II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3082 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the National Veterans 

Support Network to carry out activities to support and supplement 

the mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 10, 2012 

Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. JOHANNS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the 

National Veterans Support Network to carry out activities to support and supplement the mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nationwide Network 

5 of Support for Veterans and Military Families Act of 

6 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL VETERANS SUPPORT NETWORK. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part V of title 38, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

4 chapter: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 80—NATIONAL VETERANS 

6 SUPPORT NETWORK 

‘‘CHAPTER 80—NATIONAL VETERANS SUPPORT NETWORK

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘8001. Definitions. 

‘‘8002. Establishment and organization. 

‘‘8003. Purposes. 

‘‘8004. Board of directors. 

‘‘8005. Officers and employees. 

‘‘8006. Powers. 

‘‘8007. Community support grant program. 

‘‘8008. Limitations on grants. 

‘‘8009. Principal office. 

‘‘8010. Protection and uses of trademarks and trade names. 

‘‘8011. Restriction on Federal funding. 

‘‘8012. Service of process. 

‘‘8013. Duty to maintain corporate and tax-exempt status. 

‘‘8014. Civil action by Attorney General for equitable relief. 

‘‘8015. Audits. 

‘‘8016. Annual report. 

7 ‘‘§ 8001. Definitions 

8 ‘‘In this chapter: 

9 ‘‘(1) CORPORATION.—The term ‘corporation’ 

10 means the National Veterans Support Network es11 tablished under section 8002(a) of this title. 

12 ‘‘(2) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 

13 term ‘veterans service organization’ means any orga14 nization recognized by the Secretary for the rep15 resentation of veterans under section 5902 of this 

16 title. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8002. Establishment and organization 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na3 tional Veterans Support Network. 

4 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The corporation is a fed5 erally chartered corporation. 

6 ‘‘(c) PLACE OF INCORPORATION AND DOMICILE.— 

7 The corporation shall be incorporated and domiciled in the 

8 District of Columbia, or another nearby State, as deter9 mined by the board of directors of the corporation. 

10 ‘‘(d) NONPROFIT STATUS.—The corporation shall be 

11 a charitable and nonprofit corporation. 

12 ‘‘(e) PERPETUAL EXISTENCE.—Except as otherwise 

13 provided, the corporation shall have perpetual existence. 

14 ‘‘§ 8003. Purposes 

15 ‘‘(a) PRIMARY PURPOSES.—The primary purposes of 

16 the corporation are as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) To carry out activities at the national level 

18 that raise the awareness of the public and educate 

19 the public about the challenges facing military fami20 lies and veterans and to carry out such educational 

21 media campaigns as the board of directors of the 

22 corporation considers appropriate for the purposes 

23 described in this section, including national media 

24 outreach and local media outreach. 

25 ‘‘(2) To provide analytical support to commu26 nities that include veterans or members of the 


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1 Armed Forces, track resources across the United 

2 States that support veterans or military families, 

3 help communities align and scale such resources, 

4 and develop and provide a best practices toolkit for 

5 these purposes. 

6 ‘‘(3) To establish a community support grant 

7 program as described in section 8007(a) of this title. 

8 ‘‘(4) To encourage and promote private gifts of 

9 services, money, and property to support— 

10 ‘‘(A) the community support grant pro11 gram established under section 8007(a) of this 

12 title; and 

13 ‘‘(B) other services, programs, events, and 

14 activities that support military families and vet15 erans. 

16 ‘‘(b) SECONDARY PURPOSES.—The secondary pur17 poses of the corporation are as follows: 

18 ‘‘(1) To compile, analyze, and organize informa19 tion on organizations, programs, events, and other 

20 activities that provide assistance specifically to vet21 erans and military families. 

22 ‘‘(2) To facilitate communication between the 

23 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of De24 fense, the Secretary of Labor, and the heads of 

25 other relevant agencies, private organizations, vetVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:14 May 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3082.IS S3082

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1 erans service organizations, faith-based organiza2 tions, and other charitable or nonprofit organiza3 tions that have a mission to provide assistance to 

4 veterans and military families. 

5 ‘‘(3) To promote coordination of services, pro6 grams, events, and other activities provided by the 

7 secretaries and organizations described in paragraph 

8 (2), particularly with respect to local communities. 

9 ‘‘(4) To promote national and community serv10 ice activities that serve veterans and military fami11 lies, as well as increase the participation of veterans 

12 and military families in national and community 

13 service opportunities. 

14 ‘‘(5) To refer and connect private organizations 

15 seeking to support veterans and their families to or16 ganizations and communities that provide such sup17 port. 

18 ‘‘(6) To refer and connect organizations and 

19 communities seeking to support veterans and their 

20 families to Federal and private sector resources rel21 evant to the provision of such support. 

22 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the purposes 

23 of the corporation, the corporation shall consult with the 

24 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, 

25 and the heads of other appropriate agencies. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8004. Board of directors 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The corporation shall have a 

3 board of directors, which shall be the governing body of 

4 the corporation. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The board shall consist of 

6 12 members, appointed by the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(A) each of whom shall be a citizen of the 

8 United States; 

9 ‘‘(B) three of whom shall be knowledgeable or 

10 experienced in 1 or more fields directly relating to 

11 veterans health, veterans benefits, veterans employ12 ment, transition services for members of the Armed 

13 Forces separating from military service, veterans 

14 education, veterans homelessness, women veterans, 

15 or veterans-oriented community partnerships; 

16 ‘‘(C) six of whom shall be leaders in the private 

17 sector with a strong interest in issues and services 

18 relating to veterans; and 

19 ‘‘(D) three of whom shall be veterans who— 

20 ‘‘(i) were last discharged or released from 

21 service in the Armed Forces under honorable 

22 conditions; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) have a record of exemplary service in 

24 the Armed Forces. 

25 ‘‘(2) To the extent practicable, the membership of the 

26 board shall represent diverse professional specialties. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Except with respect to members of the board 

2 described in paragraph (1)(D), status as a veteran shall 

3 not be a requirement for membership on the board. 

4 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary 

5 of Defense, the Secretary of Labor, such other heads of 

6 Federal agencies as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs con7 siders appropriate, and such other members as the Sec8 retary of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate may be 

9 ex officio, nonvoting members of the board. 

10 ‘‘(c) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—(1) Not later than 90 

11 days after the date of the enactment of this chapter, the 

12 Secretary shall appoint at least three members of the 

13 board and not later than one year after the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint the re15 maining members of the board. 

16 ‘‘(2) In selecting individuals for appointment to the 

17 board, the Secretary shall consult with the Chairman and 

18 the Ranking Member of the Committee on Veterans’ Af19 fairs of the Senate and the Chairman and the Ranking 

20 Member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—(1) A member of 

23 the board shall serve for a term of four years, except the 

24 members first appointed shall be appointed for staggered 

25 terms as the Secretary considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) A vacancy on the board shall be filled within 

2 60 days of the vacancy in the same manner in which the 

3 original appointment was made and shall be subject to any 

4 conditions which applied with respect to the original ap5 pointment. 

6 ‘‘(B) An individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be 

7 appointed for the unexpired term of the member replaced. 

8 ‘‘(C) When the Secretary fills a vacancy on the board, 

9 the Secretary shall do so in consultation with the board. 

10 ‘‘(3) No individual may serve more than two consecu11 tive terms as a member of the board. 

12 ‘‘(e) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson shall be elect13 ed by the board from its members for a two-year term 

14 and shall not be limited in terms or service, other than 

15 as provided in subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(f) SECRETARY OF THE BOARD.—The first em17 ployee appointed by the board under section 8005 of this 

18 title shall be the secretary of the board, who shall be the 

19 chief operating officer of the corporation and shall be 

20 knowledgeable and experienced in matters related to vet21 erans. 

22 ‘‘(g) MEETINGS.—The board shall meet at the call 

23 of the chairperson and not less frequently than twice each 

24 year. If a member misses three consecutive regularly 

25 scheduled meetings, that member may be removed from 


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1 the board and the vacancy filled in accordance with sub2 section (d). 

3 ‘‘(h) QUORUM.—A majority of the current member4 ship of the board shall constitute a quorum for the trans5 action of business. 

6 ‘‘(i) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—Members of 

7 the board shall serve without pay, but may be reimbursed 

8 for the actual and necessary travel and subsistence ex9 penses incurred by them in the performance of the duties 

10 of the corporation, subject to the same limitations on reim11 bursement that are imposed upon employees of Federal 

12 agencies. 

13 ‘‘§ 8005. Officers and employees 

14 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—The board of directors may ap15 point officers or employees, but only after the corporation 

16 has sufficient funds to pay for their services. 

17 ‘‘(b) STATUS AND COMPENSATION.—(1) Officers and 

18 employees of the corporation— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall demonstrate exceptional knowledge 

20 in matters relating to the operation of a foundation, 

21 grant making, or the provision of services to vet22 erans; 

23 ‘‘(B) shall not be considered employees of the 

24 United States Government; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall be appointed without regard to the 

2 provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the 

3 competitive service; 

4 ‘‘(D) may not receive a salary in excess of the 

5 annual rate of basic pay in effect for Level V of the 

6 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5; 

7 ‘‘(E) may not be an employee of the Depart8 ment or spouse or dependent relative of such an em9 ployee; 

10 ‘‘(F) may not be an office holder in a veterans 

11 service organization or the spouse or dependent rel12 ative of such an office holder; and 

13 ‘‘(G) may not personally or substantially par14 ticipate in the consideration or determination by the 

15 corporation of any matter that would directly or pre16 dictably affect any financial interest of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the individual or a relative of the indi18 vidual; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) any business organization, or other 

20 entity, of which the individual is an officer or 

21 employee, is negotiating for employment, or in 

22 which the individual has a financial interest. 

23 ‘‘(2) A member of the board of directors may not re24 ceive compensation for serving as an employee of the cor25 poration. 


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1 ‘‘(c) POLICIES REGARDING FINANCIAL CONFLICTS

2 OF INTEREST AND ETHICAL STANDARDS.—In estab3 lishing bylaws under section 8006 of this title, the board 

4 of directors shall provide for policies with regard to finan5 cial conflicts of interest and ethical standards for the ac6 ceptance, solicitation, and disposition of donations and 

7 grants to the corporation. 

8 ‘‘§ 8006. Powers 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The corporation may— 

10 ‘‘(1) appoint employees; 

11 ‘‘(2) adopt a constitution and bylaws consistent 

12 with the purposes under section 8003 of this title; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(3) undertake such other acts as may be nec15 essary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(b) SEAL.—The corporation shall have an official 

17 seal selected by the board of directors which may be used 

18 as provided for in section 8010 of this title. 

19 ‘‘(c) POWERS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the cor20 poration may directly or by awarding of contracts or 

21 grants, carry out or support activities for the purposes de22 scribed in section 8003 of this title. 

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1 scribed in section 8003(a) of this title, the corporation 

2 shall consult with the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Defense. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Secretary of Labor. 

6 ‘‘(D) Such other heads of Federal agencies as 

7 the corporation considers appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PROPERTY.—(1) For purposes 

9 of this chapter, an interest in real property shall be treated 

10 as including easements or other rights for preservation, 

11 conservation, protection, or enhancement by and for the 

12 public of natural scenic, historic, scientific, education, in13 spirational, or recreational resources. 

14 ‘‘(2) A gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by 

15 the corporation even though it is encumbered, restricted, 

16 or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if any 

17 current or future interest therein is for the benefit of the 

18 corporation. 

19 ‘‘§ 8007. Community support grant program 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The corporation shall estab21 lish a community support grant program to award grants 

22 to eligible entities to create or expand community-based 

23 programs that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) contribute in a demonstrable manner to 

2 fostering the readjustment and successful reintegra3 tion of veterans into their geographic communities; 

4 ‘‘(2) expand the capacity within such commu5 nities to make direct services or supportive activities 

6 available in an ongoing and coordinated manner; 

7 ‘‘(3) engage and empower veterans; and 

8 ‘‘(4) establish and sustain close working rela9 tionships between one or more facilities administered 

10 by the Secretary and entities participating in such 

11 community-based programs. 

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of sub13 section (a), an eligible entity is any entity that represents 

14 a geographic community that is— 

15 ‘‘(1) undertaking a strategic planning process 

16 concerning what services for veterans and military 

17 families are available to veterans and military fami18 lies in such geographic community and how such 

19 services are made available to such veterans and 

20 families; 

21 ‘‘(2) mobilizing multiple partner organizations 

22 in the public and private sector; 

23 ‘‘(3) obtaining support from key stakeholders in 

24 the veterans and military community; 


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1 ‘‘(4) using clearly defined metrics to determine 

2 if local services for veterans and military families are 

3 improving; and 

4 ‘‘(5) using Internet-based resources or other 

5 outreach technologies to facilitate a connection be6 tween veterans, military families, and the services 

7 described in paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘§ 8008. Limitations on grants 

9 ‘‘A recipient of a grant awarded by the corporation 

10 to carry out a project, as a condition of such grant, may 

11 not receive during the one-year period beginning on the 

12 date on which such grant was awarded any amount from 

13 the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out such 

14 project. 

15 ‘‘§ 8009. Principal office 

16 ‘‘The principal office of the corporation shall be in 

17 the District of Columbia or another nearby State, as de18 termined by the board of directors of the corporation. 

19 However, the corporation may conduct business through20 out the States, territories, and possessions of the United 

21 States and establish local or regional support sites as the 

22 corporation considers necessary. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8010. Protection and uses of trademarks and trade 

2 names 

3 ‘‘(a) TRADEMARKS OF THE NATIONAL VETERANS

4 SUPPORT FOUNDATION.—Authorization for a contributor, 

5 or a supplier of goods or services, to use, in advertising 

6 regarding the contribution, good, or services, the trade 

7 name of the corporation, or any trademark, seal, symbol, 

8 insignia, or emblem of the corporation may be provided 

9 only by the corporation with the concurrence of the Sec10 retary. 

11 ‘‘(b) TRADEMARKS OF THE DEPARTMENT.—Author12 ization for a contributor or supplier described in sub13 section (a) to use, in such advertising, the trade name of 

14 the Department, or any trademark, seal, symbol, insignia, 

15 or emblem of the Department, may be provided— 

16 ‘‘(1) by the Secretary; or 

17 ‘‘(2) by the corporation with the concurrence of 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘§ 8011. Restriction on Federal funding 

20 ‘‘The corporation may not accept any Federal funds. 

21 ‘‘§ 8012. Service of process 

22 ‘‘The corporation shall have a designated agent to re23 ceive service of process for the corporation. Notice to or 

24 service on the agent, or mailed to the business address 

25 of the agent, is notice to or service on the corporation. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8013. Duty to maintain corporate and tax-exempt 

2 status 

3 ‘‘(a) CORPORATE STATUS.—The corporation shall 

4 maintain its status as a corporation incorporated under 

5 the laws of the District of Columbia or another nearby 

6 State, as determined by the board of directors of the cor7 poration. 

8 ‘‘(b) TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.—The corporation shall 

9 maintain its status as an organization exempt from the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

11 ‘‘§ 8014. Civil action by Attorney General for equi12 table relief 

13 ‘‘The Attorney General may bring a civil action in 

14 the United States District Court for the District of Colum15 bia for appropriate equitable relief if the corporation— 

16 ‘‘(1) engages or threatens to engage in any act, 

17 practice, or policy that is inconsistent with the pur18 poses in section 8003 of this title; or 

19 ‘‘(2) refuses, fails, or neglects to carry out its 

20 obligations under this chapter or threatens to do so. 

21 ‘‘§ 8015. Audits 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The financial statements of the 

23 corporation shall be audited annually in accordance with 

24 generally accepted auditing standards by an independent 

25 certified public accountant or independent licensed public 

26 accountant, certified or licensed by a regulatory authority 


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1 of a State or other political subdivision of the United 

2 States. The audit shall be conducted where the financial 

3 statements of the corporation normally are kept. The per4 son conducting the audit shall be given access to— 

5 ‘‘(1) all records and property owned or used by 

6 the corporation necessary to facilitate the audit; and 

7 ‘‘(2) full facilities for verifying transactions 

8 with the balances or securities held by depositories, 

9 fiscal agents, and custodians. 

10 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—(1) The corporation shall submit a 

11 report of the audit to Congress not later than six months 

12 after the close of the fiscal year for which the audit is 

13 made. The report shall describe the scope of the audit and 

14 include— 

15 ‘‘(A) statements necessary to present fairly the 

16 corporation’s assets, liabilities, and surplus or def17 icit, and an analysis of the changes in those amounts 

18 during the year; 

19 ‘‘(B) a statement in reasonable detail of the 

20 corporation’s income and expenses during the year 

21 including the results of any trading, manufacturing, 

22 publishing, or other commercial-type endeavor; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the independent auditor’s opinion of those 

24 statements. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The report may not be printed as a public docu2 ment. 

3 ‘‘§ 8016. Annual report 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the corporation shall 

5 submit to Congress and the Secretary a report on the pro6 ceedings and activities of the corporation during the prior 

7 fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(b) SUBMITTAL WITH AUDIT REPORTS.—Each re9 port submitted under subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall 

10 be submitted at the same time as the report of the audit 

11 required by section 8015 is submitted for the same fiscal 

12 year.’’. 

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

14 at the beginning of Part V of such title is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘80. National Veterans Support Network ................................ 8001.’’. 

Æ 


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