119-s693

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 693 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 693

To improve the effectiveness of body armor issued to female agents and 
 officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 24, 2025

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mrs. Britt) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
 and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To improve the effectiveness of body armor issued to female agents and 
 officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Ballistic resistant body armor.--The term ``ballistic 
 resistant body armor'' means torso ballistic protection 
 containing either soft ballistic panels, hard ballistic panels, 
 or a combination of both, contained within a carrier, which may 
 be concealable for wear under a uniform shirt or external for 
 wear over a uniform shirt, and holds panels and plates in 
 position on the torso.

    (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
 Department of Homeland Security.

    (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. PROCUREMENT OF BALLISTIC RESISTANT BODY ARMOR TO ENSURE THE 
 PROTECTION OF ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT'S AGENTS AND 
 OFFICERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall require components of the 
Department, when procuring ballistic resistant body armor for agents 
and officers, to procure ballistic resistant body armor that--

    (1) is specifically designed to fully protect the body 
 shapes of agents and officers;

    (2) is made to conform to the individual wearer and provide 
 the best possible fit and coverage to allow for either a flat 
 or shaped front panel;

    (3) is assessed and verified, upon delivery, to fit 
 properly and have sufficient coverage in accordance with 
 American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) 
 standards for fit;

    (4) has enhanced and advanced fit and technology that stops 
 a bullet from redirecting off the chest at an upward angle into 
 the throat region or the spinal cord area; and

    (5) is certified by the National Institute of Justice 
 (referred to in this paragraph as ``NIJ''), pursuant to the NIJ 
 standard for ballistic resistant body armor, and listed on the 
 associated NIJ Compliant Products List as successfully passing 
 the ballistic resistant body armor standards in accordance with 
 the applicable ballistic protection level recommended by the 
 NIJ, including passing testing that uses, for each test 
 sample--
        (A) ballistic testing on clay or gelatin molds to 
 ensure better contact of nonplanar panels with clay or 
 gelatin molds, as required by the body shapes of agents 
 and officers;
        (B) soft body armor front panels contained in soft 
 carriers on female-shaped clay or gelatin molds 
 designed to fill the space behind the panel;
            (C) shots to be placed on shaping features;
            (D) angled shots;
        (E) an angled shot at the chest to address the 
 concern of a bullet skipping into the neckline; and
        (F) any additional testing criteria recommended by 
 the NIJ after the date of the enactment of this Act.

    (b) Annual Reports.--

    (1) Issuance of ballistic resistant body armor.--Not later 
 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
 annually thereafter for the following 2 years, the head of each 
 relevant component agency of the Department shall submit a 
 report to the Secretary regarding the ballistic resistant body 
 armor issued to female agents and officers of such component 
 agency, including, with respect to the reporting period--
        (A) the number of female agents and officers to 
 whom ballistic resistant body armor was issued for 
 performance of their official duties;
        (B) the number of ballistic resistant body armor 
 units issued to female agents and officers, the use of 
 which was discontinued due to noncompliance with the 
 requirements described in subsection

    (a) ;
            (C) the number of ballistic resistant body armor 
 units issued to female agents and officers that are 
 compliant with the requirements described in subsection

    (a) ; and
            (D) the percentage of female agents and officers of 
 such component agency who, as of the last day of the 
 reporting period, have been issued ballistic resistant 
 body armor that complies with the requirements 
 described in subsection

    (a) , disaggregated by duty 
 station.

    (2) Aggregate report.--Not later than 30 days after 
 receiving all of the reports required to be submitted under 
 paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary shall submit a report that 
 aggregates all of the data contained in such reports to the 
 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
 Representatives.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
all agents and officers of any component of the Department whose duties 
require body armor shall have been issued body armor that meets the 
requirements described in 

section 3

    (a) .
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