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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1350

To grant a Federal charter to VietNow.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 16, 1993

Mr. HASTERT (for himself, Mr. EWING, Mr. FROST, Mr. SANGMEISTER, Mr.

WILLIAMS, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. KLUG, Mr. BLUTE, Mr.

EMERSON, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. EVANS,

Mr. LEVY, and Ms. E.B. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To grant a Federal charter to VietNow.

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 VietNow, a nonprofit corporation organized under the

5 laws of the State of Illinois, is recognized and granted a

6 Federal charter.

7 SEC. 2. POWERS.

8 The corporation shall have only the powers granted

9 to it through its bylaws and articles of incorporation filed
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1 in the States in which it is incorporated and subject to

2 the laws of such States.

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

4 The purposes of the corporation are the purposes pro5 vided in its articles of incorporation and shall include—

6 (1) increasing community awareness of the

7 problems encountered by Vietnam era veterans; and

8 (2) helping to solve the unique physical, social,

9 and psychological problems of Vietnam era veterans

10 and their families.

11 SEC. 4. SERVICE OF PROCESS.

12 With respect to service of process, the corporation

13 shall comply with the laws of the States in which it is

14 incorporated and those States in which it carries on its

15 activities in furtherance of its corporate purposes.

16 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

17 Eligibility for membership in the corporation and the

18 rights and privileges of members of the corporation shall

19 be as provided in the bylaws and articles of incorporation

20 of the corporation.

21 SEC. 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

22 The composition of the board of directors of the cor23 poration and the responsibilities of the board shall be as

24 provided in the articles of incorporation of the corporation
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1 and in conformity with the laws of the States in which

2 it is incorporated.

3 SEC. 7. OFFICERS.

4 The officers of the corporation and the election of the

5 officers shall be as provided in the bylaws and articles of

6 incorporation of the corporation and in conformity with

7 the laws of the States in which it is incorporated.

8 SEC. 8. RESTRICTIONS.

9 (a) USE OF INCOME AND ASSETS.—No part of the

10 income or assets of the corporation may inure to the bene11 fit of any member, officer, or director of the corporation

12 or be distributed to any such individual during the life

13 of this charter. This subsection may not be construed to

14 prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to the

15 officers and employees of the corporation or reimburse16 ment for actual and necessary expenses in amounts ap17 proved by the board of directors.

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

19 to any member, officer, director, or employee of the cor20 poration.

21 (c) ISSUANCE OF STOCK AND PAYMENT OF DIVI22 DENDS.—The corporation may not issue any shares of

23 stock or declare or pay any dividends.

24 (d) CLAIMS OF FEDERAL APPROVAL.—The corpora25 tion may not claim the approval of the Congress or the
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1 authorization of the Federal Government for any of its

2 activities.

3 (e) CORPORATE STATUS.—The corporation shall

4 maintain its status as a corporation organized and incor5 porated under the laws of Illinois.

6 SEC. 9. LIABILITY.

7 The corporation shall be liable for the acts of its offi8 cers, directors, employees, and agents whenever such indi9 viduals act within the scope of their authority.

10 SEC. 10. MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND

11 RECORDS.

12 (a) BOOKS AND RECORDS OF ACCOUNT.—The cor13 poration shall keep correct and complete books and

14 records of account and minutes of any proceeding of the

15 corporation involving any of its members, the board of di16 rectors, or any committee having authority under the

17 board of directors.

18 (b) NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF MEMBERS.—The

19 corporation shall keep at its principal office a record of

20 the names and addresses of all members having the right

21 to vote in any proceeding of the corporation.

22 (c) RIGHT TO INSPECT BOOKS AND RECORDS.—All

23 books and records of the corporation may be inspected by

24 any member having the right to vote in any proceeding
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1 of the corporation, or by any agent or attorney of such

2 member, for any proper purpose at any reasonable time.

3 (d) APPLICATION OF STATE LAW.—This section may

4 not be construed to contravene any applicable State law.

5 SEC. 11. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

6 The first section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro7 vide for audit of accounts of private corporations estab8 lished under Federal law’’, approved August 30, 1964 (36

9 U.S.C. 1101), is amended by adding at the end the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘VietNow.’’.

12 SEC. 12. ANNUAL REPORT.

13 The corporation shall annually submit to the Con14 gress a report concerning the activities of the corporation

15 during the preceding fiscal year. The annual report shall

16 be submitted on the same date as the report of the audit

17 required by section 11. The annual report may not be

18 printed as a public document.

19 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.

20 For purposes of this Act:

21 (1) The term ‘‘corporation’’ means VietNow.

22 (2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several

23 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

24 of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern

25 Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer-
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1 ican Samoa, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Is2 lands, and any other territory or possession of the

3 United States.

4 SEC. 134. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.

5 The corporation shall maintain its status as an orga6 nization exempt from taxation as provided in the Internal

7 Revenue Code of 1986.

8 SEC. 15. TERMINATION.

9 The charter granted in this Act shall expire if the

10 corporation fails to comply with any of the provisions of

11 this Act.

Æ