II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2193

To establish a program for the disposition of donated private sector and

United States Government nonlethal personal property needed by eligible

foreign countries.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 3, 1996

Mr. LUGAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To establish a program for the disposition of donated private

sector and United States Government nonlethal personal

property needed by eligible foreign countries.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Vol5 untary and Material Assistance Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that a program to dispose of

8 United States donated nonlethal personal property to for9 eign countries—
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1 (1) would benefit the conduct of foreign policy

2 when carried out in a manner consistent with the

3 objectives of United States policy, including the ob4 jectives set forth in sections 101 and 102 of the For5 eign Assistance Act of 1961;

6 (2) would fill some of the gap created by re7 duced official United States foreign assistance,

8 thereby serving United States foreign policy objec9 tives and benefiting recipient countries;

10 (3) would provide United States assistance to

11 foreign countries at much lower cost, thereby saving

12 taxpayer money;

13 (4) would involve more people-to-people activity

14 with less bureaucracy and epitomize the virtue of

15 volunteerism; and

16 (5) would benefit the United States private sec17 tor engaged in foreign trade through—

18 (A) public relations;

19 (B) reduced costs for storage of disposable

20 equipment;

21 (C) potential reductions in tax liability re22 lating to disposable equipment; and

23 (D) penetration of new markets.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this Act is to supplement conventional

3 official United States foreign assistance activities through

4 a program for the transfer of private sector and United

5 States Government donated nonlethal personal property to

6 eligible countries for humanitarian or technical assistance

7 purposes consistent with the foreign policy objectives of

8 the United States.

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

10 In this Act, the term ‘‘nonlethal personal property’’

11 means any property that—

12 (1) is not a weapon, ammunition, or other

13 equipment or material designated to inflict serious

14 bodily harm or death; and

15 (2) is any of the following:

16 (A) Nonconsumable capital equipment used

17 in education, manufacturing, or agriculture, or

18 in medical treatment of persons or animals (in19 cluding books, journals, manuals, and software,

20 and computers and other office equipment used

21 in such activities) that is owned by a non-Fed22 eral entity.

23 (B) Consumables (including seeds, re24 agents, hand tools, repair parts, and other de25 vices, but not including raw materials) that are

26 not normally considered capital equipment but
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1 are associated with the use of such equipment

2 owned by a non-Federal entity.

3 (C) Nonconsumable capital equipment and

4 consumables described under subparagraphs

5 (A) and (B), respectively, that—

6 (i) are determined to be surplus prop7 erty under the Federal Property and Ad8 ministrative Services Act of 1949, and

9 (ii) have been screened for donations

10 to State agencies under that Act.

11 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES VOLUNTARY

12 AND MATERIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) To carry out the purpose of

14 this Act, the President may—

15 (A) receive nonlethal personal property donated

16 to the Federal Government by any United States

17 private sector organization and retransfer such prop18 erty to eligible foreign countries;

19 (B) assist private organizations and voluntary

20 organizations in the United States in transferring

21 nonlethal personal property donated to such organi22 zations to eligible foreign countries by transporting

23 property donated to such organizations to such

24 countries; and
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1 (C) transfer to eligible foreign countries any

2 nonlethal personal property that is determined to be

3 surplus property under the Federal Property and

4 Administrative Services Act of 1949 and is made

5 available to the President under this Act.

6 (2) The exercise of authority under this section shall

7 be known as the United States Voluntary and Material

8 Assistance Program (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Pro9 gram’’).

10 (b) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The President shall

11 ensure that the donated nonlethal personal property made

12 available for the purposes of this Act (including property

13 donated to private organizations and voluntary organiza14 tions) is transferred to foreign countries under the Pro15 gram only if such transfer is consistent with—

16 (1) the local needs of such countries, as deter17 mined by members of the United States official mis18 sions, Peace Corps volunteers, and appropriate mem19 bers of private organizations and voluntary organiza20 tions active in such countries;

21 (2) the willingness and ability of eligible coun22 tries and end users to utilize properly the donated

23 nonlethal personal property; and

24 (3) United States foreign policy objectives.
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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—(1) A foreign country is eligible to

2 receive nonlethal personal property donated under the

3 Program if it—

4 (A) is not otherwise ineligible under paragraph

5 (2);

6 (B) has a legitimate need for and has formally

7 requested the property under the Program;

8 (C) has the capability to receive, operate, and

9 maintain the property;

10 (D) agrees to use the property for purposes set

11 forth in paragraph (3); and

12 (E) permits donated nonlethal personal prop13 erty to be imported without duty.

14 (2) The following foreign countries may not receive

15 property under the Program:

16 (A) Foreign countries ineligible to receive as17 sistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

18 (B) Foreign countries ineligible to receive as19 sistance under the Arms Export Control Act.

20 (C) Foreign countries covered by a determina21 tion under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Adminis22 tration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A)).

23 (3) A foreign country that receives donated nonlethal

24 personal property under the Program shall agree—
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1 (A) to use such property only in schools, hos2 pitals, or refugee programs, for agricultural pur3 poses, for starting and sustaining small businesses,

4 for responding to civil and natural disasters, for pre5 venting and alleviating severe public health and envi6 ronmental hazards, or for purposes related to such

7 uses; and

8 (B) not to resell the property for profit.

9 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.

10 (a) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Presi11 dent may enter into agreements with eligible countries to

12 facilitate the carrying out of the Program.

13 (2) Agreements with eligible countries may provide

14 for the distribution of property transferred to such coun15 tries under the Program by private organizations and vol16 untary organizations active in such countries and by non17 governmental organizations in or active in such countries.

18 (b) PROGRAM COORDINATION.—(1) There shall be

19 within the Department of State a Coordinator of the Unit20 ed States Voluntary and Material Assistance Program (in

21 this section referred to as the ‘‘Coordinator’’), who shall

22 be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and

23 consent of the Senate.

24 (2) The President shall delegate the exercise of his

25 authorities under the Program to the Coordinator.
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1 (3) Upon the delegation of authority under paragraph

2 (2), the Coordinator shall be responsible for the adminis3 tration of the Program, including—

4 (A) the receipt, classification, repair, mainte5 nance, storage, and shipment of nonlethal personal

6 property donated to the Federal Government or

7 transferred to the President under the Program; and

8 (B) the receipt, storage, and shipment of non9 lethal personal property donated to private organiza10 tions or voluntary organizations in the United States

11 under the Program.

12 (4) Where possible, the Secretary of Defense shall

13 identify and make available to the Coordinator facilities

14 at United States military installations, including defense

15 depots undergoing realignment, to serve as collection

16 points for nonlethal personal property donated to the Fed17 eral Government, transferred to the President, or donated

18 to private organizations or voluntary organizations under

19 the Program

20 (5) The Coordinator shall work with the Secretary

21 of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Agency for Inter22 national Development, the Director of the United States

23 Information Agency, and other United States Government

24 agencies, or their successor organizations, that manage

25 programs of voluntary and material assistance in order to
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1 rationalize and achieve the maximum effectiveness of the

2 Program.

3 (6) Property may be shipped to an end user only after

4 certification of the property under the Program. Such cer5 tification shall be made in accordance with the provisions

6 of subsections (c), (d), and (e).

7 (c) LIST OF EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE FOR TRANS8 FER.—(1) The President shall establish and maintain a

9 list of items approved for transfer to foreign countries

10 under the Program.

11 (2) An item may be added to or subtracted from the

12 list as a result of a recommendation from individuals lo13 cated in eligible foreign countries (including members of

14 United States missions, Peace Corps volunteers, or mem15 bers of appropriate private organizations or voluntary or16 ganizations) or by requests from appropriate officials of

17 the governments of such countries.

18 (3) The list may not include any item designed spe19 cifically for any military, religious, or political use.

20 (4) Used shoes may not be included on the list except

21 for such protective shoes to be used with donated equip22 ment. New shoes and new or used clothing may be in23 cluded on the list if quality control standards under sub24 section (d) are met with respect to such shoes and cloth25 ing.
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1 (d) QUALITY CONTROL.—Donated nonlethal personal

2 property may not be accepted for transfer under the Pro3 gram unless such property is certified as acceptable for

4 its intended use by appropriate individuals of the private

5 sector donating such property, the department or agency

6 of the Federal Government transferring such property to

7 the President, private organizations or voluntary organiza8 tions accepting such property, or the Coordinator.

9 (e) CAPACITY TO UTILIZE.—To ensure that donated

10 nonlethal personal property is properly utilized and main11 tained by the end user, the President shall consider the

12 technical competence of the end user before transferring

13 the donated property, shall establish a clear policy con14 cerning training materials, repair parts, wiring diagrams,

15 and operating supplies to accompany the donated prop16 erty, and shall establish policy for related user require17 ments.

18 (f) PERSONNEL.—(1) The President may employ or

19 contract with such personnel or organizations as may be

20 necessary to manage and operate the Program, including

21 collection points in the United States for property donated

22 or transferred to the President, or property donated to

23 private organizations or voluntary organizations, under

24 the Program.
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1 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

2 President may accept the services of private organizations

3 and voluntary organizations, including experienced logisti4 cians, to assist and collaborate in all phases of the Pro5 gram.

6 (g) CROSS REFERENCE.—For rules regarding chari7 table contributions of property, see section 170 of the In8 ternal Revenue Code of 1986.

9 SEC. 7. MONITORING OF PROGRAM.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ensure that

11 donated nonlethal personal property transferred to foreign

12 countries under the Program is maintained and utilized

13 for the purposes intended at the time of the transfer. The

14 President shall submit to Congress on a periodic basis a

15 report on the actions taken by the President under the

16 preceding sentence, including the extent to which foreign

17 countries are utilizing and maintaining equipment for such

18 purposes.

19 (b) AMENDMENT OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT.—

20 Section 634(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

21 U.S.C. 2394(a)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

23 (11);

24 (2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para25 graph (13); and
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (11) the fol2 lowing new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(12) the aggregate dollar value, and the im4 pact on the United States foreign assistance pro5 gram, of the transfer of donated nonlethal personal

6 property during the preceding fiscal year under the

7 United States Voluntary and Material Assistance

8 Act of 1996, and, separately, under any other Act

9 authorizing the transfer of such property; and’’.

10 SEC. 8. PILOT PROJECTS.

11 It is the sense of the Congress that, before carrying

12 out any other activities under the Program, the President

13 should first conduct a pilot project in eligible countries in

14 sub-Saharan Africa in order to demonstrate the feasibility

15 of transferring donated nonlethal personal property under

16 the Program.

17 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

19 purpose of establishing the Program, there are authorized

20 to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1997 and

21 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

22 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated

23 pursuant to subsection (a) are authorized to remain avail24 able until expended.

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