I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5088

To recognize and grant a Federal charter to the National Alliance for the

Mentally Ill.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 23, 1994

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself and Mr. BRYANT) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To recognize and grant a Federal charter to the National

Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FEDERAL CHARTER.

4 The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a non5 profit corporation organized under the laws of the State

6 of Missouri (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘cor7 poration’’), is recognized as such and is granted a Federal

8 charter.
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1 SEC. 2. OBJECTS AND PURPOSES OF CORPORATION.

2 The objects and purposes of the corporation are those

3 provided in its articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policy

4 platform and shall include the following:

5 (1) Promoting a system of treatment and reha6 bilitation for chronically mentally ill veterans in VA

7 hospitals and in the community.

8 (2) Promoting increased emphasis on bio9 medical and services research for chronically men10 tally ill veterans.

11 (3) Conducting educational programs and ac12 tivities with the Department of Veterans Affairs to

13 facilitate increased knowledge about mental illness

14 and reducing stigma and misinformation about these

15 disorders.

16 (4) Developing community support groups with17 in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Cen18 ters for chronically mentally ill veterans and their

19 families.

20 (5) Fostering expertise and resource allocation

21 in treatment and supportive services for chronically

22 mentally ill veterans who are homeless or in jeopardy

23 of becoming homeless.

24 (6) Improving the interface of the Department

25 of Veterans Affairs with other important govern-
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1 mental and private entities serving chronically men2 tally ill veterans.

3 SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATION.

4 In establishing the conditions of membership in the

5 corporation and in determining the requirements for serv6 ing on the board of directors or as an officer of the cor7 poration, the corporation may not discriminate on the

8 basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, age, or na9 tional origin.

10 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS.

11 (a) LOANS.—The corporation may not make any loan

12 to any officer, director, or employee of the corporation.

13 (b) STOCK.—The corporation shall have no power to

14 issue any shares of stock or to declare or pay any divi15 dends.

16 (c) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—The corporation

17 shall not claim congressional approval or the authorization

18 of the Federal Government for any of its activities.

19 SEC. 5. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

20 The first section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro21 vide for audit of accounts of private corporations estab22 lished under Federal law’’, approved August 30, 1964 (36

23 U.S.C. 1101), is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (72) as para25 graph (71);
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘(72)’’ before ‘‘The Non-Com2 missioned Officers Association’’;

3 (3) by redesignating the second paragraph (60)

4 as paragraph (73); and

5 (4) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(77) The National Alliance for the Mentally

7 Ill.’’.

8 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.

9 The corporation shall report annually to the Congress

10 concerning the activities of the corporation during the pre11 ceding fiscal year. Such annual report shall be submitted

12 at the same time as the report of the audit required by

13 section 5 of this Act. The report shall not be printed as

14 a public document.

15 SEC. 7. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.

16 The corporation shall maintain its status as an orga17 nization exempt from taxation as provided in the Internal

18 Revenue Code of 1986. If the corporation fails to maintain

19 such status, the charter granted by this Act shall expire.

20 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

21 The charter granted by this Act shall expire if the

22 corporation fails to comply with—

23 (1) any restriction or other provision of this

24 Act,
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1 (2) any provision of its bylaws or articles of in2 corporation, or

3 (3) any provision of the laws of the District of

4 Columbia.

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