[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5568-H5569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REUSE EXCESS PROPERTY ACT

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 2685) to make data and internal guidance on excess personal 
property publicly available, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2685

       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 ``Reuse Excess Property Act''.

     SEC. 2. REPORTING ON EXCESS PERSONAL PROPERTY.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 40, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 529--
       (A) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
     (1), by inserting ``and the Committee on Homeland Security 
     and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
     Representatives'' after ``Administrator of General 
     Services''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Compilation of Data.--Not later than 180 days 
     following the close of a fiscal year, the Administrator shall 
     compile the data in the reports submitted under subsection 
     (a) and submit to the Committee on Homeland Security 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives 
     and publish on a centralized online website a publicly 
     available report, which shall include--
       ``(1) the complete data provided in each report in a user-
     friendly format;
       ``(2) a summary of the findings of each report, including 
     the aggregate dollar amount of personal property determined 
     to be no longer required for the purpose of the appropriation 
     used to make the purchase; and
       ``(3) any other recommendations from the Administrator.''; 
     and
       (2) by inserting after section 529 the following:

     ``Sec. 530. Internal guidance on excess personal property

       ``(a) Initial Report.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date of enactment of this section, each executive agency 
     shall submit to the Administrator of General Services and 
     make publicly available on the website of the executive 
     agency the internal guidance of the executive agency on 
     considering using excess personal property to meet the needs 
     of the executive agency, which shall include--
       ``(1) a requirement to consider excess personal property 
     before buying new;
       ``(2) when it is practicable to check for and obtain excess 
     personal property;
       ``(3) how to evaluate the suitability of excess personal 
     property for use; and
       ``(4) defined roles and responsibilities relevant to 
     considering the use of excess personal property, including 
     the designation of an employee as responsible for searching 
     through available excess personal property for items that 
     meet the needs of the executive agency.
       ``(b) Updates.--Each executive agency shall submit to the 
     Administrator of General Services and update on the website 
     of the executive agency any changes to the internal guidance 
     submitted and made available under subsection (a).''.
       (b) Report on Interagency Working Group.--Not later than 
     180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Administrator of General Services shall publish a publicly 
     available report on a centralized online website that 
     includes a summary of findings from the interagency working 
     group on the acquisition of personal property that was first 
     convened in February 2023 on ways to improve the use of 
     excess personal property.
       (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 5 of title 40, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 529 
     the following:

``530. Internal guidance on excess personal property.''.
       (d) GAO Report.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives 
     a report that evaluates the frequency with which executive 
     agencies (as defined in section 102 of title 40, United 
     States Code) acquire personal property that was made, 
     produced, or manufactured by any entity, including any 
     corporation, that is organized under the laws of, is 
     headquartered in, or has its principal place of business in 
     the People's Republic of China, including any Special 
     Administrative Region.
       (e) Sunset.--Effective the date that is 5 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, chapter 5 of title 40, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 529--
       (A) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
     (1), by striking ``and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
     Representatives''; and
       (B) by striking subsection (c);
       (2) by striking section 530; and
       (3) in the table of sections, by striking the item relating 
     to section 530.
       (f) No Additional Funds.--No additional funds are 
     authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out 
     this Act or the amendments made by this Act.


[[Page H5569]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as the largest single purchaser of goods and services in 
the world, Federal agencies acquire billions of dollars of personal 
property, ranging from office supplies to automobiles, each year. 
Unfortunately, agencies routinely and wastefully dispose of excess 
personal property that could otherwise be repurposed for continued 
Federal agency use.
  Agencies are already required to consider the availability of excess 
personal property before buying new products. This excess personal 
property is available to agencies at no cost, apart from any necessary 
transportation expenses.
  In a June 2022 report, the Government Accountability Office found 
that agencies are continuing to acquire new property while not using 
available excess personal property. GAO's findings indicate that the 
guidance in the existing Federal Management Regulation, or FMR, alone 
may not be sufficient.
  With better direction from Congress, agencies can be more efficient 
in leveraging excess personal property to meet their needs and 
ultimately save taxpayer dollars.
  The Reuse Excess Property Act would hold agencies more accountable 
toward efficiently using and reusing personal property by introducing 
transparency and accountability mechanisms.
  Specifically, this bill would reform existing statutory reporting 
requirements to the General Services Administration on excess personal 
property and require GSA to make this information publicly available. 
This will help decisionmakers and taxpayers better understand the 
extent to which agencies are working to cut wasteful spending through 
the use of excess property, informing future policy.
  Because GAO found that agencies have varied guidance on the use of 
excess personal property that often neglects essential FMR components, 
S. 2685 would require agencies to publicly report their guidance. Such 
guidance must include essential FMR components outlined by GAO. 
Agencies must also designate an employee as responsible for searching 
through available excess personal property for items that meet agency 
needs.
  In response to GAO's report, in February 2023, GSA convened the first 
meeting of an interagency working group to assess how agencies acquire 
personal property, uncover obstacles, and recommend improvements to 
policies for acquisition professionals. This bill would require GSA to 
make the findings of that working group, including a general summary, 
publicly available to provide full transparency into efforts to promote 
the maximum use of excess personal property.
  In conclusion, this bill shines a light on agency practices and could 
incentivize more efficient use of excess personal property, saving 
untold taxpayer dollars in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative McClain for her leadership on the 
House companion of this legislation, H.R. 8276.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the Reuse Excess Property Act, which 
would dramatically increase transparency across the Federal Government 
by strengthening Federal reporting requirements about excess personal 
property.
  I commend Senators Peters and Lankford for introducing it and 
Chairwoman McClain and Ranking Member Katie Porter for introducing the 
House counterpart.
  The Federal Government has amassed billions of dollars in personal 
property, including furniture, things like chairs and desks, vehicles, 
office supplies, and medical equipment. Billions of dollars means a lot 
of tables and chairs and computers.
  Federal agencies are required to survey and index their inventories 
of personal property annually and identify items they no longer need.
  This accounting enables agencies to have a better understanding of 
excess items that could be considered for use in other Federal agencies 
or institutions, which is obviously the prudent thing to do.
  The GAO identified $3.9 billion in excess personal property between 
FY 2016 and FY 2020 and found an additional $28.9 billion in excess 
personal property items that were reported but not obtained by other 
agencies.
  These excess items could be transferred to other Federal agencies and 
departments, distributed to a State or local government, or even sold 
to the public. It shouldn't just be sitting there.
  The Reuse Excess Property Act would increase Federal reporting 
requirements to Congress and the public and provide greater 
transparency of acquisition, monitoring, reuse, and disposal of 
personal property across the whole Federal Government. It directs the 
GSA and Federal agencies to report annually to Congress data that it 
collects related to excess personal property and would also make this 
data publicly available to all of us.
  This greater transparency around Federal use of personal property may 
help agencies make far more efficient use of these items.
  We support this financially prudent and commonsense bipartisan 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, we urge all of our colleagues to support 
this legislation and for all Federal agencies to cooperate and 
aggressively participate in this program.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 2685.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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