[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3842 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3842

  To provide that certain Federal property shall be made available to 
States for State use before being made available to other entities, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 1998

  Mr. Peterson of Minnesota introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in 
   addition to the Committees on National Security, Small Business, 
 International Relations, and Science, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
  provisions as fall wihin the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide that certain Federal property shall be made available to 
States for State use before being made available to other entities, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Surplus Property Improvement 
Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. PRIORITY TO STATES FOR THE TRANSFER OF NONLETHAL EXCESS 
              SUPPLIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

    Section 2547 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``The Secretary of 
        Defense'' and inserting ``Subject to subsection (d), the 
        Secretary of Defense'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c), the following:
    ``(d) Nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense shall 
be made available to a State, a local government of a State, or a 
possession, upon the request of the State, local government, or 
possession pursuant to authority provided in another provision of law, 
before such supplies are made available for humanitarian relief 
purposes under this section. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, 
the President may make such supplies available for humanitarian 
purposes before such supplies are made available to a State, local 
government, or possession under this subsection in order to respond to 
an emergency precipitated by a natural disaster.''.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF PROPERTY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN FOREIGN 
              COUNTRIES.

    Section 607 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2357(d)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
                as subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), respectively;
                    (B) by striking ``(d) The'' and inserting ``(d)(1) 
                Except as provided in paragraph (2), the''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end of the following:
    ``(2) No property may be transferred under paragraph (1) unless the 
Administrator of General Services determines that there is no Federal 
or State use requirements for the property under any other provision of 
law.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the transfer of 
confiscated property to foreign countries.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO SMALL BUSINESS ACT.

    Section 7(j)(13)(F) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(j)(13)(F) is amended--
            (1) by striking the third sentence; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``This subparagraph 
        shall be carried out with the oversight of the Administrator of 
        General Services in consultation with State agencies 
        responsible for the distribution of surplus property.''.

SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SCIENCE EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT ACT 
              AMENDMENT.

    Section 3166(b) of the Department of Energy Science Education 
Enhancement Act (42 U.S.C. 7381c (b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (2); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as 
        paragraphs (2) through (5), respectively.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON DISPOSAL AND DONATION OF SURPLUS PERSONAL PROPERTY.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator of General Services shall review all statutes 
relating to the disposal and donation of surplus personal property and 
submit to Congress a report on such statutes including--
            (1) the effectiveness of programs administered under such 
        statutes (except for any program that grants access to personal 
        property by local communities impacted by the closure of a 
        military base), and the amount and type of property 
        administered under each such program during fiscal years 1997 
        and 1998; and
            (2) legislative recommendations to integrate and 
        consolidate all such programs to be administered by a single 
        Federal authority working with State agencies while 
        accomplishing the purposes of such programs.
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