[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 9 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S580-S583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998
Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Federal
Surplus Property Improvement Act of 1998'' and ask my colleagues for
their support of this legislation.
Congressional oversight of our country's surplus personal property
donation program may not be a topic of debate in the Senate, but it is
of great importance to my constituents and the 70,000 recipients of
surplus federal personal property in all of our states.
Members of Congress and state and local officials all have an
obligation to see that the government distributes this property fairly
and equitably, ensuring accountability to the taxpayers.
Too often, federal agencies forget that the owners of this property
are the American people--the federal government is merely its public
custodian.
As my colleagues may know, once a piece of federal personal property
such as a typewriter, chair or vehicle is declared ``excess'' by a
federal agency, it is offered to other federal agencies for their use.
If no other agency can utilize the property, it is donated to the
states or other public agencies.
The current system of disposal is based on reforms signed into law by
President Ford over twenty years ago.
The reforms to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act
of 1949 enacted in 1976 were based on concerns that as surplus property
distribution programs multiplied, confusion and inefficiency on the
part of the federal government grew as well.
Congress realized that the various state agencies and the General
Services Administration should work together to ensure a fair and
equitable allocation of surplus federal property to eligible
recipients.
Under this new partnership, states would have a greater role over
distribution, while GSA would guide the overall system on the federal
side.
Mr. President, the 1976 reforms also broadened the pool of eligible
recipients to include parks and recreation, conservation, public health
and public safety.
Since then, each state agency for surplus property has worked with
neighboring state agencies and GSA to provide the equipment, supplies
and material used to educate our children, maintain roads and streets,
keep utility rates reasonable, train the workers of tomorrow, protect
families from crime, and during natural disasters, treat the health of
our nation's sick and needy.
Through the efforts of the state agencies for surplus property,
eligible recipients have acquired impressive pieces of equipment such
as trailers, forklifts, fire trucks, aircraft, boats and generators.
The original acquisition value of property distributed through the
U.S. state agencies for surplus property totaled over $537 million in
fiscal year 1997. Over the last few weeks, I have heard from many
recipients of surplus federal property and ask unanimous consent that
their letters be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Department of Public Safety,
State Patrol Division,
St. Paul, MN, January 13, 1998.
Senator Rod Grams,
Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Grams: For the past several years the flight
of the Minnesota State Patrol has called upon the services of
the state surplus property program, a division of the
Department of Administration, for various pieces of equipment
needed to accomplish our mission. In more recent years my
contact person at surplus property has been Mr. Gene Glaeser
who now heads up that program. Any time I have needed
something,
[[Page S581]]
whether it be a helicopter, airplane, or an office desk, I
have never had to wait an unusually long period of time to
have my request filled by Glaeser's office.
In August 1992, the flight section had need of an aircraft
tug to move our helicopter that is stationed in the Cloquet
area in an out of our hangar. I simply called Gene Glaeser,
told him what I needed and in a matter of about a week, I was
notified by Glaeser that he had the tug I had requested. That
tug was put into service almost immediately.
Again in September of 1996 our organization had a need to
upgrade one of our helicopters from a two place piston
powered helicopter to a turbine powered ship. Shortly after
notifying surplus property of our need, I was told that a
helicopter meeting our specifications had been located right
here at the St. Paul Airport. This helicopter had been part
of the fleet of OH58 helicopters operated by the Army Reserve
Unit here in St. Paul, and this unit was being disbanded.
Within the first year, that helicopter was refurbished and
placed in service as part of our fleet of aircraft.
Once again, in February 1997 our unit had need for a twin
engine airplane. One week after I made the request for this
type of aircraft, Gene Glaeser called and said he had located
an aircraft he thought would fit our needs. It was a
Beechcraft Queen Air and it had been used by NASA for several
years and was based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Following many phone calls to Langley to discuss the
condition of this craft, it was decided to acquire this
aircraft.
In each of the above cases, there has been substantial cost
savings to the State of Minnesota. The OH58 helicopter was
placed in service at a total cost of $84,000.00. Had we
purchased this same type of helicopter on the open market, we
would have paid an estimated $450,000.00-$550,000.00. The
Beechcraft Queen Air acquired from NASA, including the
training of six pilots to fly it, cost the state
approximately $36,000.00 to place it in service. This
aircraft has been appraised at $150,000.00-$175,000.00 by an
aircraft broker. In each of these cases, had the State Patrol
been forced to buy from the open market, we would not have
been able to upgrade our fleet because of budget constraints.
Had the surplus program not been available to us, our
chances of acquiring this equipment would not have existed.
This is a perfect example of our government obtaining the
most from a piece of equipment. When one agency no longer has
a need for that equipment, it is passed down to another
government agency that does have a need. I would hope that
this program would continue for many years into the future,
as everyone benefits from it. As is common in today's
language, ``it's a win-win situation.''
Should you have further questions regarding anything I have
stated, please feel free to call me. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Capt. David J. Allen,
Chief Pilot.
____
The McCandless Township
Sanitary Authority,
Pittsburgh, PA, January 19, 1998.
Senator Rod Grams,
Dirkson Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Grams: The McCandless Township Sanitary
Authority (M.T.S.A.) is located approximately 15 miles north
of the City of Pittsburgh PA. M.T.S.A.'s main function is to
collect and treat wastewater for seven surrounding
communities, with a total customer base in excess of 35,000
residents. This Authority operates and maintains four
treatment facilities, fifteen pumping stations, over 250
miles of sewer lines and employs in excess of 45 employees.
Over the last five to six years this Authority has actively
participated in the Pa. Federal Surplus Program. Purchases
through this program have become a normal part of our budget
with a yearly allocation of $20,000.00.
This Authority falls under the guidelines and rules and
regulation of the EPA and the Pa. DEP. Over the last couple
of years unexpected regulations have been imposed on this
Authority which require us to undertake the replacement and
enhancement of many of the older sections of the sewer line
collection system. Through the Federal Surplus Program we
were able to obtain equipment and materials to aid in this
system upgrading. Some of the items that were secured were: a
transit, material handling bucket, two-10 ton dump trucks, a
loader, fork lift, a job site toolbox, a six inch portable
pump, many small hand tools, hooks-cables-lifting straps and
even personal employee items such as boots and gloves.
Purchases through this program have also benefited our
wastewater treatment facilities. We have secured both
materials and equipment for use by our maintenance personnel.
Some of the pictures that are enclosed show projects that
have been completed. Many of these projects were completed
with use of stainless steel and/or aluminum which were
secured from Federal Surplus for a fraction of their normal
cost. This Authority also was able to secure a 5000 gallon
tank trailer for transporting sludge from our satellite
treatment facilities to our main sludge de-watering facility.
This in itself was an excellent purchase; we were able to
purchase a $40,000 trailer for $2,500.00. The Authority was
also able to supply the treatment facility personnel with
numerous safety related items such as self contained
breathing apparatus, life vests, rubber * * * boots and even
a small life raft.
This Authority has also used the Federal Surplus Program to
supplement its fleet of vehicles. We have purchased five mid-
sized trucks, one station wagon and numerous trailers; one of
which we use for hauling heavy equipment. These vehicles all
needed some repairs but Authority personnel were able to fix
them up to make them nice additions to the fleet. Pictures
and a brief description of each of these vehicles is
enclosed. One vehicle of particular interest would be the
vehicle used for the Dye Test Program. The Dye Test Program
was implemented to meet requirements set by PA. DEP, which
requires the Authority to begin testing resident's roof and
driveway drains to locate illegal connections to the sanitary
sewer. This program required the Authority to hire employees
and purchase equipment, so this vehicle and the cost savings
associated with it helped to get this program off the ground.
This Authority's involvement with the Pa. Federal Surplus
Program has been very beneficial to the Authority as well as
to the Authority's rate payers. The McCandless Township
Sanitary Authority has not had a rate increase since 1991 and
I believe that our involvement in this program as well as
other cost saving measures have helped to keep these rate
increases down. Finally, I would like to mention that we have
had purchase parts or materials from private distributors
when repairing some of our Federal Surplus purchases I was
surprised to see the amount of ``new stock'' they had on
hand. It was my understanding that state agencies have first
choice on surplus. I think there would be many government
bodies that could put this surplus to good use rather than
see a private company making a profit at the tax payers
expense.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Blakley,
Superintendent.
FEDERAL SURPLUS PURCHASES COST SAVINGS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchase
Item Qty. price Value Savings
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing Cabinet................................................... 1 $75.00 $500.00 $425.00
Cement........................................................... 84 94.92 420.00 325.08
Breathing apparatus.............................................. 2 200.00 5,600.00 5,400.00
Fuel tanks....................................................... 8 1,600.00 17,200.00 15,600.00
Press Arbor...................................................... 1 147.50 1,200.00 1,052.50
\1/4\ Ton trailer................................................ 1 300.00 1,500.00 1,200.00
Tongue buckle harness............................................ 9 135.00 675.00 540.00
Chevy station wagon.............................................. 1 800.00 4,000.00 3,200.00
Air conditioner.................................................. 1 195.00 5,000.00 4,805.00
Flatbed trailers (Fruehauf)...................................... 1 750.00 15,000.00 14,250.00
Safety storage cabinet........................................... 2 300.00 1,000.00 700.00
Battery for fork lift at P.C..................................... 2 150.00 4,000.00 3,850.00
5000 Gal semi trailer............................................ 1 2,500.00 30,000.00 27,500.00
1967 66 Dump truck............................................... 1 3,500.00 15,000.00 11,500.00
Jack stands...................................................... 2 70.00 200.00 130.00
10,000 Lb. forklift.............................................. 1 1,250.00 10,000.00 8,750.00
Lubricating oil.................................................. 5 250.00 1,005.00 755.00
1988 GMC Flatbed truck........................................... 1 2,675.00 15,000.00 12,325.00
6 Pump........................................................... 1 375.00 10,000.00 9,625.00
Drafting table................................................... 1 100.00 400.00 300.00
1983 Ford pick up truck.......................................... 1 1,500.00 10,000.00 8,500.00
Air sander....................................................... 1 125.00 500.00 375.00
Fire cabinet..................................................... 1 50.00 600.00 550.00
Pipe Bender...................................................... 1 175.00 1,200.00 1,025.00
Flammable cabinet................................................ 1 75.00 600.00 525.00
410 Steel plate.................................................. 3 33.75 720.00 686.25
Alum round bar 1\5/8\............................................ 1 25.00 185.00 160.00
48\1/16\ SS Plate................................................ 1 45.00 245.00 200.00
412.090 Alum plate............................................... 1 80.00 241.00 161.00
412.050 Alum plate............................................... 2 60.00 482.00 422.00
6110 Alum bar.................................................... 1 30.00 238.00 208.00
Grinder.......................................................... 1 60.00 500.00 440.00
Snowblower....................................................... 1 250.00 1,000.00 750.00
Drill press...................................................... 1 250.00 1,000.00 750.00
Alum sheets...................................................... 2 70.00 600.00 530.00
Trailer/dye testing equip........................................ 1 375.00 2,000.00 1,625.00
Desk............................................................. 1 175.00 1,000.00 825.00
Lateral files--5 drawer.......................................... 2 150.00 1,000.00 850.00
Lateral files--4 drawer.......................................... 3 180.00 3,000.00 2,820.00
Lateral files--2 drawer.......................................... 4 100.00 4,000.00 3,900.00
Barrel lift...................................................... 1 250.00 1,300.00 1,050.00
Sheet barrier-pine creek shed.................................... 7 105.00 4,998.00 4,893.00
Drill............................................................ 1 150.00 425.00 275.00
1984 AMA \3/4\ Ton cargo trailer................................. 1 750.00 20,000.00 19,250.00
1984/Chev--44 cargo diesel truck................................. 1 5,000.00 15,000.00 10,000.00
Generators 100 KW................................................ 1 1,750.00 25,000.00 23,250.00
30 Ft flat bed trailer/miller.................................... 1 375.00 3,000.00 2,625.00
Alum I beam...................................................... 6 150.00 1,800.00 1,650.00
1985/GMC \3/4\ Ton truck......................................... 1 800.00 10,000.00 9,200.00
Port-A-Power..................................................... 1 125.00 1,000.00 875.00
Alum I beam...................................................... 5 125.00 1,500.00 1,375.00
Threadlite survey--3 pc set...................................... 1 250.00 3,000.00 2,750.00
Totals..................................................... 29,106.17 253,834.00 224,727.83
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
____
Plumbers & Steamfitters
Local Union 52,
Montgomery, AL, January 16, 1998.
Senator Rod Grams,
Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Sir: We are a Non-profit Organization partially funded
by the State of Alabama and the Federal Government. Our
Training School is a five year program that prepares our
students for working in the following trades: plumbing,
pipefitting, welding and air conditioning.
We have obtained supplies and equipment from our Local
State and Federal Surplus Division, that has been very
beneficial to our program. These purchases have also saved
our Program thousands and thousands of dollars. Without these
savings, our Program would not have been able to obtain the
training equipment we currently possess.
We are aware that there is less property available today
because of the downsizing of the Military. However, the
combinations of the special interest legislation and major
``giveaways'' such as the humanitarian assistance program,
have destroyed most of
[[Page S582]]
the opportunity the States have to receive the type and
quality of property available in prior years. Therefore, our
Program as well as all other non-profit organizations, suffer
the loss.
Sir, please help us in keeping the Federal Donation Program
going. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barfield,
Business Agent.
____
Grandview Police Department,
Grandview, WA, January 20, 1998.
Senator Grams,
Dirkson Senate Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Grams: My purpose for writing you this letter
is to appraise you of the great benefits that my Agency and
City have received from our years of involvement in the
Federal Surplus Program. Over the past six years, we have
been very active in purchasing surplus equipment from the
Government that has improved the quality of our City, and
allowed us to expand and improve the operations in City
government.
Over the past six years, the City has purchased a bulldozer
and dump truck which has allowed us to build a quality Police
firearms range to allow our officers to be proficient in the
use of their weapons, as well as purchasing pickup trucks, a
van and other related equipment to augment our Department, to
allow us to better serve our citizens. The majority of
furniture, desks, computers, typewriters and other supplies
that we use on a day to day basis in the Police department
are from the federal surplus program. Without this program,
our Department would still be using equipment that was
purchased over 20 years ago. Due to our financial situation
in our rural area, this program has allowed us to keep our
department current with the modern technologies and equipment
of the 1990's. I would hate to think where our Department, as
well as other departments within the City would be if we had
not been a active purchaser of federal surplus property.
Citywide, we have purchased thousands of dollars worth of
quality equipment on a yearly basis, saving our taxpayers
tens of thousands of dollars.
I am a very proud participant of the federal surplus
program and believe that it is one of the best cost effective
programs that our City has ever been involved in. I also hope
that this program will continue to remain in tact in the
future and allow us to grow with it. We have the pleasure of
having Mr. Doug Coleman who is our State Federal Surplus
Property Manager, who does a fantastic job of working with
the local Cities in Washington State on the dispersement of
surplus property. I would hope that this worthwhile program
continues and grows.
Respectfully,
David R. Charvet,
Chief of Police.
____
Talent Irrigation District,
Talent, OR, January 19, 1998.
Jack Guzman,
Acting Manager, Federal Surplus Property, Salem, OR.
Dear Mr. Guzman: The Federal Surplus Property Program is an
intricate part of the Talent Irrigation District's (TID)
operating target. It has significantly contributed to keeping
operating costs down resulting in low water rates for our
taxpayers. Here are just a very few specific examples.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acquisition Equivalent open
cost market cost
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maintenance Pick-up trucks............ $2,000.00 $8-10,000.00
Snow Cat for Mountain/high lake 5,000.00 95,000.00
operation............................
6" Gate valves........................ 30.00 300.00
Fork Lifts............................ 3,000.00 9,000.00
Structural Steel and Steel plate...... Simply could not afford it at
market price.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The list goes on and on. In an era of austere funding and
increased property taxes TID has been able to keep water
rates one-third less than other Southern Oregon Districts.
This is a direct result of utilizing the Federal Surplus
Property program.
The only inequity in the system from a donee standpoint, is
the ``Host State'' procedures. Not having any military
installations, Oregon Donees are a notch below the host state
at the donee level. This needs attention.
Further comment would be redundant, suffice it to say
overall the program is very beneficial to the taxpayer.
Sincerely,
Hollie Cannon,
Manager, Talent Irrigation District.
____
Birch Tree Communities, Inc.,
Benton, AR, January 19, 1998.
Hon. Rod Grams,
Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Rod Grams: We are a non profit Certified
Community Mental Health Center. We are a clinical and
rehabilitative program for the chronically mentally ill. The
people we work with are the lowest of the low income people
in America.
We utilize the products of the Federal Donation Program
immensely. We use many of the products they have for sale. A
few of those items are beds and mattresses. To be able to
purchase only these items saves our organization thousands of
dollars each year. The total items we purchase and utilize
would be too lengthy to list.
A bed and mattress are very simple items, but can you
imagine sleeping without a bed or mattress? The people we
work with are classified as homeless and many have not had
the comfort of a bed or mattress for some time.
This letter is to definitely continue the Federal Donation
Program in its present form.
Sincerely,
Paul Enderlin.
____
Mountain Fire/Rescue
Mountain Ranch, CA, January 20, 1998.
Dear Senator Grams: On behalf of Mountain Fire//Rescue and
as the Chief of this Volunteer Fire Company, I'm writing to
you in response to the urgent letter I received from the
National Asso. of State Agencies for Surplus Property.
Mountain Fire/Rescue came to be 18 years ago and has grown
to be the largest fire unit in Calaveras County, CA. We have
94 pieces of fire fighting, rescue, potable water tenders,
generators and the parts to keep this equipment running. All
but 3 of our rolling stock was obtained through Surplus
property program.
We use this equipment in various ways:
Our 5 ton recovery vehicle (wrecker) is used to recover any
government agencies property that has become disabled. This
is a very poor county and most of the fire departments here
don't have the money to hire a large tow truck to recover
their equipment. This same unit responded to a call where a
farmer was driving his tractor and went over a mountain side,
300 yards. At the site, we pulled out the 400' + cable and
added all of our chain then a 20' piece of cable on the end
of this mess, put a snatch block in a tree by the victim,
that was pinned under the tractor, and was able to pick the
tractor off of him without hurting him further. Before we got
there, attempts to lift the tractor was futile. Every time
the rescue team tried to move the tractor it would slid down
the mountain side a little. He was air lifted to Modesto and
is doing fine now. Reports we received after this incident
tell us we saved his life. This was a piece of excess
property. Cost $99,000.00, our cost, $1200.00.
In 1994, on a presidential order, this Volunteer Fire Co.
was sent to Goma, Zaire, Africa on a C5A from Travis AFB non
stop, to produce potable water to the refugees 15 miles
outside of Goma. A Report can be found in Vol. 141
Washington, Saturday, August 5, 1995 No. 130, on page E-1690,
True American Heroes, Hon. John T. Doolittle of California,
Friday, August 4, 1995. This may be useful to you. The
equipment was excess property except for the sub-pump and the
fire truck. As a US Army trained medic, I took along my
medical stuff from MFR. At the pumping site at Lac Kavu, MFR
set up pumping operations, chlorinated the water, took care
of the military personal at this site provided the heated
shower, built off the back of the fire truck and generally
blended in to the working order of this base. Two days into
the pumping operation, Dr. Thomas Durant, Asst. Medical
Director, Boston School of Medicine became my preceptor on
site. He was going to rent a car to go out to the refugee
camps and start to give shots to these poor people. He was
going to pay $100.00 per day for the rental. I told him to
take MFRs 1\1/4\ ton 4X4 pickup to do this work at no charge.
One day, as the doctor's and RNs were going to the camp, they
were stopped by a squad of Zaire soldiers, told to get out of
the truck. They were taken into a banana grove, where they
thought they were going to be shot. In the grove was a young
Zaire soldier that had picked up an explosive device of some
kind and blown his hands up. The doctors put him in the truck
and all his buddies and took him to a field hospital to be
treated. From that time on, no more stopping for road blocks.
This one vehicle provided the transportation for those good
docs and no one will ever know how many lives they saved.
Most of all of the support equipment we took with us was
surplus property.
Photos of the African event can be obtained by contacting
Lt. Col. Eric Hanson. office # 1-703-607-7864. Confirmation
of events there can be confirmed by contacting Dr. Tom
Durant, office # 1-617-726-2106, Boston MS.
Another source of information can be found in the August
1995 of the Fire Engineering monthly, poc Bill Manning @ 1-
800-962-6484. I also wrote an article for this mag. on how to
procure excess property from the government. This might be
something you want in your information briefing.
Lastly, we were told we were True American Heroes,
Congressman Doolittle has been the only person that has taken
it upon himself to make General Jack Nix's order to give us
the Category 1 and 2 civilian medals that Gen. Nix wanted us
to be awarded happen. This will happen when the congressman
has the time to fit us in.
MFR has been involved in many events where we use the
equipment that we obtain through the DRMO program. Without
this program, we could not exist. I hope this note finds you
and your staff in good health and have a Happy New Year.
John D. Horner,
Fire Chief.
Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I am particularly impressed at how
effectively the state agencies, GSA and the Defense Re-utilization and
Marketing Service have worked together as a team to respond quickly and
efficiently
[[Page S583]]
during times of national disasters and emergencies.
Together they have successfully identified and transported sandbags,
blankets, cots, tools, trucks and other equipment and supplies to
disaster sites.
In 1997, the state agencies and their federal partners faced a number
of emergencies--and they delivered.
And I know Minnesotans who suffered through the Midwest floods last
year appreciated the relief provided to them during these horrible
times. I recently received a letter from Dave Allen, Chief Pilot of the
Minnesota State Patrol, and a recipient of surplus property distributed
by the Minnesota State Agency for Surplus Property for the last several
years.
Mr. Allen wrote:
In February 1997 our unit had the need for a twin engine
airplane. One week after I made the request for this type of
aircraft, Gene Glaeser called and said he had located an
aircraft he thought would meet our needs. It was a Beechcraft
Queen Air and it had been used by NASA for several years and
was based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
The Beechcraft Queen Air acquired from NASA including the
training of six pilots cost the State approximately $35,000
to place it in service. This aircraft had been appraised at
$150,000-$175,000 by an aircraft broker . . . Had the surplus
property program not been available to us our chances of
acquiring this equipment would not have existed.
This is a perfect example of our government obtaining the
most from a piece of equipment . . . I would hope that this
program would continue for many years in the future, as
everyone benefits from it.
The plane filled a very important need during last year's floods by
shuttling state and emergency management staff to meetings, where they
assessed the damage in our communities and provided guidance to
residents.
The state agencies for surplus property should be commended for
following the intent of Congress and fulfilling their responsibilities
under Public Law 94-519. However, I believe that the volume and value
of distributed surplus federal property would increase if the intent of
the Congress when it passed the 1976 reforms was more closely followed.
If Congress continues to allow surplus federal property to go abroad,
or not make its way through proper channels to eligible recipients, our
students, workers, taxpayers, and families will lose. The legislation I
am introducing will address these concerns through the following
provisions.
First, this legislation would ensure that when distributing surplus
federal property, domestic needs are met before we consider foreign
interests. It would, however, grant the President the authority to make
supplies available for humanitarian relief purposes before going to the
states, in the case of emergencies or natural disasters.
Second, my bill would amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to
prohibit the transfer of Government-owned excess property to foreign
countries or international organizations for environmental protection
activities in foreign countries unless GSA determined that there is no
federal or state use for the property.
Fourth, my bill would repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy
to transfer excess DOE research and development facility equipment to
educational institutions in the U.S. This current practice by DOE falls
outside the Donation Program and denies equal access to all local
education agencies, schools and universities.
Third, it would ensure that 8(a) firms participating in the Small
Business Administration's Capital Ownership Development Program
maintain their eligibility to receive surplus Federal property, but
through the normal process involving GSA and the State agencies.
States, not bureaucracies, should determine how to meet the needs of
our schools and universities.
Finally, this legislation would require GSA to report to Congress on
the effectiveness of all statutes relating to the disposal and donation
of personal property and recommend any changes that would further
improve the Donation Program.
Mr. President, my bill is based on the principle that eligible
recipients should be able to maximize their tax dollars through
expendable Federal property that meets their needs.
It takes an important step toward stopping publicly-owned property
from being shipped abroad and given to other organizations before it is
distributed through each State agency for surplus property.
My legislation will fulfill the public's right to know how and where
their tax dollars are being spent.
In many ways, it will serve as the second phase of the reforms
overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 1976, by preserving the active
role of States in the handling and distribution of surplus Federal
property. This initiative will benefit thousands of recipients--the
Nation's taxpayers.
The best interests of America's taxpayers has always been at the top
of my agenda. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the
Senate to move this legislation through Congress and give the taxpayers
the highest possible return on their investment.
____________________