[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3544 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 582
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3544
[Report No. 117-224]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 13, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
December 5, 2022
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment and an amendment to the title
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Administrator of General Services to transfer certain
surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer
refurbishers for repair, distribution, and return, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Computers for Veterans and
Students Act of 2022'' or the ``COVS Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Access to computers and computer technology is
indispensable for success in the 21st century. Millions of
Americans do not regularly use a computer and research shows
that substantial disparities remain in both internet use and
the quality of access with the digital divide concentrated
among older, less educated, less affluent populations,
especially veterans, low-income students, and senior
citizens.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gap
between those with computer access and those without. Millions
of students, their families, and workers from across the
economy were unable to do schoolwork, work remotely from home,
or connect to loved ones and their communities because of the
digital divide.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Any Federal program that distributes surplus
Federal computers to a public school, an educational nonprofit,
or a nonprofit computer refurbisher for repair and distribution
would benefit from a partnership with a nonprofit organization,
whose mission is bridging the digital divide.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. REFURBISHMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS COMPUTERS
AND TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) GSA Transfer.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after
State agencies for surplus property have been given an
opportunity to review surplus computer or technology equipment
that has been determined to be repairable, the Administrator
shall transfer to participating nonprofit computer refurbishers
such equipment with full title to such equipment, for repair
and distribution in accordance with subsection
(c)(1).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Information on equipment refurbished.--A
nonprofit computer refurbisher that receives surplus computer
or technology equipment under this subsection shall provide the
Administrator with any information the Administrator determines
to be necessary for required reporting, including information
about the distribution of such equipment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Partnership.--The Administrator may establish a
partnership with non-governmental entities, at no cost, to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) facilitate the identification of nonprofit
computer refurbishers and the distribution of surplus computer
or technology equipment under this section; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) facilitate the participation of nonprofit
computer refurbishers under this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Repair and Distribution.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Distribution to bridge the digital divide.--A
nonprofit computer refurbisher that receives equipment under
subsection (a) shall repair and distribute such equipment to an
educational institution, a veteran, an individual with a
disability, a low-income individual, a student, or a senior in
need that is residing or based in the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Training programs.--Any nonprofit computer
refurbisher that receives any equipment under subsection (a)
shall offer training programs on the use of computers and
technology equipment for any of the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) Educational institutions.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Veterans.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Individuals with
disabilities.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) Low-income individuals.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) Students.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) Seniors.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Reports Required.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter for the
next 4 years, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on
the efforts of the Administrator under this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Agency Reports.--Not later than 5 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the head of each
Federal agency shall make a report available to the public on the
number of repairable computers that were sent to recycling, abandoned,
or destroyed.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to supersede the requirements of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-480; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et
seq.).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (g) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator''
means the Administrator of General Services.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Digital divide.--The term ``digital divide''
means the gap between those who have an internet-connected
computer and the skills to use the computer and those who do
not.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Educational institution.--The term
``educational institution'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) any public or private child care
center, preschool, elementary school, secondary school,
accredited institution of vocational or professional
education, or institution of higher
education;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in the case of an accredited
institution of vocational or professional education or
an institution of higher education composed of more
than one school, college, or department that is
administratively a separate unit, each such school,
college, or department; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) a home school (whether treated as a
home school or a private school for purposes of
applicable State law).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency''
has the meaning given the term ``federal agency'' in section
102 of title 40, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Disability.--The term ``disability'' has the
meaning given that term in section 3 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) Low-income individuals.--The term ``low income
individual'' has the meaning given such term in section 351 of
the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C.
689).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) Nonprofit computer refurbisher.--The term
``nonprofit computer refurbisher'' means a nonprofit
organization that primarily works to improve access to
information and communication technology in their mission to
bridge the digital divide.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization that is described under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such
Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) Repairable.--The term ``repairable'' means
property that is unusable in its current state but can be
economically repaired.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary
school'' has the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (12) Senior.--The term ``senior'' means an
individual who is 65 years of age or older.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (13) Senior in need.--The term ``senior in need''
means a senior who experiences cultural, social, or
geographical isolation that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) restricts the ability of the senior to
perform normal daily tasks; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) threatens the capacity of the senior
to live independently.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (14) State agency for surplus property.--The term
``State agency for surplus property'' has the meaning given the
term ``state agency'' under section 549 of title 40, United
States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (15) Student.--The term ``student'' means any
individual enrolled in an educational institution, but not a
public or private child care center.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (16) Surplus computer or technology equipment.--
The term ``surplus computer or technology equipment'' means
computer or technology equipment that is property described
under section 549(b)(2) of title 40, United States
Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (17) Technology equipment.--The term ``technology
equipment'' means any physical asset related to a computer or
information technology, including any peripheral component,
tablet, communication device (such as a router, server, or cell
phone), printer, scanner, uninterruptible power source, cable,
or connection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (18) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the
meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38, United
States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (h) Regulations.--The Administrator may issue regulations
that are necessary and appropriate to implement this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be
determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary
Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in
the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee,
provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on
passage.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Computers for Veterans and Students
Act of 2022'' or the ``COVS Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Access to computers and computer technology is
indispensable for success in the 21st century. Millions of
Americans do not regularly use a computer and research shows
that substantial disparities remain in both internet use and
the quality of access, with the digital divide concentrated
among older, less educated, less affluent populations,
especially veterans, low-income students, and senior citizens.
(2) The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gap between
those with computer access and those without. Millions of
students, their families, and workers from across the economy
were unable to do schoolwork, work remotely from home, or
connect to loved ones and their communities because of the
digital divide.
(3) Any Federal program that distributes surplus,
repairable Federal computers or technology equipment would
benefit from a partnership with a nonprofit organization whose
mission is bridging the digital divide.
SEC. 3. REFURBISHMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS COMPUTERS AND
TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT.
(a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 40, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 549 the following:
``Sec. 549a. Donation of personal property through nonprofit
refurbishers
``(a) Authorization.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which the Administrator provides State agencies for surplus property an
opportunity to review surplus computer or technology equipment under
section 549, the Administrator shall, as appropriate, transfer full
title to such surplus computer or technology equipment that is
determined to be eligible under subsection (b)(1) to nonprofit computer
refurbishers for repair, distribution, and subsequent transfer of full
title of the equipment to eligible recipients under this section.
``(b) Eligibility, Participation, and Duties.--
``(1) Eligibility.--Surplus computer or technology
equipment is eligible for transfer under this section if a
Federal agency determines that--
``(A) the surplus computer or technology equipment
is repairable; and
``(B) the surplus computer or technology equipment
meets the Guidelines for Media Sanitization issued by
the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST Special Publication 800-88), or any successor
thereto.
``(2) Participation.--The Administrator may establish
partnerships with nongovernmental entities, at no cost and
through cooperative agreements, to facilitate the
identification and participation of nonprofit computer
refurbishers under this section.
``(3) Duties of refurbishers.--A nonprofit computer
refurbisher that receives surplus computer or technology
equipment under this section shall--
``(A) make necessary repairs to restore the surplus
computer or technology equipment to working order;
``(B) distribute the repaired surplus computer or
technology equipment to eligible recipients at no cost,
except to the extent--
``(i) necessary to facilitate shipping and
handling of such equipment; and
``(ii) that such cost is consistent with
any regulations promulgated by the
Administrator under subsection (d);
``(C) offer training programs on the use of the
repaired computers and technology equipment for the
recipients of the equipment; and
``(D) use recyclers to the maximum extent
practicable in the event that surplus computer or
technology equipment transferred under this section
cannot be repaired or reused.
``(c) Reporting Requirements.--
``(1) Refurbisher reports.--A nonprofit computer
refurbisher that receives surplus computer or technology
equipment under this section shall provide the Administrator
with any information the Administrator determines to be
necessary for required reporting--
``(A) including information about the distribution
of such equipment; and
``(B) which shall not include any personal
identifying information about the recipient of such
equipment apart from whether a recipient is an
educational institution, individual with disabilities,
low-income individual, student, senior in need, or
veteran for the purposes of eligibility under this
section.
``(2) Administrator reports.--Annually and consistent with
reporting requirements for transfers of Federal personal
property to non-Federal entities, the Administrator shall
submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that
includes, for the period covered by the report--
``(A) a description of the efforts of the
Administrator under this section;
``(B) a list of nongovernmental entities with which
the Administrator had a partnership described in
subsection (b)(2);
``(C) a list of nonprofit computer refurbishers
that received, made repairs to, and distributed surplus
computer and technology equipment, including disclosure
of any foreign ownership interest in a nonprofit
computer refurbisher; and
``(D) a list of donated and subsequently repaired
surplus computer or technology equipment identifying--
``(i) the Federal agency that donated the
surplus computer or technology equipment;
``(ii) the State and county (or similar
unit of local government) where the recipient
is located; and
``(iii) whether the recipient is an
educational institution, individual with
disabilities, low-income individual, student,
senior in need, or veteran.
``(3) Agency reports.--Not later than 5 years after the
date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
head of each Federal agency shall make publicly available a
report on the number of pieces of repairable surplus computer
or technology equipment that were sent to recycling, abandoned,
or destroyed.
``(d) Regulations.--The Administrator shall issue regulations that
are necessary and appropriate to implement this section, including--
``(1) allowing nonprofit computer refurbishers to assess
nominal fees (which shall not exceed fair market value) on
recipients of refurbished surplus computer or technology
equipment to facilitate shipping and handling of the surplus
computer or technology equipment;
``(2) determining, in coordination with other relevant
Federal agencies, eligibility and certification requirements
for nongovernmental entities and nonprofit computer
refurbishers to participate in the program established under
this section, including whether the participation of a
nongovernmental entity or nonprofit computer refurbisher poses
any actual or potential harm to the national security interests
of the United States;
``(3) establishing an efficient process for identifying
eligible recipients; and
``(4) determining appropriate recyclers to dispose of
surplus computer or technology equipment if it cannot be
repaired or refurbished under this section.
``(e) Judicial Review.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
to create any substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable by
law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers,
or its employees.
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to supersede the requirements of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-480; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et
seq.).
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the
Administrator of General Services.
``(2) Digital divide.--The term `digital divide' means the
gap between those who have an internet-connected computer and
the skills to use the computer and those who do not.
``(3) Disability.--The term `disability' has the meaning
given that term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
``(4) Educational institution.--The term `educational
institution' means--
``(A) any public or private child care center,
preschool, elementary school, secondary school,
accredited institution of vocational or professional
education, or institution of higher education;
``(B) in the case of an accredited institution of
vocational or professional education or an institution
of higher education composed of more than 1 school,
college, or department that is administratively a
separate unit, each such school, college, or
department; and
``(C) a home school (whether treated as a home
school or private school for the purposes of applicable
State law).
``(5) Eligible recipient.--The term `eligible recipient'
means an educational institution, individual with a disability,
low-income individual, student, senior in need, or veteran that
is residing or based in the United States.
``(6) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given that
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
``(7) Low-income individual.--The term `low-income
individual' has the meaning given that term in section 351 of
the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689).
``(8) Nongovernmental entity.--The term `nongovernmental
entity' means an organization or group of organizations that--
``(A) are not part of a Federal, State, local,
Tribal, or territorial government; and
``(B) are nonprofit computer refurbishers or other
industry participants that--
``(i) primarily work to improve access to
information and communication technology in
their mission to bridge the digital divide
through coordination and oversight of computer
refurbishment and repair; and
``(ii) operate in the United States.
``(9) Nonprofit computer refurbisher.--The term `nonprofit
computer refurbisher' means a nonprofit organization that--
``(A) primarily works to improve access to
information and communication technology in their
mission to bridge the digital divide; and
``(B) operates in the United States.
``(10) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit
organization' means an organization that is described under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
``(11) Repairable.--The term `repairable' means property
that is unusable in its current state but can be economically
repaired.
``(12) Secondary school.--The term `secondary school' has
the meaning given that term in section 8101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(13) Senior.--The term `senior' means an individual who
is 65 years of age or older.
``(14) Senior in need.--The term `senior in need' means a
senior who experiences cultural, social, or geographical
isolation that--
``(A) restricts the ability of the senior to
perform normal daily tasks; or
``(B) threatens the capacity of the senior to live
independently.
``(15) State agency for surplus property.--The term `State
agency for surplus property' has the meaning given the term
`state agency' under section 549(a).
``(16) Student.--The term `student' means any individual
enrolled in an educational institution, but not a public or
private child care center.
``(17) Surplus computer or technology equipment.--The term
`surplus computer or technology equipment' means computer or
technology equipment that is property described under section
549(b)(2).
``(18) Technology equipment.--The term `technology
equipment' means any physical asset related to a computer or
information technology, including any peripheral component,
tablet, communication device (such as a router, server, or cell
phone), printer, scanner, uninterruptible power source, cable,
or connection.
``(19) Veteran.--The term `veteran' has the meaning given
that term in section 101 of title 38.''.
(b) 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 549 the following:
``549a. Donation of personal property through nonprofit
refurbishers.''.
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to authorize the
Administrator of General Services to transfer certain surplus
computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer
refurbishers for repair and distribution, and for other
purposes.''.
Calendar No. 582
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3544
[Report No. 117-224]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Administrator of General Services to transfer certain
surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer
refurbishers for repair, distribution, and return, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 5, 2022
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the title