MR. LEAHY. I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee has approved the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000, S. 2413. Senator Campbell and I worked together closely and successfully with the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the last Congress to pass the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 into law. I am pleased that Senator Hatch is again an original cosponsor of this bill. I am also pleased that Senators Schumer, Kohl and Thurmond on the Committee are cosponsors of our bipartisan bill.

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.

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 (public law 105-181). The 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.

In its first year of operation, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program funded 92,000 new bulletproof vests for our nation’s police officers, including 361 vests for Vermont police officers. Applications are now available at the program’s web site at http://vests.ojp.gov/ for this year’s funds. 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 and by making the purchase of stab-proof vests 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 to 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.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that each and every law enforcement agency in Vermont and across the nation can afford basic protection for their officers.