Rep. Courtney Introduces PROTECT ACT' Creating Uniformity and Confidence in Body Armor Testing
Press Release
Congressman Courtney announced today that he has introduced legislation to improve the testing of body armor and other protective equipment issued to our troops in combat. The bill, Providing Responsible Oversight and Testing of Equipment for Combat Troops (PROTECT) Act of 2008, follows on Congressman Courtney's visit to the Aberdeen Test Center where the Department of Defense is evaluating body armor systems at the Connecticut Congressman's request.
"Providing the highest quality equipment to our combat troops truly is a matter of life and death and an issue of peace of mind for their families," stated Courtney. "There is no margin of error in war and we need to make sure that the equipment we are providing to our men and women on the front lines is the best and most capable equipment that can be provided."
Congressman Courtney's bill will place responsibility for the testing and evaluation of body armor under a single lead agency, the Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation (DOT&E), an independent agency within the Department of Defense that has provided unbiased evaluation of over 300 major military acquisition programs since 1983. Currently, there is no single standard procedure or lead agency across the military services for testing body armor and is instead done on a service-to-service basis.
Last year, a national television news report questioned the integrity of the body armor testing procedure. As a result, Congressman Courtney led a bipartisan initiative with 40 Members of Congress in the House of Representatives in seeking an independent test by the Government Accountability Office of available body armor systems. The effort was successful, with the GAO currently working with DOT&E and the Department of Defense in testing body armor systems.
Congressman Courtney's bill currently has twelve original cosponsors, including: Rep. Bob Brady (PA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT), Rep. Charles Gonzales (TX), Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ), Rep. Baron Hill (IN), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY), Rep. Rush Holt (NJ), Rep. Ron Klein (FL), Rep. John Larson (CT), Rep. Jim McGovern (MA), Rep. Carol Shea Porter (NH), Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA), and Rep. Chris Murphy (CT).
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