,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #geff ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #i1 #bjbj ,ms4 ,spanberger 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,wittman1 ,mr4 ,riggleman1 and ,mrs4 ,luria7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to allow the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration to transfer certain surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer refurbishers for repair and distribution1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,computers for ,veterans and ,students ,act of #bjbj or the ,,covs ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,access to computers and computer technology is indispensable for success in the #bast century4 ,millions of ,americans do not regularly use a computer1 and research shows that substantial disparities remain in both internet use and the quality of access with the digital divide concentrated among older1 less educated1 less affluent populations1 especially veterans1 low-income students1 and senior citizens4 7#b7 ,in #aiif1 the ,president issued ,executive ,order #abiii instructing the ,general ,services ,administration 7,,gsa7 to allow schools and nonprofits the ability to receive ,federal surplus computers for educational purposes4 7#c7 ,,gsa created the ,computers for ,learning ,program1 which distributes approximately #cj1jjj computers and computer-related equipment annually to public schools and educational nonprofits for reuse4 7#d7 ,in ,july #bjag1 the ,inspector ,general for ,,gsa issued a report on the lack of controls with the ,,cfl website4 ,the report noted multiple cases of theft or fraud pertaining to lack of vetting of education nonprofits registering on the website4 ,although ,,gsa indicated that other ,federal agencies had responsibility to vet nonprofits for eligibility1 many agencies were not aware of this requirement4 7#e7 ,since the ,,ig report was issued1 ,,gsa has implemented reforms to ensure that agencies are aware of their responsibility to determine that educational nonprofits are certified tax-exempt #eja7;c77#c7 organizations4 ,however1 there remains an issue with schools obtaining surplus computers that are not ready to use4 ,in most cases1 the schools do not have the resources to pay to refurbish the computers1 which results in computers being wasted4 7#f7 ,any ,federal program that distributes retired ,federal computers to a public school1 an educational nonprofit organization1 or a nonprofit computer refurbisher for repair and distribution1 would benefit from a partnership with a nonprofit organization1 whose mission includes bridging the digital divide4 #c4 ,transfer of certain surplus computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer refurbishers 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,federal agency ,the head of each ,federal agency may transfer any surplus computer or technology equipment that is not being used by the ,federal agency1 or has not been requested for use by another ,federal agency1 and has not been used for classified information 7unless the relevant agency head determines that appropriate steps were taken to wipe the memory of such computer or technology equipment7-- 7,a7 directly to an eligible computer refurbisher for receipt in accordance with subsection 7b72 or 7,b7 to the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration for further transfer in accordance with paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,general ,services ,administration ,the ,administrator shall transfer a computer received under paragraph 7#a7 to a public school1 an educational nonprofit organization1 or a nonprofit computer refurbisher for repair and distribution in accordance with subsection 7b77#a74 7#c7 ,partnership ,the ,administrator may establish a partnership nonprofit computer refurbisher to facilitate the identification of computer refurbisher organizations and the distribution of computers to such computer refurbishers4 7b7 ,duties of nonprofit computer refurbishers 7#a7 ,in general ,a computer refurbisher who receives a computer under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 shall repair and distribute such computer to educational institution1 a veteran1 an individual with a disability1 a low-income individual1 a student1 or a senior in need4 7#b7 ,training programs ,each nonprofit computer refurbisher to whom the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration transfers a surplus computer or technology equipment under subsection 7a7 shall offer training programs on the use of computers and technology equipment for-- 7,a7 educational institutions2 7,b7 veterans2 7,c7 individuals with disabilities2 7,d7 low-income individuals2 7,e7 students2 and 7,f7 seniors4 7#c7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the ,sense of ,congress that each nonprofit computer refurbisher to whom the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration transfers a surplus computer or technology equipment under subsection 7a7 should dispose of any such computer or technology that cannot be reused due to age or condition-- 7,a7 in compliance with any ,federal1 ,state1 or local law relating to the disposition of any information technology assets that cannot be reused or refurbished due to condition or age2 and 7,b7 in ways that can still be leveraged to fulfill their missions to bridge the digital divide4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,digital divide ,the gap between those who have an internet-connected computer and the skills to use it1 and those who do not4 ,principle barriers to closing this gap include access to devices1 affordability1 digital literacy1 and access to broadband4 7#b7 ,educational institution ,the term educational institution means-- 7,a7 any public or private child care center1 preschool1 elementary school1 secondary school1 accredited institution of vocational or professional education1 or institution of higher education2 and 7,b7 in the case of an accredited institution of vocational or professional education or an institution of higher education composed of more than one school1 college1 or department that is administratively a separate unit1 each such school1 college1 or department4 7#c7 ,educational nonprofit ,the term educational nonprofit means a nonprofit organization that has a training component whereby the nonprofit organization trains the end user of the computer equipment how to use such equipment and that-- 7,a7 has a mission related to education2 or 7,b7 serves veterans1 individuals with disabilities1 low-income individuals1 or seniors4 7#d7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#e7 ,nonprofit computer refurbisher ,the term nonprofit computer refurbisher means a nonprofit organization-- 7,a7 that primarily works to improve access to information and communication technology in order to ,bridge the ,digital ,divide2 and 7,b7 that is exempt from taxation under section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7#f7 ,secondary school ,the term secondary school has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife4 7#g7 ,senior ,the term senior means any individual who is #fe years of age or older4 7#h7 ,student ,the term student means any individual enrolled in an educational institution1 excluding a public or private child care center4 7#i7 ,technology equipment ,the term technology equipment means physical assets related to computers and information technology1 including peripheral components1 tablets1 communication devices 7such as routers1 servers1 and cell phones71 printers1 scanners1 uninterruptible power sources1 and cables and connections4 7#aj7 ,veteran ,the term veteran has the meaning given such term in section #aja of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7d7 ,reporting ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and every three years thereafter1 the ,administrator shall submit to ,congress a report on the efforts of the ,administrator and the head of each ,federal agency under this ,act4 ,such report shall include-- 7#a7 the number of ,federal computers retired in that time period2 7#b7 the number of those retired computers that were used in this program 7and the uses of retired computers that were not included in this program72 7#c7 the distribution split of those retired ,federal computers to public schools1 educational non-profit organizations1 and a nonprofit computer refurbisher for repair and distribution2 and 7#d7 the number of computers sent to computer refurbishers and the number of computers that were donated under this section4