WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, has re-introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program — a competitive federal grant program that helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests for officers working in the field. Senator Coons introduced the bill with Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
“A bullet-resistant vest is not an accessory; it is a critical part of every officer’s uniform,” Senator Coons said. “The federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership makes vests more affordable, ensuring that when officers go out to protect our communities, they can do so as safely as possible. The legislation authorizing this program has expired. We need to save this so the program can keep saving lives.”
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.
The legislation reauthorizes the program for five years, and it includes important reforms to meet the needs of today’s law enforcement officers. The bill creates incentives for agencies to provide uniquely fitted vests for female officers—a critical provision highlighted by officers like Officer Ann Carrizales of the Stafford, Texas police department, who was shot twice during a routine traffic stop in 2013. Carrizales recounted the dramatic experience at a Judiciary Committee hearing last year, telling Committee members that “I would not be sitting here today had I not been wearing a properly fitting bulletproof vest.”
In addition, the bill ensures that agencies uphold mandatory wear policies so that the vests are worn regularly. To ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused, the bill also makes clear that grantees cannot use other federal grant funds to meet the matching fund requirement the program requires. The Government Accountability Office recommended these commonsense reforms in a 2012 study about the program.
The program has issued more than one million lifesaving vests to more than 13,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country since it was established in 1999. Congress has reauthorized the program three times, most recently in 2008. However, the program’s charter expired in September 2012 and the Senate has failed to pass reauthorization legislation despite bipartisan efforts to do so.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the lives of approximately 3,000 law enforcement officers have been saved by body armor since 1987. In Delaware, more than $2 million in grant money has helped to supply 18,582 vests in the last fifteen years.
“Police officers work to make us safer every day,” Senator Coons said. “Congress should be working to make police officers safer, too. I thank my Republican colleagues for joining us in support of this bill and look forward to getting it passed during this Congress.”
A copy of the bill is available online. Other cosponsors include Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Supporters of the bill include the Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs' Association, Major County Sheriffs' Association, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Tactical Officers Association, and the Sergeants Benevolent Association.