106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–904

AMENDMENTS TO AMVETS CHARTER

SEPTEMBER 27, 2000.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

Mr. HYDE, from the Committee on the Judiciary,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 604]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 604) amending the charter of the AMVETS organization, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

The Amendment ......................................................................................... 1

Purpose and Summary .............................................................................. 2

Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................ 2

Hearings ...................................................................................................... 2

Committee Consideration .......................................................................... 3

Committee Oversight Findings ................................................................. 3

Committee on Government Reform Findings .......................................... 3

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ........................................ 3

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................ 3

Constitutional Authority Statement ......................................................... 4

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ....................... 4

The amendment is as follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO AMVETS CHARTER.

(a) NAME OF ORGANIZATION.—(1) Sections 22701(a) and 22706 of title 36, United

States Code, are amended by striking ‘‘AMVETS (American Veterans of World War

II, Korea, and Vietnam)’’ and inserting ‘‘AMVETS (American Veterans)’’.

(2)(A) The heading of chapter 227 of such title is amended to read as follows:
2

‘‘CHAPTER 227—AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS)’’.

(B) The item relating to such chapter in the table of chapters at the beginning

of subtitle II of such title is amended to read as follows:

‘‘227. AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS) ........................................................................................................ 22701’’.

(b) GOVERNING BODY.—Section 22704(c)(1) of such title is amended by striking

‘‘seven national vice commanders’’ and all that follows through ‘‘a judge advocate,’’

and inserting ‘‘two national vice commanders and six national district commanders,

at least one of whom shall be a woman, a finance officer, a judge advocate, a chaplain,’’.

(c) HEADQUARTERS AND PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS.—Section 22708 of such

title is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘the District of Columbia’’ in the first sentence and inserting

‘‘Maryland’’; and

(2) by striking ‘‘the District of Columbia’’ in the second sentence and inserting ‘‘Maryland’’.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 604 would amend the Federal charter for the American Veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam (AMVETS).

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

The American Veterans of World War II were founded in 1944.

They were federally chartered in 1947. Their charter was amended

by Congress in 1950 to allow Korean War veterans to be members

of the organization and in 1966 to allow Vietnam veterans to be

members of the organization. In 1970, Congress acted to change

the name of the organization to AMVETS—American Veterans of

World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In 1984, the AMVETS charter

was amended to allow anyone who served honorably after 1940 to

join AMVETS. In 1990, Congress acted to allow membership for national guardsmen and reservists.

In 1998, at the AMVETS annual convention, the delegates voted

for an official name change from American Veterans of World War

II, Korea, and Vietnam to American Veterans to more accurately

reflect the membership of AMVETS. Additionally, the AMVETS

have voted to change the structure of their governing body. H.R.

604 contain language to reflect the structure change in the statute.

Finally, the organization has changed the location of their headquarters from the District of Columbia to Lanham, Maryland.

Therefore, the ‘‘Headquarters and principal place of business’’ section of their charter needs to be changed to indicate they are now

located in Maryland.

In order for these changes to be recognized by the Department

of Veterans Affairs the AMVETS Federal charter must be amended.

An amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the committee changed the headquarters location from the ‘‘BaltimoreWashington Area’’ to ‘‘Maryland’’ and amended the governing language to accurately reflect the structure agreed to by the governing

body.

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on this legislation.
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COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On September 19, 2000, the committee met in open session and

ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 604 with amendment by

voice vote, a quorum being present.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the Rules of the

House of Representatives, the committee reports that the findings

and recommendations of the committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM FINDINGS

No findings or recommendations of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in clause

2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because this

legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or increased

tax expenditures.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the Rules of the

House of Representatives, the committee sets forth, with respect to

the bill, H.R. 604, the following estimate and comparison prepared

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section

403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, September 26, 2000.

Hon. HENRY J. HYDE, Chairman,

Committee on the Judiciary,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 604, a bill to amend the

charter of the AMVETS organization.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz, who

can be reached at 226–2860.

Sincerely,

DAN L. CRIPPEN, Director.

Enclosure

cc: Honorable John Conyers Jr.

Ranking Democratic Member

H.R. 604—A bill to amend the charter of the AMVETS organization.

H.R. 604 would make several changes to the federal charter for

AMVETS, a veterans association. These changes would confer no
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federal benefits. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting this legislation

would result in no cost to the federal government. Because H.R.

604 would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill contains no intergovernmental or

private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, who

can be reached at 226–2860. This estimate was approved by Peter

H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to rule XI, clause 2(l)(4) of the Rules of the House of

Representatives, the committee finds the authority for this legislation in Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics,

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 36, UNITED STATES CODE

* * * * * * *

SUBTITLE II—PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL

ORGANIZATIONS

* * * * * * *

PART B—ORGANIZATIONS

201. AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME ......................................................... 20101

* * * * * * *

ø227. AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II, KOREA,

AND VIETNAM) ..................................................................................... 22701¿

227. AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS) ....................................................... 22701

* * * * * * *

øCHAPTER 227—AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS OF

WORLD WAR II, KOREA, AND VIETNAM)¿

CHAPTER 227—AMVETS (AMERICAN VETERANS)

* * * * * * *

§ 22701. Organization

(a) FEDERAL CHARTER.—øAMVETS (American Veterans of

World War II, Korea, and Vietnam)¿ AMVETS (American Veterans)
5

(in this chapter, the ‘‘corporation’’) is a federally chartered corporation.

* * * * * * *

§ 22704. Governing body

(a) * * *

* * * * * * *

(c) OFFICERS.—(1) The officers of the corporation are a national

commander, øseven national vice commanders, one of whom shall

be a woman, a finance officer, an adjutant, a judge advocate,¿ two

national vice commanders and six national district commanders, at

least one of whom shall be a woman, a finance officer, a judge advocate, a chaplain, and a provost marshal.

* * * * * * *

§ 22706. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, and badges

The corporation and its State, regional, and local subdivisions

have the exclusive right to use the name ‘‘øAMVETS (American

Veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam)¿ AMVETS (American Veterans)’’ and seals, emblems, and badges the corporation

adopts.

* * * * * * *

§ 22708. Headquarters and principal place of business

The headquarters and principal place of business of the corporation shall be in øthe District of Columbia¿ Maryland. However,

the activities of the corporation are not confined to the øDistrict of

Columbia¿ Maryland but may be conducted throughout the States,

territories, and possessions of the United States.

* * * * * * *

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