CONGRESSIONAL ACTION?

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders of Congress and other legislative branch offices should work together to establish and implement a coordinated... (Introduced in House)

HRES 938 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 938

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders of Congress and other legislative branch offices should work together to establish and implement a coordinated program for the reuse, recycling, and appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other electronic equipment used by offices of the legislative branch.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 19, 2009

Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mrs. BONO MACK, and Mr. BILBRAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders of Congress and other legislative branch offices should work together to establish and implement a coordinated program for the reuse, recycling, and appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other electronic equipment used by offices of the legislative branch.

Whereas electronic waste (or `e-waste') that is generated from obsolete computers and other electronic equipment is rapidly becoming a serious concern to State and local governments;

Whereas e-waste is one of the fastest growing sectors in the solid waste stream;

Whereas the disposal of e-waste is essentially unregulated at the Federal level;

Whereas e-waste generated in the United States is most likely to be exported to developing countries;

Whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that, `A substantial quantity [of exported used electronics] ends up in countries where the items are handled and disposed of in a manner that threatens human health and the environment';

Whereas GAO has also found that `Federal agencies . . . are not required to track the ultimate destination of their donated or recycled e-waste' and therefore `have little assurance that their e-waste is ultimately disposed of in an environmentally responsible matter';

Whereas the United States has a growing domestic e-waste disposal industry that employs hard-working Americans;

Whereas the United States owns and operates UNICOR, the trade name for Federal Prison Industries, Inc., which employs offenders incarcerated in correctional facilities under the Federal Bureau of Prisons;

Whereas UNICOR operates 8 e-waste recycling facilities in direct competition to privately owned and operated e-waste disposal facilities in the United States;

Whereas the Basel Action Network (BAN) has designed the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment, which forbids the export of e-waste to developing countries and the use of prison labor for recycling services; and

Whereas Congress should lead by example to address this growing problem: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the leaders of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and other legislative branch offices should work together to establish and implement a coordinated program for the reuse, recycling, and appropriate disposal of obsolete computers and other electronic equipment used by offices of the legislative branch, using only those companies certified by accredited e-Stewards certification bodies to be in conformance with the requirements of the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment.