[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S1861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Carper):
  S. 573. A bill to amend title 40, United States Code, to improve 
veterans service organizations access to Federal surplus personal 
property; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Formerly 
Owned Resources for Veterans to Express Thanks for Service Act of 2013, 
also known as the FOR VETS Act of 2013. I am pleased that Senators 
Leahy and Carper have joined me in cosponsoring this bill. This bill is 
necessary to ensure that veterans' service organizations are provided 
access to federal surplus personal property as the Senate intended when 
it passed the FOR VETS Act of 2010. The FOR VETS Act of 2010 provides 
that veterans' service organizations should be categorized as eligible 
nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations that may acquire surplus personal 
property for the purposes of education or public health.
  Unfortunately, the General Services Administration, or GSA, has 
interpreted this law in the strictest of terms. In its published 
guidelines, veterans' service organizations may acquire the surplus 
property for the purposes of education or public health, but with 
minimal flexibility in what an educational or public health service may 
be. For example, acquiring a van to transport a disabled veteran to a 
doctor's appointment may not be considered an eligible use for a 
veterans' organization under current guidelines.
  The bill that we are introducing today makes the legislative 
modification necessary for GSA to carry out the original intent of the 
FOR VETS Act of 2010.
  The National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property, 
NASASP, has identified the need for this legislation to ensure that 
veterans' service organizations are able to receive surplus equipment 
to enable them to improve their provision of critical services to our 
nation's veterans. The American Legion has said that this bill would 
enable them to better serve our veterans, their families, and the 
communities in which they live.
  Veterans' groups--whose work enhances the lives of countless veterans 
every day--should benefit from access to these goods just as other 
service organizations do. Many veterans' organizations offer career 
development and job training assistance to our nation's veterans, yet 
often lack the computer equipment needed to assist our veterans in the 
often difficult transition from military service to the civilian work 
force.
  These are just a couple of examples of the needs of veterans' service 
organizations. This bill is one way to say ``thank you'' to those 
Americans who have worn the uniform and to the families that supported 
them. In these challenging fiscal times, the need for excess federal 
property to be used for job training, rehabilitation, and other 
important assistance to our veterans is greater now than ever. I am 
proud to introduce this legislation with Senators Leahy and Carper, and 
I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this bill through 
the Senate and into law.
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