[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3465 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3465

   To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic 
equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax 
                  machines, to educational recipients.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

   Mr. Butterfield (for himself, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Davis of 
Illinois, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Rush, and Mrs. 
    Lowey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic 
equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax 
                  machines, to educational recipients.

    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 Electronic Equipment 
Donation Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER USEFUL FEDERAL ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT TO 
              EDUCATIONAL RECIPIENTS.

    (a) Transfer of Equipment to Educational Entities.--
            (1) In general.--Each Federal agency shall identify useful 
        Federal electronic equipment that the agency has determined is 
        excess to its needs and--
                    (A) report such equipment to the Administrator of 
                General Services for processing for transfer to an 
                educational recipient in accordance with section 549 of 
                title 40, United States Code;
                    (B) transfer such equipment directly to an 
                educational recipient, through an arrangement made by 
                the Administrator of General Services under subsection 
                (b); or
                    (C) report such equipment to the Administrator of 
                General Services as excess property if transfer under 
                subparagraph (A) or (B) is not practicable.
            (2) Management of nontransferable equipment.--For equipment 
        reported under paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator of General 
        Services shall manage the equipment in accordance with 
        subchapters II and III of chapter 5 of title 40, United States 
        Code.
            (3) Exception.--Equipment transferred pursuant to section 
        11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 
        (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) is neither transferred pursuant to this Act 
        nor subject to this Act's requirements.
    (b) Advance Reporting of Equipment to GSA.--Each Federal agency 
shall report to the Administrator of General Services the availability 
of useful Federal electronic equipment as far as possible in advance of 
the date the equipment is expected to become excess to its needs, so 
that the Administrator may attempt to arrange for the direct transfer 
from the donating agency to educational recipients.
    (c) Use of Nonprofit Refurbishers.--In transferring any equipment 
pursuant to this Act, at the request of the educational recipient and 
if appropriate, if the equipment is not classroom-usable, the 
transferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a nonprofit 
refurbisher for upgrade before transfer to the educational recipient.
    (d) Removal of Data Before Transfer.--In transferring any equipment 
pursuant to this Act, the transferring agency shall remove data from 
the equipment prior to transfer to the educational recipient according 
to accepted sanitization procedures. To the maximum extent practicable, 
the transferring agency shall remove data using a means that does not 
remove, disable, destroy, or otherwise render unusable the equipment or 
components.
    (e) Preference.--In transferring any equipment pursuant to this 
Act, the transferring agency shall give the highest preference to 
educational recipients located in an enterprise community or 
empowerment zone designated under section 1391 or 1400 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, a qualifying small town, or a qualifying county.
    (f) Low Cost.--Any transfer made pursuant to this Act shall be made 
at the lowest cost to the educational recipient permitted by law.
    (g) Title.--Title of ownership of equipment transferred pursuant to 
this Act shall transfer to the educational recipient receiving the 
equipment.
    (h) Notice of Availability of Equipment.--The Administrator of 
General Services shall provide notice of the anticipated availability 
of useful Federal electronic equipment to educational recipients by all 
practicable means, including newspapers, community announcements, and 
the Internet.
    (i) Facilitation by Regional Federal Executive Boards.--The 
regional Federal Executive Boards (as that term is used in part 960 of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations) shall help facilitate the 
transfer of useful Federal electronic equipment from the agencies they 
represent to educational recipients under this Act.

SEC. 3. RULEMAKING.

    The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe rules and 
procedures to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    This Act supersedes Executive Order No. 12999 of April 17, 1996.

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    This Act may not be construed to create any right or benefit, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the 
United States or its agencies, officers, or employees.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Federal agency'' means an Executive 
        department or an Executive agency (as such terms are defined in 
        chapter 1 of title 5, United States Code).
            (2) The term ``educational recipient'' means a school or a 
        community-based educational organization.
            (3) The term ``school'' includes a prekindergarten program 
        (as that term is used in the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965), an elementary school, a secondary school, and a 
        local educational agency (as those terms are defined in section 
        9101 of that Act).
            (4) The term ``community based educational organization'' 
        means a nonprofit entity that qualifies as a nonprofit 
        educational institution or organization for purposes of section 
        501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and--
                    (A) is engaged in collaborative projects, the 
                primary focus of which is education, with schools, 
                qualifying small towns, qualifying counties, or 
                libraries; or
                    (B) provides use of computers and Internet access 
                to members of the community at no charge.
            (5) The term ``qualifying small town'' means a political 
        subdivision with a population of not more than 24,999 
        individuals where 20 percent or more of the residents earn less 
        than the poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the 
        Census).
            (6) The term ``qualifying county'' means a county where 20 
        percent or more of the residents earn less than the poverty 
        threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census).
            (7) The term ``useful Federal electronic equipment''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) computers and related peripheral tools 
                        (such as computer printers, modems, routers, 
                        and servers), including telecommunications and 
                        research equipment;
                            (ii) fax machines; and
                            (iii) any other electronic equipment 
                        determined by a Federal agency to be 
                        potentially useful to an educational recipient; 
                        and
                    (B) includes computer software, where the transfer 
                of a license is permitted.
            (8) The term ``classroom-usable'', with respect to useful 
        Federal electronic equipment, means such equipment that does 
        not require an upgrade of hardware or software in order to be 
        used by an educational recipient without being first 
        transferred under section 2(c) to a nonprofit refurbisher for 
        such an upgrade.
            (9) The term ``nonprofit refurbisher'' means an 
        organization that--
                    (A) is exempt from income taxes under section 
                501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
                    (B) upgrades useful Federal electronic equipment 
                that is not yet classroom-usable at no cost or low cost 
                to the ultimate educational recipient.

SEC. 7. PREFERENCE IN DONATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY THROUGH STATE 
              AGENCIES.

    Section 549(e)(3)(B) of title 40, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The state plan'' and inserting the 
        following:
                            ``(i) In general.--The state plan''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(ii) Preference.--The state plan of 
                        operation shall require the state agency to 
                        give the highest preference for electronic 
                        equipment to eligible institutions (as 
                        described in subsection (c)(3)) that are 
                        located in an enterprise community or 
                        empowerment zone designated under section 1391 
                        or 1400 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a 
                        political subdivision with a population of not 
                        more than 24,999 individuals where 20 percent 
                        or more of the residents earn less than the 
                        poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of 
                        the Census), or a county where 20 percent or 
                        more of the residents earn less than poverty 
                        threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the 
                        Census).''.

SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall 
submit to Congress a report.
    (b) Contents of Report.--The report shall contain the following:
            (1) An inventory of items that Federal agencies identified 
        as useful Federal electronic equipment that the agency has 
        determined is excess to its needs in the first 365 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) The number of such items that were--
                    (A) transferred to educational recipients pursuant 
                to this Act;
                    (B) transferred to other Federal agencies and 
                organizations pursuant to section 521 of title 40, 
                United States Code;
                    (C) transferred to State agencies pursuant to 
                section 549 of title 40, United State Code; or
                    (D) disposed of through other means.
            (3) Recommendations for further legislation or 
        administrative action that the Administrator considers 
        appropriate to establish an effective system for transferring 
        excess useful Federal electronic equipment to educational 
        recipients.
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