and research shows that substantial disparities re-
main in both internet use and the quality of access, 
with the digital divide concentrated among older, less 
educated, less affluent populations, especially vet-
erans, 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 dig-
ital divide. 
(3) Any Federal program that distributes sur-
plus, 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 sec-
tion 549 the following: 
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‘‘§ 549a. Donation of personal property through non-
profit 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 com-
puter or technology equipment under section 549, the Ad-
ministrator shall, as appropriate, transfer full title to such 
surplus computer or technology equipment that is deter-
mined to be eligible under subsection (b)(1) to nonprofit 
computer refurbishers for repair, distribution, and subse-
quent transfer of full title of the equipment to eligible recipi-
ents under this section. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY, PARTICIPATION, AND DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—Surplus computer or tech-
nology 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 Sani-
tization issued by the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST Special Publi-
cation 800–88), or any successor thereto. 
‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION.—The Administrator may 
establish partnerships with nongovernmental entities, 
at no cost and through cooperative agreements, to fa-
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cilitate the identification and participation of non-
profit 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 com-
puter or technology equipment to eligible recipi-
ents 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 Admin-
istrator under subsection (d); 
‘‘(C) offer training programs on the use of 
the repaired computers and technology equip-
ment 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 sec-
tion cannot be repaired or reused. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
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‘‘(1) 
REFURBISHER
REPORTS.—A 
nonprofit 
computer refurbisher that receives surplus computer 
or technology equipment under this section shall pro-
vide the Administrator with any information the Ad-
ministrator determines to be necessary for required 
reporting— 
‘‘(A) including information about the dis-
tribution 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, sen-
ior in need, or veteran for the purposes of eligi-
bility 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 pe-
riod covered by the report— 
‘‘(A) a description of the efforts of the Ad-
ministrator under this section; 
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‘‘(B) a list of nongovernmental entities with 
which the Administrator had a partnership de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2); 
‘‘(C) a list of nonprofit computer refur-
bishers that received, made repairs to, and dis-
tributed surplus computer and technology equip-
ment, including disclosure of any foreign owner-
ship interest in a nonprofit computer refur-
bisher; and 
‘‘(D) a list of donated and subsequently re-
paired surplus computer or technology equip-
ment identifying— 
‘‘(i) the Federal agency that donated 
the surplus computer or technology equip-
ment; 
‘‘(ii) the State and county (or similar 
unit of local government) where the recipi-
ent is located; and 
‘‘(iii) whether the recipient is an edu-
cational institution, individual with dis-
abilities, 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 annu-
ally thereafter, the head of each Federal agency shall 
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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 imple-
ment this section, including— 
‘‘(1) allowing nonprofit computer refurbishers to 
assess nominal fees (which shall not exceed fair mar-
ket value) on recipients of refurbished surplus com-
puter or technology equipment to facilitate shipping 
and handling of the surplus computer or technology 
equipment; 
‘‘(2) determining, in coordination with other rel-
evant Federal agencies, eligibility and certification 
requirements for nongovernmental entities and non-
profit computer refurbishers to participate in the pro-
gram established under this section, including whether 
the participation of a nongovernmental entity or non-
profit computer refurbisher poses any actual or poten-
tial harm to the national security interests of the 
United States; 
‘‘(3) establishing an efficient process for identi-
fying eligible recipients; and 
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‘‘(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 sec-
tion may be construed to supersede the requirements of the 
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Pub-
lic Law 96–480; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
term 
‘Adminis-
trator’ 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 Ameri-
cans 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 cen-
ter, preschool, elementary school, secondary 
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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 in-
stitution of higher education composed of more 
than 1 school, college, or department that is ad-
ministratively 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, indi-
vidual with a disability, low-income individual, stu-
dent, 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 Edu-
cation 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). 
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‘‘(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 tech-
nology 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. 
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‘‘(11) 
REPAIRABLE.—The 
term 
‘repairable’ 
means property that is unusable in its current state 
but can be economically repaired. 
‘‘(12) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec-
ondary school’ has the meaning given that term in 
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
‘‘(13) SENIOR.—The term ‘senior’ means an in-
dividual 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
PROP-
ERTY.—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 tech-
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nology 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 re-
lated to a computer or information technology, in-
cluding any peripheral component, tablet, commu-
nication 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 fol-
lowing: 
‘‘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 pas-
sage. 
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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.’’. 
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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 tech-
nology equipment to nonprofit computer refur-
bishers for repair, distribution, and return, and 
for other purposes. 
DECEMBER 5, 2022 
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 
title 
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