II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1112

To grant a Federal charter to the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum

of the United States.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 15, 1993

Mr. HOLLINGS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To grant a Federal charter to the Congressional Medal of

Honor Museum of the United States.

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

3 SECTION 1. RECOGNITION AS CORPORATION AND GRANT

4 OF FEDERAL CHARTER.

5 The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum of the

6 United States, a nonprofit corporation organized under

7 the laws of the State of New York, is recognized as such

8 and is granted a Federal charter.
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•S 1112 IS

1 SEC. 2. POWERS.

2 The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum of the

3 United States (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘corpora4 tion’’) shall have only those powers granted to it through

5 its bylaws and articles of incorporation filed in the State

6 in which it is incorporated and subject to the laws of such

7 State.

8 SEC. 3. OBJECTS AND PURPOSES.

9 The objects and purposes of the corporation are those

10 provided for in its bylaws and articles of incorporation and

11 shall include the following:

12 (1) Preserving the memory and history of

13 medal of honor recipients.

14 (2) Preserving artifacts and records of medal of

15 honor recipients that are donated or loaned to the

16 museum in order to honor the memory and history

17 of such recipients, to display such artifacts and

18 records for educational purposes, and to encourage

19 research relating to such artifacts and records.

20 (3) Educating the people of the United States

21 on the value of the medal of honor.

22 (4) Inspiring and stimulating the youth of the

23 United States to become worthy citizens of the

24 United States.
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•S 1112 IS

1 SEC. 4. SERVICE OF PROCESS.

2 With respect to service of process, the corporation

3 shall comply with the laws of the State in which it is incor4 porated and those States in which it carries on its activi5 ties in the furtherance of its corporate purposes.

6 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

7 Except as provided in section 8, eligibility for mem8 bership in the corporation and the rights and privileges

9 of members of the corporation shall be as provided in the

10 articles of incorporation and bylaws of the corporation.

11 SEC. 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

12 Except as provided in section 8, the composition of

13 the board of directors of the corporation and the respon14 sibilities of such board shall be as provided in the articles

15 of incorporation of the corporation and in conformity with

16 the laws of the State in which it is incorporated.

17 SEC. 7. OFFICERS OF CORPORATION.

18 Except as provided in section 8, the positions of offi19 cers of the corporation and the election of members to

20 such positions shall be as provided in the articles of incor21 poration of the corporation and in conformity with the

22 laws of the State in which it is incorporated.

23 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION.

24 In establishing the conditions of membership in the

25 corporation and in determining the requirements for serv26 ing on the board of directors or as an officer of the cor-
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•S 1112 IS

1 poration, the corporation may not discriminate on the

2 basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, age, or na3 tional origin.

4 SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS.

5 (a) INCOME AND COMPENSATION.—No part of the in6 come or assets of the corporation may inure to the benefit

7 of any member, officer, or director of the corporation or

8 be distributed to any such individual during the life of this

9 charter. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

10 prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to the

11 officers of the corporation or reimbursement for actual

12 necessary expenses in amounts approved by the board of

13 directors.

14 (b) LOANS.—The corporation may not make any loan

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

16 (c) STOCK.—The corporation shall have no power to

17 issue any shares of stock or to declare or pay any divi18 dends.

19 (d) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—The corporation

20 shall not claim congressional approval or the authorization

21 of the Federal Government for any of its activities by rea22 son of this Act.
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•S 1112 IS

1 SEC. 10. LIABILITY.

2 The corporation shall be liable for the acts of its offi3 cers and agents whenever such officers and agents have

4 acted within the scope of their authority.

5 SEC. 11. BOOKS AND RECORDS.

6 The corporation shall keep correct and complete

7 books and records of account and minutes of any proceed8 ing of the corporation involving any of its members, the

9 board of directors, or any committee having authority

10 under the board of directors. The corporation shall keep,

11 at its principal office, a record of the names and addresses

12 of all members having the right to vote in any proceeding

13 of the corporation. All books and records of such corpora14 tion may be inspected by any member having the right

15 to vote in any corporation proceeding, or by any agent or

16 attorney of such member, for any proper purpose at any

17 reasonable time. Nothing in this section shall be construed

18 to contravene any applicable State law.

19 SEC. 12. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

20 The first section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro21 vide for the audit of accounts of private corporations es22 tablished under Federal law’’, approved August 30, 1964

23 (36 U.S.C. 1101), is amended by adding at the end the

24 following:

25 ‘‘(77) The Congressional Medal of Honor

26 Museum of the United States.’’.
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•S 1112 IS

1 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT.

2 The corporation shall report annually to Congress

3 concerning the activities of the corporation during the pre4 ceding fiscal year. Such annual report shall be submitted

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

6 section 2 of the Act referred to in section 12. The report

7 shall not be printed as a public document.

8 SEC. 14. RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO AMEND OR REPEAL

9 CHARTER.

10 The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is ex11 pressly reserved to Congress.

12 SEC. 15. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.

13 The corporation shall maintain its status as an orga14 nization exempt from taxation as provided in the Internal

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

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

17 SEC. 16. TERMINATION.

18 The charter granted by this Act shall expire if the

19 corporation fails to comply with—

20 (1) any restriction or other provision of this

21 Act;

22 (2) any provision of its bylaws or articles of in23 corporation; or

24 (3) any provision of the laws of the State of

25 New York that apply to corporations such as the

26 corporation recognized under this Act.
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•S 1112 IS

1 SEC. 17. DEFINITION.

2 For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ in3 cludes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of

4 Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

5 Islands, and the territories and possessions of the United

6 States.

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