COVS Act

II Calendar No. 582 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3544 [Report No. 117–224] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 13, 2022 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 5, 2022 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment and an amendment to the title [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] AN ACT To require the Administrator of General Services to transfer certain surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer refurbishers for repair, distribution, and return, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Computers for Vet- 4 erans and Students Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘COVS Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3544 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Access to computers and computer tech- 3 nology is indispensable for success in the 21st cen- 4 tury. Millions of Americans do not regularly use a 5 computer and research shows that substantial dis- 6 parities remain in both internet use and the quality 7 of access with the digital divide concentrated among 8 older, less educated, less affluent populations, espe- 9 cially veterans, low-income students, and senior citi- 10 zens. 11 (2) The COVID–19 pandemic has highlighted 12 the gap between those with computer access and 13 those without. Millions of students, their families, 14 and workers from across the economy were unable to 15 do schoolwork, work remotely from home, or connect 16 to loved ones and their communities because of the 17 digital divide. 18 (3) Any Federal program that distributes sur- 19 plus Federal computers to a public school, an edu- 20 cational nonprofit, or a nonprofit computer refur- 21 bisher for repair and distribution would benefit from 22 a partnership with a nonprofit organization, whose 23 mission is bridging the digital divide. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3544 RS SEC. 3. REFURBISHMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS 1 COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT. 2 (a) GSA TRANSFER.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 4 State agencies for surplus property have been given 5 an opportunity to review surplus computer or tech- 6 nology equipment that has been determined to be re- 7 pairable, the Administrator shall transfer to partici- 8 pating nonprofit computer refurbishers such equip- 9 ment with full title to such equipment, for repair 10 and distribution in accordance with subsection 11 (c)(1). 12 (2) INFORMATION ON EQUIPMENT REFUR- 13 BISHED.—A nonprofit computer refurbisher that re- 14 ceives surplus computer or technology equipment 15 under this subsection shall provide the Adminis- 16 trator with any information the Administrator deter- 17 mines to be necessary for required reporting, includ- 18 ing information about the distribution of such equip- 19 ment. 20 (b) PARTNERSHIP.—The Administrator may estab- 21 lish a partnership with non-governmental entities, at no 22 cost, to— 23 (1) facilitate the identification of nonprofit com- 24 puter refurbishers and the distribution of surplus 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3544 RS computer or technology equipment under this sec- 1 tion; and 2 (2) facilitate the participation of nonprofit com- 3 puter refurbishers under this section. 4 (c) REPAIR AND DISTRIBUTION.— 5 (1) DISTRIBUTION TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DI- 6 VIDE.—A nonprofit computer refurbisher that re- 7 ceives equipment under subsection (a) shall repair 8 and distribute such equipment to an educational in- 9 stitution, a veteran, an individual with a disability, 10 a low-income individual, a student, or a senior in 11 need that is residing or based in the United States. 12 (2) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Any nonprofit com- 13 puter refurbisher that receives any equipment under 14 subsection (a) shall offer training programs on the 15 use of computers and technology equipment for any 16 of the following: 17 (A) Educational institutions. 18 (B) Veterans. 19 (C) Individuals with disabilities. 20 (D) Low-income individuals. 21 (E) Students. 22 (F) Seniors. 23 (d) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3544 RS years thereafter for the next 4 years, the Administrator 1 shall submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the 2 Administrator under this Act. 3 (e) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than 5 years after 4 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there- 5 after, the head of each Federal agency shall make a report 6 available to the public on the number of repairable com- 7 puters that were sent to recycling, abandoned, or de- 8 stroyed. 9 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 10 tion may be construed to supersede the requirements of 11 the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 12 (Public Law 96–480; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 13 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 15 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv- 16 ices. 17 (2) DIGITAL DIVIDE.—The term ‘‘digital di- 18 vide’’ means the gap between those who have an 19 internet-connected computer and the skills to use the 20 computer and those who do not. 21 (3) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term 22 ‘‘educational institution’’ means— 23 (A) any public or private child care center, 24 preschool, elementary school, secondary school, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3544 RS accredited institution of vocational or profes- 1 sional education, or institution of higher edu- 2 cation; 3 (B) in the case of an accredited institution 4 of vocational or professional education or an in- 5 stitution of higher education composed of more 6 than one school, college, or department that is 7 administratively a separate unit, each such 8 school, college, or department; and 9 (C) a home school (whether treated as a 10 home school or a private school for purposes of 11 applicable State law). 12 (4) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 13 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘federal 14 agency’’ in section 102 of title 40, United States 15 Code. 16 (5) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 17 meaning given that term in section 3 of the Ameri- 18 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 19 12102). 20 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 22 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High- 23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3544 RS (7) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘low 1 income individual’’ has the meaning given such term 2 in section 351 of the Small Business Investment Act 3 of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689). 4 (8) NONPROFIT COMPUTER REFURBISHER.— 5 The term ‘‘nonprofit computer refurbisher’’ means a 6 nonprofit organization that primarily works to im- 7 prove access to information and communication 8 technology in their mission to bridge the digital di- 9 vide. 10 (9) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 11 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 12 is described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 13 Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation 14 under section 501(a) of such Code. 15 (10) REPAIRABLE.—The term ‘‘repairable’’ 16 means property that is unusable in its current state 17 but can be economically repaired. 18 (11) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 19 ondary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 20 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 21 cation Act of 1965. 22 (12) SENIOR.—The term ‘‘senior’’ means an in- 23 dividual who is 65 years of age or older. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3544 RS (13) SENIOR IN NEED.—The term ‘‘senior in 1 need’’ means a senior who experiences cultural, so- 2 cial, or geographical isolation that— 3 (A) restricts the ability of the senior to 4 perform normal daily tasks; or 5 (B) threatens the capacity of the senior to 6 live independently. 7 (14) STATE AGENCY FOR SURPLUS PROP- 8 ERTY.—The term ‘‘State agency for surplus prop- 9 erty’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘state agen- 10 cy’’ under section 549 of title 40, United States 11 Code. 12 (15) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means 13 any individual enrolled in an educational institution, 14 but not a public or private child care center. 15 (16) SURPLUS COMPUTER OR TECHNOLOGY 16 EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘surplus computer or tech- 17 nology equipment’’ means computer or technology 18 equipment that is property described under section 19 549(b)(2) of title 40, United States Code. 20 (17) TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT.—The term 21 ‘‘technology equipment’’ means any physical asset 22 related to a computer or information technology, in- 23 cluding any peripheral component, tablet, commu- 24 nication device (such as a router, server, or cell 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3544 RS phone), printer, scanner, uninterruptible power 1 source, cable, or connection. 2 (18) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 3 meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38, 4 United States Code. 5 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator may issue 6 regulations that are necessary and appropriate to imple- 7 ment this section. 8 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 9 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 10 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 11 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 12 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 13 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 14 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 15 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 16 vote on passage. 17 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 18 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Computers for Veterans 19 and Students Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘COVS Act’’. 20 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 21 Congress finds the following: 22 (1) Access to computers and computer technology 23 is indispensable for success in the 21st century. Mil- 24 lions of Americans do not regularly use a computer 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3544 RS and research shows that substantial disparities re- 1 main in both internet use and the quality of access, 2 with the digital divide concentrated among older, less 3 educated, less affluent populations, especially vet- 4 erans, low-income students, and senior citizens. 5 (2) The COVID–19 pandemic has highlighted the 6 gap between those with computer access and those 7 without. Millions of students, their families, and 8 workers from across the economy were unable to do 9 schoolwork, work remotely from home, or connect to 10 loved ones and their communities because of the dig- 11 ital divide. 12 (3) Any Federal program that distributes sur- 13 plus, repairable Federal computers or technology 14 equipment would benefit from a partnership with a 15 nonprofit organization whose mission is bridging the 16 digital divide. 17 SEC. 3. REFURBISHMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS 18 COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 20 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec- 21 tion 549 the following: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3544 RS ‘‘§ 549a. Donation of personal property through non- 1 profit refurbishers 2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Not later than 30 days after 3 the date on which the Administrator provides State agencies 4 for surplus property an opportunity to review surplus com- 5 puter or technology equipment under section 549, the Ad- 6 ministrator shall, as appropriate, transfer full title to such 7 surplus computer or technology equipment that is deter- 8 mined to be eligible under subsection (b)(1) to nonprofit 9 computer refurbishers for repair, distribution, and subse- 10 quent transfer of full title of the equipment to eligible recipi- 11 ents under this section. 12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY, PARTICIPATION, AND DUTIES.— 13 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—Surplus computer or tech- 14 nology equipment is eligible for transfer under this 15 section if a Federal agency determines that— 16 ‘‘(A) the surplus computer or technology 17 equipment is repairable; and 18 ‘‘(B) the surplus computer or technology 19 equipment meets the Guidelines for Media Sani- 20 tization issued by the National Institute of 21 Standards and Technology (NIST Special Publi- 22 cation 800–88), or any successor thereto. 23 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION.—The Administrator may 24 establish partnerships with nongovernmental entities, 25 at no cost and through cooperative agreements, to fa- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3544.RS H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3544 RS cilitate the identification and participation of non- 1 profit computer refurbishers under this section. 2 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF REFURBISHERS.—A nonprofit 3 computer refurbisher that receives surplus computer 4 or technology equipment under this section shall— 5 ‘‘(A) make necessary repairs to restore the 6 surplus computer or technology equipment to 7 working order; 8 ‘‘(B) distribute the repaired surplus com- 9 puter or technology equipment to eligible recipi- 10 ents at no cost, except to the extent— 11 ‘‘(i) necessary to facilitate shipping 12 and handling of such equipment; and 13 ‘‘(ii) that such cost is consistent with 14 any regulations promulgated by the Admin- 15 istrator under subsection (d); 16 ‘‘(C) offer training programs on the use of 17 the repaired computers and technology equip- [Text truncated for display. 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