[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 938 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 938

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders 
 of Congress and other legislative branch offices should work together 
    to establish and implement a coordinated program for the reuse, 
  recycling, and appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other 
    electronic equipment used by offices of the legislative branch.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2009

Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mrs. 
 Bono Mack, and Mr. Bilbray) submitted the following resolution; which 
         was referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders 
 of Congress and other legislative branch offices should work together 
    to establish and implement a coordinated program for the reuse, 
  recycling, and appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other 
    electronic equipment used by offices of the legislative branch.

Whereas electronic waste (or ``e-waste'') that is generated from obsolete 
        computers and other electronic equipment is rapidly becoming a serious 
        concern to State and local governments;
Whereas e-waste is one of the fastest growing sectors in the solid waste stream;
Whereas the disposal of e-waste is essentially unregulated at the Federal level;
Whereas e-waste generated in the United States is most likely to be exported to 
        developing countries;
Whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that, ``A 
        substantial quantity [of exported used electronics] ends up in countries 
        where the items are handled and disposed of in a manner that threatens 
        human health and the environment'';
Whereas GAO has also found that ``Federal agencies . . . are not required to 
        track the ultimate destination of their donated or recycled e-waste'' 
        and therefore ``have little assurance that their e-waste is ultimately 
        disposed of in an environmentally responsible matter'';
Whereas the United States has a growing domestic e-waste disposal industry that 
        employs hard-working Americans;
Whereas the United States owns and operates UNICOR, the trade name for Federal 
        Prison Industries, Inc., which employs offenders incarcerated in 
        correctional facilities under the Federal Bureau of Prisons;
Whereas UNICOR operates 8 e-waste recycling facilities in direct competition to 
        privately owned and operated e-waste disposal facilities in the United 
        States;
Whereas the Basel Action Network (BAN) has designed the e-Stewards Standard for 
        Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment, which forbids 
        the export of e-waste to developing countries and the use of prison 
        labor for recycling services; and
Whereas Congress should lead by example to address this growing problem: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the leaders of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and other 
legislative branch offices should work together to establish and 
implement a coordinated program for the reuse, recycling, and 
appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other electronic 
equipment used by offices of the legislative branch, using only those 
companies certified by accredited e-Stewards certification bodies to be 
in conformance with the requirements of the e-Stewards Standard for 
Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment.
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