Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program has been an invaluable source of funding for state and local law enforcement jurisdictions across the country, including in my district. Without this broad-based source of funding, safety in our communities would suffer. This invaluable grant program supports a wide range of areas including from crime prevention and education to technology improvements for police departments.

In addition, the Byrne JAG Program provides resources for body armor, an area that I highlighted during action on H.R. 6062 in the Judiciary Committee, of which I am a Member. The grant program allows local law enforcement agencies and other grantees to purchase equipment, which can include bulletproof and stab-resistant vests. Although the Bureau of Justice Assistance (``BJA'') is not required to track body armor purchases with Byrne JAG funds, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released in February of this year, roughly 14 percent of grantees surveyed had used JAG funds to buy body armor in 2010.

Without a doubt, personal body armor plays a critical role in saving law enforcement officers from disabilities and death. As a matter of fact, FBI data shows that the risk of death for officers who did not wear body armor was 14 times greater than those who did. Despite this finding, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that only 71% of local police departments require field officers to wear body armor at least some of the time, while only 59% of departments require the officers to wear protective armor at all times. The benefits from wearing body armor are evident, and yet . . . many departments still don't require it.

Recently, the U.S. Attorney General instituted a new requirement for Fiscal Year 2011 grantees seeking matching funds from the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act (BVPA)--grantees now need to have mandatory body armor wear policies in place. This means that uniformed officers on patrol are required to wear a protective vest. Unfortunately, this same mandate is not included in the Byrne JAG program.

This is why I proposed an amendment in Committee--similar to an amendment proposed to the BVPA reauthorization by Senator Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and accepted by that Committee--that would have unified this mandatory wear policy and extended it to the Byrne JAG program. Chairman Smith graciously noted his willingness to work with me on this front, and so I agreed to withdraw my amendment, but the issue is still worth mentioning on the floor since it is such an important issue. I welcome the interest of any of my colleagues who would also like to work with me on ensuring the extension of mandatory wear policies for body armor to additional federal grantees.

I highlighted another issue when proposing my amendment in the Judiciary Committee, which is body armor fit--an issue that concerns all law enforcement officers, but particularly the growing number of women in law enforcement. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of women in local law enforcement grew from 7.6% in 1987 to 12% in 2007. In 2007, women accounted for 18% of sworn officers in 12 of the 13 largest local police departments.

The need for properly fitted body armor for women is extremely important. Much of the armor currently offered is designed for male officers and simply does not take into account the anatomical differences. This of course leads to poor fit and discomfort. Fit issues also apply to male officers, who we know also come in different shapes and sizes. And whenever officers put on body armor that is not properly fitted, they are exposing themselves to greater harm since they are not as protected as they could be.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police/DuPont Kevlar Survivors' Club (Survivors' Club) has documented more than 3,150 saves from disability or death by wearing of or use of protective body armor. As noted in a July 19th letter to me from Retired Police Chief Ron McBride, Program Manager for Survivors' Club, ``It is appropriate to ensure that taxpayers' dollars expended on providing body armor results in consistent wear of an issued vest. Protective body armor left in an officer's locker provides zero protection. Unique fit is essential to optimizing protection. A well fitted armor provides best coverage of an officer's torso and is more comfortable to wear. These two issues equate to enhanced officer safety.''

This is why the second part of my amendment offered in committee would have required that body armor purchased with Byrne JAG funding be uniquely fitted to each officer, including female officers.

The issue of properly fitted body armor should not be taken lightly when considering the overall safety of law enforcement officers. Body armor saves lives, but only if it fits properly and is worn by officers. I look forward to continuing to work with the Chairman, Ranking Member Conyers, and other interested Members in these areas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6062, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2012.

The Federal justice grants reauthorized under this legislation provide critical funding to State and local jurisdictions in their efforts to combat crime.

Especially during periods of national budgetary constraints affecting the bottom lines of States and local governments, the Byrne JAG grants are particularly important. Across our Nation, many jurisdictions, to shore up their budgets, are actually laying off police officers. When many of our citizens are experiencing economic hardship, we must not add to their burden by allowing public safety to suffer.

H.R. 6062 reaffirms the Federal Government's commitment to assisting State and local governments in their effort to prevent and fight crime. But reauthorization of the Byrne JAG grant program is obviously just a first step. We must also follow through with actually appropriating sufficient funds for the program.

In addition, we should encourage allocation of grant funds to the full range of programs that State and local governments are allowed to fund. Under current law, State and local governments may use Byrne JAG funding for programs or projects that improve law enforcement efforts; prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community corrections; drug treatment programs; planning, evaluation, and technology projects; and crime victim and witness programs.

Each of these are essential to a comprehensive effort to protect us from crime, and, therefore, all of them should receive significant funding under the Byrne JAG grant program. An imbalance in justice assistance funding creates an imbalance in anticrime efforts. Specifically, an appropriate amount of funding should be allocated to prevent crime, which will help reduce the amount of money needed to fund the after-crime cost of investigation, prosecution, incarceration, and victim assistance.

We must also assist State and local governments to fund public defender programs in recognition of the fact that the public is also protected from injustice when we safeguard the Sixth Amendment rights of our citizens.

Finally, it is essential that the full range of other programs that assist State and local public safety initiatives, including the COPS program, are adequately funded. The COPS program has funded the hiring of more than 123,000 State and local police officers and sheriff's deputies in communities across our Nation, and it has been proven to be extremely effective in reducing crime.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 6062, and I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Marino) for his work on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of H.R. 6062 so that we can reaffirm our commitment to funding public safety programs, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6062) to reauthorize the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program through fiscal year 2017.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6062 currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my Judiciary Committee colleague Mr. Marino for his leadership on this law enforcement priority.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program is the centerpiece of the federal government's assistance for state and local criminal justice initiatives. It was created in 2005 when two existing federal grant programs were combined.

Byrne JAG is a streamlined block grant program that empowers states and localities to address specific law enforcement challenges.

Byrne JAG funding is distributed by the Justice Department based on a formula that considers the jurisdictions' population and crime rates.

Some of the money is kept at the state level but much of it is distributed to localities.

Jurisdictions can tailor their spending based on their own communities' needs. These include prosecution and court programs, drug treatment programs and crime victims programs.

In my district, Byrne JAG funds have been used by the City of Austin to hire additional 911-call operators, purchase protective gear for law enforcement officers and provide training on forensics technology. These are all important public safety initiatives that were prioritized by local leaders.

Byrne JAG is currently authorized at $1.1 billion per year, although this authorization is set to expire at the end of September when the current fiscal year ends.

In fiscal year 2012, Congress appropriated $470 million for the Byrne JAG program, although $100 million of this money was a one-time set aside for this year's presidential nomination conventions.

H.R. 6062 reauthorizes the Byrne JAG program for five years at $800 million a year.

H.R. 6062 enjoys bipartisan support and is widely supported by the law enforcement community.

I thank my Judiciary Committee colleague, Mr. Marino, for his work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Marino), who is a member of the Judiciary Committee and the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I want to thank my colleague from Virginia for yielding me the time.

I just want to reiterate what Mr. Scott just said. I have to say I have never had more requests and concern about programs from mayors and elected officials in my municipalities than I get for programs like this Byrne JAG program, like the COPS program, like the SAFER program that deals with fire prevention.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that many of my towns-- and I'm sure this is true across the country--because of the recession, because of budgetary constraints are laying off police, laying off firemen, don't have the resources, if you will, to deal with a lot of the crime prevention problems, so these programs are crucial to them.

I want to reiterate what Mr. Scott said about the fact that right now it's not only a question of reauthorizing, but also making sure that there's adequate funding for it. If I could just use an example in my own district, and that is that last week I was able to announce that several towns in my district, the Sixth District, have been awarded grants under the Byrne JAG program to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime. One grant is administered by Neptune and is benefiting both Asbury Park and Long Branch--Long Branch being my home town. Another grant is administered by New Brunswick, and it's helping Perth Amboy, Edison, and Woodbridge.

The funding is used to purchase law enforcement equipment and supplies. In New Brunswick, it's being used for a police vehicle, which will have mobile video and data equipment. This is really all about community safety, which is of utmost importance. At a time when our local law enforcement has to cope with difficult funding levels, these Federal grants make it possible for towns to support critical crime- prevention activities that protect New Jersey families and their residents. I can't stress enough how important this is.

So I'm just very pleased today that on a bipartisan basis we are reauthorizing this, I think, for 5 years. And as Mr. Scott said, the next step is to make sure that there's adequate funding because this is a crucial program. That's why I came down here tonight to speak about it.

Mr. Speaker, Chairman Smith, I rise today in strong support of legislation I introduced, H.R. 6062, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2012.

The Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program is the primary provider of Federal criminal justice funding to State and local jurisdictions, and it has been referred to as the ``cornerstone Federal crime-fighting program.''

The JAG program provides State and local governments with critically needed resources to support a wide range of law enforcement activities, including prosecution, prevention, education, planning, corrections, treatment, evaluation, and technology.

As a former district attorney and United States attorney, I understand the tremendous value of JAG-funded projects in fighting crime by improving the processes, procedures, and operations of criminal justice systems.

My legislation being considered today reauthorizes the JAG program for 5 years--I repeat, for 5 years--through fiscal year 2017.

This legislation is supported by the National Criminal Justice Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and many more law enforcement organizations.

H.R. 6062 enjoys bipartisan support, including Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee, who are cosponsors. The legislation was considered by the House Judiciary Committee and approved by a voice vote on July 18.

I would like to thank the chairman and the committee for their help in ensuring that the authorization for this critical program does not lapse. I urge all of my colleagues to join in the support of our State and local law enforcement agencies by voting in favor of H.R. 6062.