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For immediate release May 17, 2012 Contact Chabot, Erica Press Secretary Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-7703 Erica_Chabot@judiciary-dem.senate.gov WASHINGTON (Thursday, May 17, 2012) The Senate JudiciaryCommittee, chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), approvedlegislation Thursday to reauthorize the lifesaving Bulletproof VestPartnership Grant Program, a federal grant program that helps stateand local law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests forofficers working in the field. Leahy authored the law establishingthe matching grant program. The bill will now go to the full Senatefor consideration. This is National Police Week, and it is fitting that theJudiciary Committee has approved legislation to help protect thoseworking every day on the front lines in our communities to keep ussafe, said Leahy. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership GrantProgram has always received bipartisan support in Congress, and Iam pleased that support continues. I hope the Senate will approvethis legislation quickly, and urge the House of Representatives toact on it as well. Leahy introduced the reauthorization legislation last week. Sincethe Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program was established in1999, the program has helped state and local law enforcementagencies purchase nearly one million vests. In Vermont, policedepartments have received over $767,000 in grant assistance throughthe program, which has helped purchase more than 3600 bulletproofvests for Vermont law enforcement. In 2011 alone, over 320 vestswere purchased for 28 jurisdictions throughout the state. Leahy authored the legislation creating the Bulletproof VestPartnership Grant Program after a tragic, 1997 shootout along theVermont-New Hampshire border in which federal law enforcementofficers were equipped with bulletproof vests, while state andlocal officers from Vermont and New Hampshire were not. Two statetroopers were killed in the shootout. Following the tragedy, Leahyteamed with former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) tointroduce bipartisan legislation authorizing matching federalgrants to help state and local jurisdictions purchase lifesavingbulletproof vests. The program s current authorization is set toexpire in September. Leahy s commitment to the lifesaving Bulletproof Vest PartnershipGrant Program has continued since the program was first authorized,and the bill introduced Monday is the fifth reauthorization of theprogram. He has authored legislation to protect access to theprogram for small states like Vermont. In recent reauthorizations,he secured the inclusion of an all-state minimum funding formula toensure that all qualifying state and local jurisdictions receive aminimum of .5 percent of federal funds allocated to the program.Most recently, Leahy authored a provision in the program to allowfinancially struggling jurisdictions to apply for a hardship waiverof the 50 percent match requirement of the purchasing cost. I am an expert from portable-bluetoothspeaker.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Radio Bluetooth Speaker Manufacturer , Bicycle Bluetooth Speakers, Stereo Bluetooth Speakers,and more.
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