I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7566 
To allow the Administrator of the General Services Administration to transfer 
certain surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit com-
puter refurbishers for repair and distribution, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2020 
Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, and Mrs. 
LURIA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To allow the Administrator of the General Services Adminis-
tration to transfer certain surplus computers and tech-
nology equipment to nonprofit computer refurbishers for 
repair and distribution, 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 ‘‘Computers for Vet-
erans and Students Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘COVS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:59 Aug 05, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7566.IH
H7566
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
(1) Access to computers and computer tech-
nology is indispensable for success in the 21st cen-
tury. Millions of Americans do not regularly use a 
computer, and research shows that substantial dis-
parities remain in both internet use and the quality 
of access with the digital divide concentrated among 
older, less educated, less affluent populations, espe-
cially veterans, low-income students, and senior citi-
zens. 
(2) In 1996, the President issued Executive 
Order 12999 instructing the General Services Ad-
ministration (GSA) to allow schools and nonprofits 
the ability to receive Federal surplus computers for 
educational purposes. 
(3) GSA created the Computers for Learning 
Program, which distributes approximately 30,000 
computers and computer-related equipment annually 
to public schools and educational nonprofits for 
reuse. 
(4) In July 2017, the Inspector General for 
GSA issued a report on the lack of controls with the 
CFL website. The report noted multiple cases of 
theft or fraud pertaining to lack of vetting of edu-
cation nonprofits registering on the website. Al-
though GSA indicated that other Federal agencies 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:59 Aug 05, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7566.IH
H7566
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
had responsibility to vet nonprofits for eligibility, 
many agencies were not aware of this requirement. 
(5) Since the IG report was issued, GSA has 
implemented reforms to ensure that agencies are 
aware of their responsibility to determine that edu-
cational 
nonprofits 
are 
certified 
tax-exempt 
501(c)(3) organizations. However, there remains an 
issue with schools obtaining surplus computers that 
are not ready to use. In most cases, the schools do 
not have the resources to pay to refurbish the com-
puters, which results in computers being wasted. 
(6) Any Federal program that distributes re-
tired Federal computers to a public school, an edu-
cational nonprofit organization, or a nonprofit com-
puter refurbisher for repair and distribution, would 
benefit from a partnership with a nonprofit organi-
zation, whose mission includes bridging the digital 
divide. 
SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN SURPLUS COMPUTERS AND 
TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT TO NONPROFIT 
COMPUTER REFURBISHERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The head of each Fed-
eral agency may transfer any surplus computer or 
technology equipment that is not being used by the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:59 Aug 05, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7566.IH
H7566
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS