov/1nltm7H

Click here to watch a video of Senator Coons and Attorney General Holder’s exchange at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday: http://youtu.be/kPcYfhqkEzk