I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 738
To provide that certain Federal property shall be made available to State
and local governments before being made available to other entities,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 11, 1999
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the
Committees on Armed Services, and International Relations, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To provide that certain Federal property shall be made avail-
able to State and local governments before being made
available to other entities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taxpayer Oversight
of Surplus Property Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) The provisions in Public Law 94–519 estab-
lished a system to ensure the fair and equitable allo-
cation of Federal surplus personal property to eligi-
ble recipients, including law enforcement agencies,
school systems, medical institutions, libraries, home-
less assistance providers, and units of local govern-
ment;
(2) the benefits of the Federal personal prop-
erty utilization and donation program are measured
in terms of United States dollars which are not
spent by the donees on new and expensive property;
(3) Members of Congress and State and local
officials have an obligation to oversee the fair and
equitable distribution of Government property, there-
by ensuring accountability to the taxpayers of the
United States;
(4) the owners of surplus Federal property are
the people of the United States, and the Federal
Government is merely its public custodian;
(5) the efforts of the State agencies in distrib-
uting surplus property have enabled thousands of
United States taxpayers to acquire items such as of-
fice equipment, clothing, furniture, motor vehicles,
forklifts, aircraft, boats, and generators which have
been declared surplus to the needs of the Federal
Government;
(6) the effectiveness of the current system for
donation of surplus Federal personal property has
been undermined by programs that mandate that
property be made available on a priority basis to for-
eign entities before the safety, health, education, and
training needs of taxpayers of the United States are
met; and
(7) new legislation is needed to move the prior-
ity of property transfers through foreign assistance
programs to a level below that of domestic use trans-
fers of excess personal property to Federal agencies.
SEC. 3. PRIORITY TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
FOR THE TRANSFER OF NONLETHAL EXCESS
SUPPLIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE.
Section 2547 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The Sec-
retary of Defense’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary of De-
fense’’;
(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(d) Nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of
Defense shall be made available to a State, a local govern-
ment of a State, a territory, or a possession, upon the re-
quest of the State, local government, territory, or posses-
sion pursuant to authority provided in another provision
of law before such supplies are made available for humani-
tarian relief purposes under this section. The President
may make such supplies available for humanitarian pur-
poses before such supplies are made available to a State,
local government, territory, or possession under this sub-
section in order to respond to an emergency precipitated
by a natural disaster.’’.
SEC. 4. TRANSFERS OF PROPERTY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Section 607 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2357(d)) is amended—
(1) in subsection (d)—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2),
and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re-
spectively;
((B) by striking ‘‘(d) The’’ and inserting
‘‘(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3),
the’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) No property may be transferred under para-
graph (1) unless the Administrator of General Services de-
termines that there is no Federal or State use requirement
for the property under any other provision of law.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the transfer
of confiscated property to foreign countries.’’.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON DISPOSAL AND DONATION OF SURPLUS
PERSONAL PROPERTY.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall
review all statutes relating to the disposal and donation
of surplus personal property and submit to Congress a re-
port on such statutes including—
(1) the effectiveness of programs administered
under such statutes (except for any program that
grants access to personal property by local commu-
nities impacted by the closure of a military base),
and the amount and type of property administered
under each such program during the 2 most recent
fiscal years; and
(2) legislative recommendations to integrate
and consolidate all such programs to be adminis-
tered by a single Federal authority working with