Key Panel Votes to Expand, Double Funding For Leahy's Bulletproof Vest Program Leahy Announces Grants for New Vests at 28 Vermont Police Departments

June 30, 2000

A bill to expand and extend Sen. Patrick Leahy's Bulletproof Vest Act has been unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Leahy's bill, which President Clinton has declared an unqualified success, has funded more than 92,000 bulletproof vests for the nation's police officers since it was signed into law in 1998. Under the program, the federal government pays up to 50 percent of the costs of the vests purchased for state and local police officers.

"More than ever before, police officers in Vermont and across the country encounter deadly violence that may strike at any time," said Leahy, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee. "Bulletproof vests save lives. We need to renew and update this law so that many more of our officers who are risking their lives everyday are able to protect themselves."

Leahy initiated the bulletproof vest program in response to the tragic Carl Drega shootout in 1997 on the Vermont-New Hampshire border, during which federal officers were equipped with life-saving body armor, but state and local officers were not, because of the cost. Two New Hampshire state troopers, not wearing protective vests, were killed in the gun battle.

Leahy's new bill reauthorizes the program for an additional three years and doubles authorized funding from $25 million to $50 million. Under the bill, smaller jurisdictions, which often cannot afford the costs of the vests even with the matching federal funds, would be guaranteed the full 50 percent allowed by law.

Leahy has announced that Vermont police officers will receive 175 new vests this year through the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act.