Title: Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019
This bill directs federal agencies to transfer excess federal electronic equipment, including computers and related peripheral tools, to educational recipients.
Each agency shall identify useful electronic equipment determined to be excess to the needs of the agency (excluding research equipment) and
Each agency shall report to the GSA the availability of useful federal electronic equipment as far as possible in advance. If the equipment is not classroom-usable, the transferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a nonprofit refurbisher for upgrade before transfer.
The transferring agency shall (1) remove data using a means that does not render the equipment or components unusable, and (2) give the highest preference to educational recipients located in a persistent poverty county or other specified areas.
A state's plan for distributing donated federal equipment must give the highest preference for electronic equipment to institutions that are located in an enterprise community, an empowerment zone, or specified high poverty areas.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5495 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5495

   To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic 
equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax 
      machines, to educational recipients, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2019

Mr. Butterfield (for himself and Mr. Meadows) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic 
equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax 
      machines, to educational recipients, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 2019''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER USEFUL FEDERAL ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT TO 
              EDUCATIONAL RECIPIENTS.

    (a) Transfer of Equipment to Educational Entities.--
            (1) In general.--The head of each Federal agency shall 
        identify useful Federal electronic equipment that the head has 
        determined is excess to the needs of the Federal agency and--
                    (A) report such equipment to the Administrator of 
                General Services for processing for transfer to an 
                educational recipient in accordance 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 Administrator 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 paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator of General 
        Services shall manage the equipment in accordance with 
        subchapters II and III of chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, 
        United States Code.
            (3) Exception.--Equipment transferred under section 11(i) 
        of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
        U.S.C. 3710(i)) is neither transferred pursuant to this Act nor 
        subject to the requirements of this Act.
    (b) Advance Reporting of Equipment to GSA.--The head of each 
Federal agency shall report to the Administrator 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 the needs of the Federal agency, so that the Administrator 
may attempt to arrange for the direct transfer from the donating agency 
to educational recipients.
    (c) Use of Nonprofit Refurbishers.--In transferring any equipment 
pursuant to this Act, at the request of the educational recipient and 
if appropriate, if the equipment is not classroom-usable, the head of 
the transferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a 
nonprofit refurbisher for upgrade before transfer to the educational 
recipient.
    (d) Removal of Data Before Transfer.--In transferring any equipment 
pursuant to this Act, the head of the transferring agency shall remove 
data from the equipment prior to transfer to the educational recipient 
according to accepted sanitization procedures. To the maximum extent 
practicable, the head of 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 head of the transferring agency shall give the highest 
preference to educational recipients located in a persistent poverty 
county, a qualified opportunity zone, an enterprise community, 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 transferred pursuant to 
this Act shall transfer to the educational 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 Executive Boards.--The 
regional Federal Executive Boards (as that term is used in part 960 of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations) shall help facilitate the 
transfer of useful Federal electronic equipment from the agencies they 
represent to educational recipients under this Act.

SEC. 3. PREFERENCE IN DONATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY 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 
                        described in subsection (c)(3)) that are 
                        located in an enterprise community or 
                        empowerment zone designated under section 1391 
                        or 1400 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 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), 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. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of General Services shall submit to Congress a 
report that contains 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;
                    (B) transferred to other Federal agencies and 
                organizations pursuant to section 521 of title 40, 
                United States Code;
                    (C) transferred to State agencies pursuant to 
                section 549 of title 40, United States Code; or
                    (D) disposed of through other means.
            (3) Recommendations for further legislation or 
        administrative action that the Administrator considers 
        appropriate to establish an effective system for transferring 
        excess useful Federal electronic equipment to educational 
        recipients.

SEC. 5. RULEMAKING.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of General Services shall prescribe rules and 
procedures to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Classroom-usable.--The term ``classroom-usable'', with 
        respect to useful Federal electronic equipment, means such 
        equipment that does not require an upgrade of hardware or 
        software in order to be used by an educational recipient 
        without being first transferred under section 2(c) to a 
        nonprofit refurbisher for such an upgrade.
            (2) Community based educational organization.--The term 
        ``community based educational organization'' 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 counties, or 
                libraries; or
                    (B) provides use of computers and internet access 
                to members of the community at no charge.
            (3) Educational recipient.--The term ``educational 
        recipient'' means a school or a community-based educational 
        organization.
            (4) Enterprise community.--The term ``enterprise 
        community'' has the meaning given that term in section 1391 of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1391).
            (5) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means an 
        Executive department or an Executive agency (as such terms are 
        defined in chapter 1 of title 5, United States Code).
            (6) Nonprofit refurbisher.--The term ``nonprofit 
        refurbisher'' means an organization that--
                    (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.
            (7) School.--The term ``school'' includes an early 
        childhood education program (as that term is defined in section 
        103 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7801)), an elementary school, a secondary school, and a 
        local educational agency (as those terms are defined in section 
        8101 of that Act).
            (8) Qualified opportunity zone.--The term ``qualified 
        opportunity zone'' has the meaning given that term under 
        section 1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 
        1400Z-1).
            (9) Persistent poverty county.--The term ``persistent 
        poverty county'' means any county that has had 20 percent or 
        more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 
        years, as measured by the last three completed decennial 
        censuses, and the most recently available American Community 
        Survey 5 year average.
            (10) Qualifying county.--The term ``qualifying county'' 
        means a county where 20 percent or more of the residents earn 
        less than the poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of 
        the Census).
            (11) Qualifying small town.--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).
            (12) Useful federal electronic equipment.--The term 
        ``useful Federal electronic equipment''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) computers and related peripheral tools 
                        (such as computer printers, modems, routers, 
                        and servers), including telecommunications and 
                        research equipment;
                            (ii) fax machines; and
                            (iii) any other electronic equipment 
                        determined by a Federal agency to be 
                        potentially useful to an educational recipient; 
                        and
                    (B) includes computer software if the transfer of a 
                license is permitted.

SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Effect on Other Laws.--This Act supersedes Executive Order 
12999 (61 Fed. Reg. 17227; relating to educational technology: ensuring 
opportunity for all children in the next century).
    (b) 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, officers, or 
employees.
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