Senate Computers May End Up In Classrooms Proposal By Sen. Patty Murray On The Way To The Senate Floor

More than 1,000 surplus computers at the U.S. Senate would be made available annually to public schools across the country, under a proposal by Sen. Patty Murray on the way to the Senate floor.

“This is a really solid way to make a difference for young people,” the Washington Democrat said Friday.

“I hear from students and parents all the time that they need more computers in the classrooms. I’m sitting here looking in the hallways and the basement of the Senate at excess computers that no one is using,” the former preschool teacher said.

Also this week, Rep. Rick White, R-Wash., introduced legislation in the House that would make congressional committee information available to the public on the Internet.

The Senate disposes of more than 1,500 computers a year, Murray said. At one time, the Senate sold computers to government employees at bargain prices.

Under the proposal, approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, government property managers would provide information to school districts about the availability of excess and surplus computers.

“Over the past three years, nearly 5,000 computers have been let go,” Murray said.

Most of them are IBM-compatible, 386, 16-megahertz machines.

“They are a generation old, but they could be very useful to schools, especially in rural areas, that may not have a big budget to buy fancy new computers,” she said.

“I really believe that in the future, a child’s ability to compete in the work force will be measured in part by his or her familiarity with computers.”

Murray is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the legislative branch, a generally low-profile panel that handles things like the budgets for the House and Senate staffs, government printing office and architect of the Capitol.

“It’s not the kinds of things people are paying a lot of attention to,” she acknowledged. “But here is something concrete we can do.”

Under the proposal, expected to be voted on later this month as part of the legislative branch appropriation bill, the Senate sergeant at arms would be charged with making sure any excess or surplus computers were in good working order.

The equipment would include computers, keyboards, monitors, printers and modems among other things.

“I envision schools being able to obtain this equipment on a first-come, first-served basis, for the cost of shipping and handling from GSA regional offices,” Murray said.

White, co-founder of the Internet Caucus on Capitol Hill, said of his Internet legislation: “It’s time to make Congress a little more user-friendly.

“We are going to keep the pressure on to make sure that Congress finds its way through cyberspace,” he said.

Under his proposal, information available on the net would include:

- Versions of bills distributed for consideration at subcommittees and committees.

- Compromise agreements reached by members of House-Senate conference committees charged with working out differences in competing legislation in the two bodies

- Transcripts of congressional hearings and committee sessions

- Prepared statements from witnesses and committee members