# 114-hr-3497: PLEA Act

114-hr-3497, PLEA Act, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3497
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-3497
- Congress: 114
- Title: PLEA Act
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Introduced: 2015-09-11
- Sponsor: ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 20
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Protect Law Enforcement Armor Act or the PLEA Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit the manufacture or importation of projectiles that may be used in a handgun and that are determined by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be capable of penetrating body armor; and (2) require DOJ to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against the Body Armor Exemplar (concerning the protection of law enforcement officers), taking into account variations in performance related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the projectile's design. It prohibits the manufacture, sale, possession, or transfer of any handgun that uses armor piercing ammunition, except: (1) where manufactured and sold exclusively to U.S. military, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies; and (2) by a licensed manufacturer or contractor for the purpose of examining and testing to determine whether such prohibition applies.

## Cosponsors (20)

- STEVE ISRAEL (D-NY), 2015-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- MICHAEL HONDA (D-CA), 2015-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20] (D-FL), 2015-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-IL), 2015-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- JOSE SERRANO (D-NY), 2015-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5] (D-NY), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- SAM FARR (D-CA), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] (D-TX), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2015-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2015-09-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA), 2015-10-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Edwards, Donna F. [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2015-10-06T00:00:00.000Z
- NITA LOWEY (D-NY), 2015-10-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2015-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA), 2015-12-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2015-12-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA), 2016-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2016-06-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika virus.
- 114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- 114-hr-4479: Families of Flint Act
- 114-hr-4269: Assault Weapons Ban of 2015
- 114-hr-3411: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015
- 114-hr-3381: Childhood Cancer STAR Act

## Sources
- [114-hr-3497 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3497)

## Related
- [114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika viru…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5044)
- [114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4592)
- [114-hr-4479: Families of Flint Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4479)
- [114-hr-4269: Assault Weapons Ban of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4269)
- [114-hr-3411: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3411)
- [114-hr-3381: Childhood Cancer STAR Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3381)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3497 (as of 2025-11-18).