19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 112–314 

TO REVISE THE FEDERAL CHARTER FOR THE BLUE STAR MOTHERS OF 

AMERICA, INC., TO REFLECT A CHANGE IN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

FOR MEMBERSHIP 

DECEMBER 5, 2011.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SMITH of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following, 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2815] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

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

(H.R. 2815) to revise the Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers 

of America, Inc., to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for 

membership, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

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

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

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

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

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

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 4 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 4 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 2815 revises the Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers 

of America to reflect changes in eligibility requirements for membership. 


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1See 36 U.S.C. sec. 30502. 2 36 U.S.C. sec. 30503. 

3 36 U.S.C. sec. 30504. 

4 Information provided by the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

The Blue Star Mothers of America is a federally chartered organization.1 The purposes of the corporation are ‘‘patriotic, educational, social, and for service,’’ and include— 

1) perpetuating the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., and 

the memory of all the men and women who have served 

our country as members of the Armed Forces; 

2) maintaining true allegiance to the Government of the 

United States; 

3) educating members of the corporation and others not to divulge military, naval, or other Government information; 

4) assisting in veterans’ ceremonies; 

5) attending patriotic rallies and meetings; 

6) fostering true democracy; 

7) caring for unsupported mothers who gave their sons to the 

service of the Nation; 

8) aiding in bringing about recognition of the need for permanent civilian defense in each community and the need to 

be always alert against invasion of un-American activities; 

9) upholding the American institutions of freedom, justice, 

and equal rights; and 

10) defending the United States from all enemies.2

Membership is open to ‘‘a mother, adoptive mother, or stepmother (who has given a mother’s care at least since the stepchild 

was age 13) [living in the U.S.] of a son or daughter who . . . is 

serving in the Armed Forces . . . or has served in, or has been 

honorably discharged from, the Armed Forces in World War II or 

the Korean hostilities. . . .’’ 3 The organization has over 5,000 

members in 225 chapters around the U.S.4

The Blue Star Mothers of America states that: 

On January 22, 1942 the Flint News Advertiser printed a 

coupon asking Mothers of serviceman to return the coupon 

after filling it out. The following February 1st 300 mothers 

met in the Durant Hotel, in Flint Michigan. Captain 

George H. Maines, who had conceived the idea for this 

group, acted as the chair of this first meeting. It was decided that after receiving 1000 responses from the ad to 

form a permanent organization. . . . Chapters then 

formed in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, California, Iowa and Washington. In June 

1960 the organization was chartered by Congress. 

Mothers volunteered throughout the tough times of World 

War II. They worked in hospitals, train stations, packed 

care packages for soldiers and were a working part of 

homeland security during times our time of war. The organization waned in size over the years but was held together by mothers showing pride in both their children 

and country. In recent times we have began to grow in 


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5Website of Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. 

6Letter from Wendy Hoffman, National President, Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., to 

Lamar Smith (Nov. 7, 2011). 

strength. Being attacked on our own soil has once again 

started mothers hanging flags in their windows at home 

proclaiming pride in the fact that we have children protecting our freedom during a time of war. 

Our organization . . . provides support for active duty 

service personnel, promotes patriotism, assists Veterans 

organizations, and [is] available to assist in homeland volunteer efforts to help our country remain strong.5

The National President of the Blue Star Mothers sent a letter to 

the Committee requesting that the Committee amend their Federal 

charter. The letter stated that: 

At the National Convention held in Grand Junction Colorado in August 2010 a resolution was passed by the convention body revising the language regarding eligibility. . . . As Mothers of . . . American service members 

and veterans we recognize the changing family dynamics 

and have found it extremely important to include other 

‘mother[s]’ who have played a part in raising these military heroes and also those mothers who are not residents 

of the U.S. The additional change regards amendment to 

the original charter language of 1960 that included only 

the Korean conflict and prior years since our membership 

consists of mothers of all conflicts.6

H.R. 2815 amends the Blue Star Mothers’ Federal charter to 

open eligibility to ‘‘a mother (meaning a woman who filled the role 

of birth mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, foster-mother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a person who’’ is serving in the Armed 

Forces or who has served at any time. Finally, to be eligible, the 

mother does not have to reside in the U.S. as long as she is a U.S. 

citizen. 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 2815. 

Committee Consideration 

On November 17, 2011, the Committee met in open session and 

ordered the bill H.R. 2815 favorably reported without amendment 

by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

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

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

2815. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:36 Dec 05, 2011 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR314.XXX HR314

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ties 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. 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures 

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

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

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

the bill, H.R. 2815, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, December 2, 2011. 

Hon. LAMAR SMITH, 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. 2815, a bill to revise the 

federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for membership. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Dawn Regan, who can 

be reached at 226–2840. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, 

DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 2815—A bill to revise the federal charter for the Blue Star 

Mothers of America, Inc., to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for membership. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on 

November 17, 2011 

H.R. 2815 would amend title 36 of the U.S. Code to expand eligibility for membership in the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. 

The bill would broaden the definition of mother to include a woman 

who filled the role of stepmother for any period of time in the 

child’s life, foster mother, grandmother, or legal guardian. Also, the 

bill would remove the eligibility requirement that participants have 

to be the mothers of military members who served during World 

War II or the Korean hostilities. Further, eligibility would be expanded to include U.S. citizens who live outside the United States. 


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Because chartered organizations listed in title 36 are not agencies of the U.S. government and are not conferred Federal benefits, 

CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have no impact on the 

Federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2815 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 2815 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 Dawn Regan. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 2815 revises the 

Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of America to reflect 

changes in eligibility requirements for membership. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 2815 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

Sec. 1. Modification of Eligibility Requirements for Membership 

in Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. 

The section amends paragraph 1 of section 30504 of title 36 of 

the United States Code to modify the Blue Star Mothers’ Federal 

charter to open eligibility to ‘‘a mother (meaning a woman who 

filled the role of birth mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, fostermother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a person who’’ is serving in the Armed Forces or who has served at any time. The section also amends paragraph 2 to provide that to be eligible, a mother does not have to reside in the U.S. as long as she is a U.S. citizen. 

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 

* * * * * * * 


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PART B—ORGANIZATIONS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 305—BLUE STAR MOTHERS OF AMERICA, INC. 

* * * * * * * 

§ 30504. Membership 

An individual is eligible for membership in the corporation if— 

(1) øshe is a mother, adoptive mother, or stepmother (who 

has given a mother’s care at least since the stepchild was age 

13) of a son or daughter who—¿ she is a mother (meaning a 

woman who filled the role of birth mother, adoptive mother, 

stepmother, foster-mother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a 

person who— 

(A) * * * 

(B) has served in, or has been honorably discharged 

from, the Armed Forces øin World War II or the Korean 

hostilities¿; and 

(2) she is living in the United States or is a United States 

citizen living outside the United States. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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