CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Flanked by police officers, President Clinton will pledge $25 million to help law-enforcement agencies buy bulletproof vests. Details now from our White House correspondent, Major Garrett. Morning again, Major.</s>MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, the president of the United States will attend a ceremony later today on the steps of the United States Capitol, a ceremony that will honor those police officers killed in the line of duty. It will be at that ceremony that the president will announce the release of $24 million in federal funds to help police departments across the country purchase bulletproof vests. Under the program, half the federal funds will go to police departments in cities with fewer than 100,000 residents, but any police department that wants to get involved in the program will have to put up half the cost of any new vests purchased. Overall, the federal funds and the local funds are to purchase about 90,000 bulletproof vests. The White House wants to time the release of this money today after the Million Mom March, to highlight not only its support for gun control, but also support for law-enforcement agencies across the country. Now, this is the second year of a three-year program to help police departments buy bulletproof vests. Congress is a full and equal partner in this, and the president will not be the only one drawing attention to this federal grant. You can bet congressmen and senators will be hailing those federal and local grants in their jurisdictions as well. Major Garrett, CNN, reporting live from the White House.</s>LIN: Thank you, Major.
President Clinton to Pledge $25M for Bulletproof Vests