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VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO PUT ASIDE ALL RESERVATIONS AND GIVE OUR FULL SUPPORT TO CONGRESSMAN BIAGGI'S BILL, H.R. 953. WE ARE PLEASED, HOWEVER, THAT NEW LEGISLATION HAS BEEN DRAFTED THAT RESOLVES THE PROBLEMS AND IS ACCEPTABLE TO ALL CONCERNED GROUPS.

THE RECENTLY PROPOSED BILLS DEFINE "ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION" IN SUCH A WAY AS TO COVER ALL MATERIALS WHICH COULD BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION, AND THUS AVOID THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN OF TESTING EVERY TYPE OF AMMUNITION ON THE MARKET. THE TERM IS DEFINED IN A WAY THAT CAN BE EASILY UNDERSTOOD AND APPLIED BY INDUSTRY. THEY EXEMPT AMMUNITION CAPABLE OF PENETRATING SOFT-BODY ARMOR FROM PROHIBITION AGAINST MANUFACTURE AND IMPORTATION WHERE SUCH AMMUNITION IS DETERMINED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO BE DESIGNED FOR SPORTING PURPOSES, OR FOR USE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OR THE MILITARY.

THE PENALTIES IMPOSED BY THIS LEGISLATION WILL SERVE TO LIMIT THE AVAILABILITY OF ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION TO THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT, THUS PROVIDING LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL WITH A GREATER DEGREE OF PROTECTION. TO INSURE AN ADEQUATE LEVEL OF DETERRENCE, WE FEEL THAT STRONG PENALTIES, PERHAPS STRONGER THAN THOSE SPECIFIED IN THIS LEGISLATION, SHOULD BE ENFORCED. WE HOPE THAT STATE LEGISLATURES WILL ENACT SIMILAR LEGISLATION THAT WILL IMPOSE PENALTIES ON INDIVIDUALS WHO CARRY ARMOR PIERCING BULLETS DURING THE COMMISSION OF FELONIES IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW.

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NO LEGITIMATE USE, EITHER IN OR OUT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, FOR THIS TYPE OF AMMUNITION. I URGE YOU TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION ON THIS LEGISLATION. AS LONG AS THE MANUFACTURE AND IMPORTATION OF ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION REMAINS UNREGULATED, THE POSSIBILITY THAT A POLICE OFFICER WILL BE KILLED OR SERIOUSLY WOUNDED REMAINS UNACCEPTABLY AND UNNECESSARILY HIGH.

THANK YOU FOR GIVING OUR VIEWS YOUR CONSIDERATION. I WILL

BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

Mr. HUGHES. Mr. Stone. He is not with us? OK. Mr. Konstantin. Mr. KONSTANTIN. Yes.

Mr. HUGHES. We have your statement which is part of the record, and you may proceed as you see fit.

Mr. KONSTANTIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The Police Executive Research Forum is a membership and research organization whose members are police chiefs and sheriffs from the Nation's largest jurisdictions. We support this legislation because we see it as a step forward toward protecting our Nation's law enforcement officers.

We realize that it is not as comprehensive as many people would like it to be; it is not as restrictive as the Chairman would like it to be, but we realize that in the face of the tremendous anti-gun-control lobby that any more restrictively worded bill would have no chance of passage whatsoever. We would rather see this bill pass than have no bill pass at all.

One of the things that we are concentrating on, sort of tangentially, is being doing with the Treasury Department, and that is to ensure that every law enforcement officer in the Nation has a bulletproof vest. Our figures show that only about 50 percent of them do and that a much smaller percentage of them actually wear them, for various practical and attitudinal reasons. So that is our next goal: to make sure that every police officer has a vest and that they are being worn, because a vest does protect against the vast majority of threats that a law enforcement officer faces.

But in the meantime, we would like to see this legislation passed because we feel that it is the only realistic hope that we have for any kind of bill that restricts the availability of armor-piercing bullets at all.

Thank you. I am open to questions.

Mr. HUGHES. Thank you, Mr. Konstantin.

[The statement of Mr. Konstantin follows:]

Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, thank you for giving the members of the Police Executive Research Forum an opportunity to express their views on this important issue. We are pleased to see legislation that would regulate the manufacture and importation of armor piercing ammunition and that would mandate a five-year prison term for possession of the bullets during the course of a violent felony.

As an organization comprised of police chiefs and sheriffs from the nation's largest jurisdictions, we are intimately concerned with any measures that will protect the lives and well-being of America's police officers, and support this legislation as an important step in that direction. Today's law enforcement officer is already subjected to numerous threats, and cannot afford to have the protection provided by newly-developed soft body armor breached by the so-called "cop-killer" bullet. Any legislation that would restrict the availability of this ammunition, as H.R. 5835 and H.R. 5845 would, will help to ensure the safety of those who have dedicated their lives to protecting the public against crime. It is imperative that this legislation be passed, as it will serve as a signal to all police officers that their elected representatives in Washington are interested in their welfare and are aware and concerned about the risks that they face daily. Passage of this bill will be a vote of support for the cop on the street.

Although we have known about the availability and devastating

potential of armor piercing bullets for some time, not until now have the