terest of the United States and in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.

(c)(1) No loan may be made under this section unless an application has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Task Force, within the two-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act. The Secretary may not approve an application unless

(A) the application contains such information as the Secretary may require, including information describing

(i) the nature of the asbestos problem for which the loan is sought;

(ii) the asbestos content of the material to be contained or removed by the local educational agency, as determined under preliminary testing which was conducted in accordance with the standards established by the Secretary under section 7(a)(1), or, in the case of testing conducted before the effective date of this Act, was conducted in a manner which substantially conforms to such standards; and

(iii) the methods which will be used to contain or remove the asbestos materials, in accordance with section 7(b) of this Act, and any other pertinent details relating to the project or projects to be conducted by the applicant (as described in subsection (a)(2)); and

(B) the application contains assurances that—

(i) any employee engaged in any activity to carry out programs under this section shall be notified in writing by the local educational agency conducting the program of the hazards of working with asbestos, and shall be required to utilize all appropriate safety procedures to minimize health risks;

(ii) no child or school employee shall be permitted in the vicinity of any asbestos containment or removal activity; and

(iii) the local educational agency shall pay employees engaged in containment, removal, or replacement activities to carry out programs under this section at reasonable rates of pay, as established by the Secretary on the basis of prevailing wage rates in the location of such work. (2) The Secretary shall provide the Task Force with a copy of any application submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1).

(3) No loans may be made by the Secretary under this section for projects described in subsection (a)(2) which commenced before the availability of loans under the Loan Program unless the local educational agency submits to the Secretary an application which— (A) meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and

(B) contains assurances that any work already completed by the applicant has been carried out in substantial conformity with section 7(b).

No loan may be awarded under this section for any project described in subsection (a)(2) which was completed before January 1,

1976.

(d) During each of the three calendar years after the year in which this Act is enacted, the Secretary shall submit before Feb

ruary 1 of such year a report to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which shall

(1) describe the number of loans made in the preceding calendar year and specify each applicant for and recipient of a loan;

(2) describe the nature of the asbestos problem of each applicant;

(3) describe the types of programs for which loans were made;

(4) specify the estimated total costs of such programs to the recipients of loans and specify the amount of loans made under the Loan Program; and

(5) specify the number of loan applications which were disapproved during the preceding calendar year and describe the reasons for such disapprovals.

[20 U.S.C. 3605]

STANDARDS AND SAFETY PROCEDURES

SEC. 7. (a)(1) Within 120 days after the first meeting of the Task Force, and after consultation with the Task Force, the Secretary shall establish and distribute to the State agency or unit designated under section 4(a)(4)—

(A) procedures for testing the level of asbestos fibers in schools, including safety measures to be followed in conducting such tests;

(B) standards for evaluating (on the basis of such tests) the likelihood of the leakage of asbestos fibers into the school environment; and

(C) standards for determining which contractors are qualified to carry out the testing and evaluation described in this paragraph.

(2) After consulting with the Task Force, the Secretary shall establish criteria to be used for determining eligibility for loans under section 6 of this Act. The criteria shall be based on the assessment of the extent of the health hazards posed by the presence of asbestos fibers in schools, as determined in accordance with standards under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection.

(b) After reviewing recommendations submitted to the Secretary by the Task Force under section 3(e)(5), the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Task Force, shall by regulation establish

(1) procedures to be used by local educational agencies, in programs for which loans are made under section 6, for

(A) containing and removing asbestos materials in school buildings;

(B) replacing the asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and

(C) restoring such school buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before asbestos containment or removal activities were undertaken; and

(2) standards for determining which contractors are qualified to carry out the activities referred to in paragraph (1).

(c) In carrying out his duties under this section, the Secretary shall avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, duplicating similar activities undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency. [20 U.S.C. 3606]

RECOVERY OF COSTS BY THE UNITED STATES

SEC. 8. (a)(1) As a condition of the award of any grant under section 5 or loan under section 6, the recipient of any such grant or loan shall permit the United States to sue on behalf of such recipient any person determined by the Attorney General to be liable to the recipient for the costs of any activities undertaken by the recipient under such sections.

(2) The proceeds from any judgment recovered in any suit brought by the United States under paragraph (1) (or, if the recipient files a similar suit on its own behalf, the proceeds from any judgment recovered by the recipient in such suit) shall be used to repay to the United States, to the extent that the proceeds are sufficient to provide for such repayment, an amount equal to the sum of

(A) the amount of any grant made to the recipient under section 5;

(B) the amount outstanding on any loan made to the recipient under section 6; and

(C) an amount equal to the interest which would have been charged on such loan were the loan made by a commercial lender at prevailing interest rates (as determined by the Secretary).

(b) The Attorney General shall conduct an investigation to determine whether, by using all available means, the United States should or could recover, from any person determined by the Attorney General to be liable for such costs, the amounts expended by the United States to carry out this Act. Within one year after the effective date of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a report containing the results of the study, together with any appropriate recommendations.

(c) If the Attorney General determines in the report under subsection (b) that the United States should seek to recover the amounts expended by the United States to carry out this Act, the Attorney General shall proceed in an expeditious manner to recover such amounts from the persons referred to in subsection (b). [20 U.S.C. 3607]

EMPLOYEE PROTECTION

SEC. 9. No State or local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act may discharge any employee or otherwise discriminate against any employee with respect to the employee's compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee has brought to the attention of the public infor

mation concerning any asbestos problem in the school buildings within the jurisdiction of such agency.

[20 U.S.C. 3608]

RETAINED RIGHTS

SEC. 10. Except as otherwise provided in section 8, nothing in this Act shall—

(1) affect the right of any party to seek legal redress in connection with the purchase or installation of asbestos materials in schools or any claim of disability or death related to exposure to asbestos in a school setting; or

(2) affect the rights of any party under any other law.

[20 U.S.C. 3609]

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 11. For purposes of this Act

(1) the term "asbestos" means

(A) chrysotile, amosite, or crocidolite; or

(B) in fibrous form, tremolite, anthophyllite, or actinolite;

(2) the term "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the United States;

(3) the term "imminent hazard to the health and safety" means, for purposes of section 6, that an asbestos material is, according to standards established by the Secretary, friable or easily damaged, or within easy reach of students or otherwise susceptible to damage (including damage from water or air circulation) which could result in the dispersal of asbestos fibers into the school environment;

(4) the term "local educational agency" means

(A) any local educational agency as defined in section 198(a)(10) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and

(B) the governing authority of any nonprofit elementary or secondary school;

(5) the term "nonprofit elementary or secondary school"

means

(A) any elementary or secondary school (as defined in section 198(a)(7) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) owned and operated by one or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and

(B) any school of any agency of the United States; (6) the term "school buildings" means

(A) structures suitable for use as classrooms, laboratories, libraries, school eating facilities, or facilities used for the preparation of food;

(B) any gymnasium or other facility which is specially designed for athletic or recreational activities for an academic course in physical education;

(C) other facilities used for the instruction of students, for research, or for the administration of educational or research programs; and

(D) maintenance, storage, or utility facilities essential to the operation of the facilities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph;

(7) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Education, or his designee;

(8) the term "State" means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Overseas Schools of the Department of Defense; and

(9) the term "State educational agency" has the same meaning given such term by section 198(a)(17) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

[20 U.S.C. 3610]

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 12. (a)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated

(A) for the asbestos detection program under section 5, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981, and for the succeeding fiscal year, a total of not more than $22,500,000; and

(B) for the asbestos hazards control loan program under section 6, not more than $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981, and $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1982.

(2) Sums appropriated under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall remain available for obligation until September 30, 1983.

(b) Programs under this Act shall be considered automatically eligible for the one-year contingent extension under section 414 of the General Education Provisions Act.

(c) If funds appropriated to carry out this Act are insufficient to pay the total amount required to make all the grants and loans authorized under this Act, the Secretary shall establish criteria to be used in determining which applicants for grants or loans under this Act have the greatest financial need for receiving funds under this Act and shall make determinations regarding the approval of applications for such grants or loans in accordance with such criteria.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the authority of the Secretary to enter into agreements, or to make payments, under this Act shall be effective for any fiscal year only to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts.

[20 U.S.C. 3611]