105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1759

AN ACT

To grant a Federal charter to the American GI Forum

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,
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S 1759 ES

1 SECTION 1. RECOGNITION AND GRANT OF FEDERAL CHAR2 TER.

3 The American GI Forum of the United States, a non4 profit corporation organized under the laws of the State

5 of Texas, is recognized as such and granted a Federal

6 charter.

7 SEC. 2. POWERS.

8 The American GI Forum of the United States (in this

9 Act referred to as the ‘‘corporation’’) shall have only those

10 powers granted to it through its bylaws and articles of

11 incorporation filed in the State of Texas and subject to

12 the laws of the State of Texas.

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

14 The purposes of the corporation are those provided

15 in its bylaws and articles of incorporation and shall include

16 the following:

17 (1) To secure the blessing of American democ18 racy at every level of local, State, and national life

19 for all United States citizens.

20 (2) To uphold and defend the Constitution and

21 the United States flag.

22 (3) To foster and perpetuate the principles of

23 American democracy based on religious and political

24 freedom for the individual and equal opportunity for

25 all.
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1 (4) To foster and enlarge equal educational op2 portunities, equal economic opportunities, equal jus3 tice under the law, and equal political opportunities

4 for all United States citizens, regardless of race,

5 color, religion, sex, or national origin.

6 (5) To encourage greater participation of the

7 ethnic minority represented by the corporation in the

8 policy-making and administrative activities of all de9 partments, agencies, and other governmental units

10 of local and State governments and the Federal Gov11 ernment.

12 (6) To combat all practices of a prejudicial or

13 discriminatory nature in local, State, or national life

14 which curtail, hinder, or deny to any United States

15 citizen an equal opportunity to develop full potential

16 as an individual.

17 (7) To foster and promote the broader knowl18 edge and appreciation by all United States citizens

19 of their cultural heritage and language.

20 SEC. 4. SERVICE OF PROCESS.

21 With respect to service of process, the corporation

22 shall comply with the laws of the State of Texas and those

23 States in which it carries on its activities in furtherance

24 of its corporate purposes.
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1 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

2 Except as provided in section 8(g), eligibility for

3 membership in the corporation and the rights and privi4 leges of members shall be as provided in the bylaws and

5 articles of incorporation of the corporation.

6 SEC. 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

7 Except as provided in section 8(g), the composition

8 of the board of directors of the corporation and the re9 sponsibilities of the board shall be as provided in the by10 laws and articles of incorporation of the corporation and

11 in conformity with the laws of the State of Texas.

12 SEC. 7. OFFICERS.

13 Except as provided in section 8(g), the positions of

14 officers of the corporation and the election of members

15 to such positions shall be as provided in the bylaws and

16 articles of incorporation of the corporation and in con17 formity with the laws of the State of Texas.

18 SEC. 8. RESTRICTIONS.

19 (a) INCOME AND COMPENSATION.—No part of the in20 come or assets of the corporation may inure to the benefit

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

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

23 charter. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to

24 prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to the

25 officers and employees of the corporation or reimburse-
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1 ment for actual and necessary expenses in amounts ap2 proved by the board of directors.

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

4 to any member, officer, director, or employee of the cor5 poration.

6 (c) ISSUANCE OF STOCK AND PAYMENT OF DIVI7 DENDS.—The corporation may not issue any shares of

8 stock or declare or pay any dividends.

9 (d) DISCLAIMER OF CONGRESSIONAL OR FEDERAL

10 APPROVAL.—The corporation may not claim the approval

11 of Congress or the authorization of the Federal Govern12 ment for any of its activities by virtue of this Act.

13 (e) CORPORATE STATUS.—The corporation shall

14 maintain its status as a corporation organized and incor15 porated under the laws of the State of Texas.

16 (f) CORPORATE FUNCTION.—The corporation shall

17 function as an educational, patriotic, civic, historical, and

18 research organization under the laws of the State of

19 Texas.

20 (g) NONDISCRIMINATION.—In establishing the condi21 tions of membership in the corporation and in determining

22 the requirements for serving on the board of directors or

23 as an officer of the corporation, the corporation may not

24 discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, dis25 ability, age, or national origin.
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1 SEC. 9. LIABILITY.

2 The corporation shall be liable for the acts of its offi3 cers, directors, employees, and agents whenever such indi4 viduals act within the scope of their authority.

5 SEC. 10. MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND

6 RECORDS.

7 (a) BOOKS AND RECORDS OF ACCOUNT.—The cor8 poration shall keep correct and complete books and

9 records of account and minutes of any proceeding of the

10 corporation involving any of its members, the board of di11 rectors, or any committee having authority under the

12 board of directors.

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

14 corporation shall keep at its principal office a record of

15 the names and addresses of all members having the right

16 to vote in any proceeding of the corporation.

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

18 books and records of the corporation may be inspected by

19 any member having the right to vote in any proceeding

20 of the corporation, or by any agent or attorney of such

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

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

23 not be construed to contravene any applicable State law.

24 SEC. 11. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

25 The first section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro26 vide for audit of accounts of private corporations estab-
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1 lished under Federal law’’, approved August 30, 1964 (36

2 U.S.C. 1101), is amended by adding at the end the follow3 ing:

4 ‘‘(80) American GI Forum of the United

5 States.’’.

6 SEC. 12. ANNUAL REPORT.

7 The corporation shall annually submit to Congress a

8 report concerning the activities of the corporation during

9 the preceding fiscal year. The annual report shall be sub10 mitted on the same date as the report of the audit required

11 by reason of the amendment made in section 11. The an12 nual report shall not be printed as a public document.

13 SEC. 13. RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR

14 REPEAL CHARTER.

15 The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is ex16 pressly reserved to Congress.

17 SEC. 14. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS REQUIRED AS CONDITION OF

18 CHARTER.

19 If the corporation fails to maintain its status as a

20 corporation exempt from taxation as provided in the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986 the charter granted in this Act

22 shall terminate.
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1 SEC. 15. TERMINATION.

2 The charter granted in this Act shall expire if the

3 corporation fails to comply with any of the provisions of

4 this Act.

5 SEC. 16. DEFINITION OF STATE.

6 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ includes

7 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto

8 Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is9 lands, and the territories and possessions of the United

10 States.

Passed the Senate July 31, 1998.

Attest:

Secretary.
105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1759

AN ACT

To grant a Federal charter to the American GI

Forum of the United States.