Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act
Latest action · May 14, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 14, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act
This bill prohibits under federal law the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians. The term enhanced body armor means body armor, including a helmet or shield, with a ballistic resistance that meets or exceeds the ballistic performance standard of RF1 armor, as determined using the National Institute of Justice standard in effect at the time the person purchases, owns, or possesses the armor.
Violations are subject to a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
The bill's prohibition does not apply to enhanced body armor that was lawfully possessed before the bill's effective date.
Cosponsors 28
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 14, 2025 to May 14, 2026; 21 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Daniel S. Goldman | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | George Latimer | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-OH | Greg Landsman | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-MD | Johnny Olszewski, Jr. | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Joseph D. Morelle | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Laura Friedman | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-GA | Nikema Williams | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-IL | Nikki Budzinski | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Nydia M. Velázquez | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Thomas R. Suozzi | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-LA | Troy A. Carter | Original | May 14, 2025 |
| D-RI | Gabe Amo | May 15, 2025 | |
| D-FL | Jared Moskowitz | May 15, 2025 | |
| D-TX | Lizzie Fletcher | May 20, 2025 | |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Jun 10, 2025 | |
| D-NJ | Nellie Pou | Jul 21, 2025 | |
| D-CA | Robert Garcia | Oct 28, 2025 | |
| D-NJ | LaMonica McIver | May 14, 2026 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred May 14, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 14, 2025Introduced in House
- May 14, 2025Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3515, H3516 | Timothy M. Kennedy D-NY | May 14, 2026 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 81, May 14, 2025, page H2052.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4553 | Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act | Related bill | May 18, 2026 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians, with exceptions.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 14, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
