Child PACT Act

Profiting from Access to Computer Technology (PACT) Act or the Child PACT Act - Directs each Federal agency to: (1) safeguard and identify potential educationally useful Federal equipment that it no longer needs or that has been declared surplus; and (2) transfer such equipment, either directly or through the General Services Administration (GSA), to educational recipients or nonprofit refurbishers.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2521 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2521

    To establish a program to transfer surplus computers of Federal 
     agencies to schools and nonprofit community-based educational 
                 organizations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2005

Mr. Ferguson (for himself and Mr. Towns) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a program to transfer surplus computers of Federal 
     agencies to schools and nonprofit community-based educational 
                 organizations, 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 ``Profiting from Access to Computer 
Technology (PACT) Act'' or the ``Child PACT Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF POTENTIAL EDUCATIONALLY USEFUL FEDERAL EQUIPMENT.

    Each Federal agency shall, to the extent practicable, protect and 
safeguard potential educationally useful Federal equipment that has 
been determined to be surplus, so that such equipment may be 
transferred under this Act.

SEC. 3. EFFICIENT TRANSFER OF POTENTIAL EDUCATIONALLY USEFUL FEDERAL 
              EQUIPMENT.

    (a) Transfer of Equipment to GSA.--Each Federal agency, to the 
extent permitted by law and where appropriate, shall--
            (1) identify potential educationally useful Federal 
        equipment that it no longer needs or such equipment that has 
        been declared surplus in accordance with section 549 of title 
        40, United States Code;
            (2) erase all hard drives and other information storage 
        devices, before transfer under paragraph (3), in accordance 
        with standards in effect under the National Security Agency's 
        Information Assurance Directorate; and
            (3)(A) transfer the equipment to the Administrator of 
        General Services for conveyance to educational recipients; or
            (B) transfer the equipment directly to--
                    (i) an educational recipient, through an 
                arrangement made by the Administrator of General 
                Services under subsection (b); or
                    (ii) a nonprofit refurbisher under subsection (d).
    (b) Advance Reporting of Equipment to GSA.--Each Federal agency 
shall report to the Administrator of General Services the anticipated 
availability of potential educationally useful Federal equipment as far 
as possible in advance of the date the equipment is to become surplus, 
so that the Administrator may attempt to arrange for the direct 
transfer from the donating agency to educational recipients.
    (c) Preference.--In carrying out conveyances to educational 
recipients under this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall, 
to the extent practicable, give particular preference to educational 
recipients located in an enterprise community, empowerment zone, or 
renewal community designated under section 1391, 1400, or 1400E of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (d) Refurbishment of Potential Educationally Useful Equipment.--
Potential educationally useful Federal equipment that is not classroom-
usable shall be conveyed initially to a nonprofit refurbisher for 
upgrade before transfer to the educational recipient. The refurbisher 
shall be responsible for proper disposal of any equipment that cannot 
be successfully refurbished.
    (e) Lowest Cost.--All transfers to educational recipients shall be 
made at the lowest cost to the recipient permitted by law.
    (f) Notice of Availability of Equipment.--The Administrator of 
General Services shall provide notice of the anticipated availability 
of potential educationally useful Federal equipment (including 
nonclassroom-usable equipment) to educational recipients by all 
practical means, including the Internet, newspapers, nonprofit 
refurbishers and community announcements.
    (g) 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 potential educationally useful Federal equipment from the 
agencies they represent to recipients eligible under this Act.

SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

    The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe rules and 
procedures to carry out this Act.

SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    This Act supersedes Executive Order No. 12999 of April 17, 1996.

SEC. 6. 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.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 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).
            (2) The term ``educational recipient'' means a school or a 
        community-based educational organization.
            (3) The term ``school'' includes a pre-kindergarten program 
        (as that term is used in the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965), an elementary school, a secondary school, and a 
        local educational agency (as those terms are defined in section 
        9101 of that Act).
            (4) The term ``community-based educational organization'' 
        means a nonprofit entity that--
                    (A) is engaged in collaborative projects with 
                schools or the primary focus of which is education; and
                    (B) qualifies as a nonprofit educational 
                institution or organization for purposes of section 
                549(c)(3) of title 40, United States Code.
            (5) The term ``potential educationally useful Federal 
        equipment'' means computers and related peripheral tools (such 
        as computer printers, modems, routers, and servers), including 
        telecommunications and research equipment, that are appropriate 
        for use by an educational recipient. The term also includes 
        computer software, where the transfer of a license is 
        permitted.
            (6) The term ``classroom-usable,'' with respect to 
        potential educationally useful Federal 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 3(d) to a 
        nonprofit refurbisher for such an upgrade.
            (7) 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 potential educationally useful Federal 
                equipment that is not yet classroom-usable at no cost 
                or low cost to the ultimate recipient school or 
                community-based educational organization.
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