II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2964 

To amend title 36, United States Code, to grant a Federal charter to the 

Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 36, United States Code, to grant a Federal 

charter to the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. GRANT OF FEDERAL CHARTER TO VETERANS 

4 ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE PROFES5 SIONALS. 

6 (a) GRANT OF CHARTER.—Part B of subtitle II of 

7 title 36, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 chapter 2207 the following new chapter: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 2299—VETERANS ASSOCIATION 

2 OF REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘229901. Organization. 

‘‘229902. Purposes. 

‘‘229903. Membership. 

‘‘229904. Governing body. 

‘‘229905. Powers. 

‘‘229906. Restrictions. 

‘‘229907. Tax-exempt status required as condition of charter. 

‘‘229908. Records and inspection. 

‘‘229909. Service of process. 

‘‘229910. Liability for acts of officers and agents. 

‘‘229911. Annual report. 

‘‘229912. State defined. 

3 ‘‘§ 229901. Organization 

4 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The Veterans Association 

5 of Real Estate Professionals (in this chapter referred to 

6 as the ‘corporation’), a nonprofit organization that meets 

7 the requirements for a veterans service organization under 

8 section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

9 and is organized under the laws of the State of California, 

10 is a federally chartered corporation. 

11 ‘‘(b) EXPIRATION OF CHARTER.—If the corporation 

12 does not comply with the provisions of this chapter, the 

13 charter granted by this chapter expires. 

14 ‘‘§ 229902. Purposes 

15 ‘‘The purposes of the corporation are those provided 

16 in its articles of incorporation and include the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) To organize as a veterans service organiza18 tion to maintain a continuing interest in the welfare 

19 of veterans by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) advocating for and increasing sus2 tainable homeownership; 

3 ‘‘(B) providing financial literacy education, 

4 ‘‘(C) spreading awareness of housing loans 

5 guaranteed by the Secretary of Veterans Af6 fairs; and 

7 ‘‘(D) increasing economic opportunities for 

8 members of the Armed Forces and veterans. 

9 ‘‘(2) To establish facilities for the assistance of 

10 all veterans, with programs regarding topics includ11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) financial literacy (including under13 standing credit); 

14 ‘‘(B) workforce development; 

15 ‘‘(C) small business incubation and 

16 mentorship; 

17 ‘‘(D) education regarding housing, includ18 ing homelessness prevention, rental counseling, 

19 foreclosure prevention, and affordable housing 

20 opportunities; and 

21 ‘‘(E) suicide awareness and prevention. 

22 ‘‘(3) To provide a forum for real estate and fi23 nancial service professionals to share ideas, learn, 

24 and be empowered to better serve the real estate 


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1 needs of members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 

2 their families, and others. 

3 ‘‘(4) To collaborate with organizations in the 

4 real estate and financial services sector to support 

5 employment of, and economic and business develop6 ment for, veterans. 

7 ‘‘§ 229903. Membership 

8 ‘‘Eligibility for membership in the corporation, and 

9 the rights and privileges of members of the corporation, 

10 are as provided in the articles and bylaws of the corpora11 tion. 

12 ‘‘§ 229904. Governing body 

13 ‘‘(a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The composition of the 

14 board of directors of the corporation, and the responsibil15 ities of the board, are as provided in the articles of incor16 poration and bylaws of the corporation. 

17 ‘‘(b) OFFICERS.—The positions of officers of the cor18 poration, and the election of the officers, are as provided 

19 in such articles of incorporation and bylaws. 

20 ‘‘§ 229905. Powers 

21 ‘‘The corporation has only those powers provided in 

22 its bylaws and articles of incorporation filed in the State 

23 in which it is incorporated. 


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1 ‘‘§ 229906. Restrictions 

2 ‘‘(a) STOCK AND DIVIDENDS.—The corporation may 

3 not issue stock or declare or pay a dividend. 

4 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME OR ASSETS.—The in5 come or assets of the corporation may not inure to the 

6 benefit of, or be distributed to, a director, officer, or mem7 ber of the corporation during the life of the charter grant8 ed by this chapter. This subsection shall not prevent the 

9 payment of reasonable compensation to an officer or em10 ployee of the corporation, or reimbursement for actual 

11 necessary expenses, in amounts approved by the board of 

12 directors of the corporation. 

13 ‘‘(c) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—The corporation (or an 

14 officer of the corporation, in the course of acting in such 

15 capacity) may not contribute to, support, or participate 

16 in any political activity. 

17 ‘‘(d) LOANS.—The corporation may not make a loan 

18 to a director, officer, employee, or member of the corpora19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(e) CLAIM OF GOVERNMENTAL APPROVAL OR AU21 THORITY.—The corporation may not claim congressional 

22 approval, or the authority of the United States, for any 

23 of its activities. 

24 ‘‘(f) CORPORATE STATUS.—The corporation shall 

25 maintain its status as a corporation incorporated under 

26 the laws of the State of California. 


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1 ‘‘§ 229907. Tax-exempt status required as condition of 

2 charter 

3 ‘‘If the corporation fails to maintain its status as an 

4 organization exempt from taxation under the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986, the charter granted by this chapter 

6 shall terminate. 

7 ‘‘§ 229908. Records and inspection 

8 ‘‘(a) RECORDS.—The corporation shall keep— 

9 ‘‘(1) correct and complete records of account; 

10 ‘‘(2) minutes of the proceedings of the mem11 bers, board of directors, and committees of the cor12 poration having any of the authority of the board of 

13 directors; 

14 ‘‘(3) at the principal office of the corporation, 

15 a record of the names and addresses of members of 

16 the corporation entitled to vote on matters relating 

17 to the corporation; and 

18 ‘‘(4) the State charter documents, bylaws, and 

19 articles of incorporation available to the public on an 

20 easily accessible website of the corporation. 

21 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION.—A member entitled to vote on any 

22 matter relating to the corporation, or an agent or attorney 

23 of the member, may inspect the records of the corporation 

24 for any proper purpose, at any reasonable time. 


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1 ‘‘§ 229909. Service of process 

2 ‘‘The corporation shall comply with the law of service 

3 of process of the State in which it is incorporated and each 

4 State in which it operates. 

5 ‘‘§ 229910. Liability for acts of officers and agents 

6 ‘‘The corporation is liable for the acts of its officers 

7 and agents acting within the scope of their authority. 

8 ‘‘§ 229911. Annual report 

9 ‘‘The corporation shall submit to Congress an annual 

10 report on the activities of the corporation during the pre11 ceding fiscal year. The report shall be submitted at the 

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

13 10101 of this title. The report may not be printed as a 

14 public document. 

15 ‘‘§ 229912. State defined 

16 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter, the term ‘State’ means 

17 each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or possession 

19 of the United States.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

21 at the beginning of title 36, United States Code, is amend22 ed by inserting after the item relating to chapter 2207 

23 the following new item: 

‘‘2299. Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals ....................229901’’. 

Æ 


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