I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3345 
To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic equipment, 
including computers, computer components, printers, and fax machines, 
to educational recipients. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2011 
Mr. BUTTERFIELD (for himself and Mr. MCHENRY) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform 
A BILL 
To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal elec-
tronic equipment, including computers, computer compo-
nents, printers, and fax machines, to educational recipi-
ents. 
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 ‘‘Federal Electronic 
Equipment Donation Act of 2011’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER USEFUL FEDERAL 
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT TO EDUCATIONAL 
RECIPIENTS. 
(a) TRANSFER
OF EQUIPMENT
TO EDUCATIONAL 
ENTITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency shall 
identify useful Federal electronic equipment that the 
agency has determined is excess to its needs and— 
(A) report such equipment to the Adminis-
trator of General Services for processing for 
transfer to an educational recipient in accord-
ance with section 549 of title 40, United States 
Code; 
(B) transfer such equipment directly to an 
educational recipient, through an arrangement 
made by the Administrator of General Services 
under subsection (b); or 
(C) report such equipment to the Adminis-
trator of General Services as excess property if 
transfer under subparagraph (A) or (B) is not 
practicable. 
(2) 
MANAGEMENT
OF
NONTRANSFERABLE 
EQUIPMENT.—For equipment reported under para-
graph (1)(C), the Administrator of General Services 
shall manage the equipment in accordance with sub-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
chapters II and III of chapter 5 of title 40, United 
States Code. 
(3) EXCEPTION.—Equipment transferred pur-
suant to section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech-
nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) 
is neither transferred pursuant to this Act nor sub-
ject to this Act’s requirements. 
(b) ADVANCE
REPORTING
OF
EQUIPMENT
TO 
GSA.—Each Federal agency shall report to the Adminis-
trator of General Services the availability of useful Federal 
electronic equipment as far as possible in advance of the 
date the equipment is expected to become excess to its 
needs, so that the Administrator may attempt to arrange 
for the direct transfer from the donating agency to edu-
cational recipients. 
(c) USE OF NONPROFIT REFURBISHERS.—In trans-
ferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, at the request 
of the educational recipient and if appropriate, if the 
equipment is not classroom-usable, the transferring agen-
cy shall convey the equipment initially to a nonprofit re-
furbisher for upgrade before transfer to the educational 
recipient. 
(d) REMOVAL
OF DATA BEFORE TRANSFER.—In 
transferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, the 
transferring agency shall remove data from the equipment 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
prior to transfer to the educational recipient according to 
accepted sanitization procedures. To the maximum extent 
practicable, the transferring agency shall remove data 
using a means that does not remove, disable, destroy, or 
otherwise render unusable the equipment or components. 
(e) PREFERENCE.—In transferring any equipment 
pursuant to this Act, the transferring agency shall give 
the highest preference to educational recipients located in 
an enterprise community or empowerment zone designated 
under section 1391 or 1400 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, a qualifying small town, or a qualifying county. 
(f) LOW COST.—Any transfer made pursuant to this 
Act shall be made at the lowest cost to the educational 
recipient permitted by law. 
(g) TITLE.—Title of ownership of equipment trans-
ferred pursuant to this Act shall transfer to the edu-
cational recipient receiving the equipment. 
(h) NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF EQUIPMENT.—The 
Administrator of General Services shall provide notice of 
the anticipated availability of useful Federal electronic 
equipment to educational recipients by all practicable 
means, including newspapers, community announcements, 
and the Internet. 
(i) FACILITATION BY REGIONAL FEDERAL EXECU-
TIVE BOARDS.—The regional Federal Executive Boards 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(as that term is used in part 960 of title 5, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations) shall help facilitate the transfer of useful 
Federal electronic equipment from the agencies they rep-
resent to educational recipients under this Act. 
SEC. 3. RULEMAKING. 
The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe 
rules and procedures to carry out this Act. 
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
This Act supersedes Executive Order No. 12999 of 
April 17, 1996. 
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
This Act may not be construed to create any right 
or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law 
by a party against the United States or its agencies, offi-
cers, or employees. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘Federal agency’’ means an Exec-
utive department or an Executive agency (as such 
terms are defined in chapter 1 of title 5, United 
States Code). 
(2) The term ‘‘educational recipient’’ means a 
school or a community-based educational organiza-
tion. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(3) The term ‘‘school’’ includes a prekinder-
garten program (as that term is used in the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), an ele-
mentary school, a secondary school, and a local edu-
cational agency (as those terms are defined in sec-
tion 9101 of that Act). 
(4) The term ‘‘community based educational or-
ganization’’ means a nonprofit entity that qualifies 
as a nonprofit educational institution or organization 
for purposes of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 and— 
(A) is engaged in collaborative projects, 
the primary focus of which is education, with 
schools, qualifying small towns, qualifying coun-
ties, or libraries; or 
(B) provides use of computers and Internet 
access to members of the community at no 
charge. 
(5) The term ‘‘qualifying small town’’ means a 
political subdivision with a population of not more 
than 24,999 individuals where 20 percent or more of 
the residents earn less than the poverty threshold 
(as defined by the Bureau of the Census). 
(6) The term ‘‘qualifying county’’ means a 
county where 20 percent or more of the residents 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
earn less than the poverty threshold (as defined by 
the Bureau of the Census). 
(7) The term ‘‘useful Federal electronic equip-
ment’’— 
(A) means— 
(i) computers and related peripheral 
tools (such as computer printers, modems, 
routers, 
and 
servers), 
including 
tele-
communications and research equipment; 
(ii) fax machines; and 
(iii) any other electronic equipment 
determined by a Federal agency to be po-
tentially useful to an educational recipient; 
and 
(B) includes computer software, where the 
transfer of a license is permitted. 
(8) The term ‘‘classroom-usable’’, with respect 
to useful Federal electronic equipment, means such 
equipment that does not require an upgrade of hard-
ware or software in order to be used by an edu-
cational recipient without being first transferred 
under section 2(c) to a nonprofit refurbisher for 
such an upgrade. 
(9) The term ‘‘nonprofit refurbisher’’ means an 
organization that— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(A) is exempt from income taxes under 
section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986; and 
(B) upgrades useful Federal electronic 
equipment that is not yet classroom-usable at 
no cost or low cost to the ultimate educational 
recipient. 
SEC. 7. PREFERENCE IN DONATION OF PERSONAL PROP-
ERTY THROUGH STATE AGENCIES. 
Section 549(e)(3)(B) of title 40, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The state plan’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The state plan’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(ii) PREFERENCE.—The state plan 
of operation shall require the state agency 
to give the highest preference for electronic 
equipment to eligible institutions (as de-
scribed in subsection (c)(3)) that are lo-
cated in an enterprise community or em-
powerment zone designated under section 
1391 or 1400 of the Internal Revenue 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Code of 1986, a political subdivision with 
a population of not more than 24,999 indi-
viduals where 20 percent or more of the 
residents earn less than the poverty thresh-
old (as defined by the Bureau of the Cen-
sus), or a county where 20 percent or more 
of the residents earn less than poverty 
threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the 
Census).’’. 
SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator of General Services shall submit to Congress a re-
port. 
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall con-
tain the following: 
(1) An inventory of items that Federal agencies 
identified as useful Federal electronic equipment 
that the agency has determined is excess to its needs 
in the first 365 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(2) The number of such items that were— 
(A) transferred to educational recipients 
pursuant to this Act; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:57 Nov 08, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3345.IH
H3345
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS