I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4245 

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

Irish American Cultural Institute. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2004 

Mr. WALSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

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

charter to the Irish American Cultural Institute. 

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

3 SECTION 1. CHARTER FOR IRISH AMERICAN CULTURAL IN4 STITUTE. 

5 Part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating chapter 1001 as chapter 

8 1003; 

9 (2) by redesignating sections 100101 through 

10 100110, and the items relating thereto in the table 
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1 of sections, as sections 100301 through 100310, re2 spectively; and 

3 (3) by inserting after chapter 901 the following 

4 new chapter: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 1001—IRISH AMERICAN 

6 CULTURAL INSTITUTE 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘100101. Organization. 

‘‘100102. Purposes. 

‘‘100103. Membership. 

‘‘100104. Governing body. 

‘‘100105. Powers. 

‘‘100106. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, and badges. 

‘‘100107. Restrictions. 

‘‘100108. Duty to maintain tax-exempt status. 

‘‘100109. Principal office. 

‘‘100110. Records and inspection. 

‘‘100111. Service of process. 

‘‘100112. Liability for acts of officers and agents. 

‘‘100113. Annual report. 

7 ‘‘§ 100101. Organization 

8 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The Irish American Cul9 tural Institute (in this chapter, the ‘corporation’), incor10 porated in New Jersey, is a federally chartered corpora11 tion. 

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

13 does not comply with any provision of this chapter, the 

14 charter granted by this chapter expires. 

15 ‘‘§ 100102. Purposes 

16 ‘‘The purposes of the corporation are as provided in 

17 the articles of incorporation and include— 
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1 ‘‘(1) establishing the Museum of Irish America 

2 in Washington, D.C., as the center of Irish Amer3 ican thought, dialogue, debate, and reflection; 

4 ‘‘(2) recognizing and recording a living memo5 rial to the contributions of Irish-born and Irish 

6 Americans to the development of the United States; 

7 ‘‘(3) providing a focal point for all Irish Ameri8 cans, who make up 17 percent of the United States 

9 population, according to the 2000 census; 

10 ‘‘(4) exploring past, current, and future events 

11 in Ireland and the United States, as they relate to 

12 Irish Americans and society as a whole; 

13 ‘‘(5) documenting the tremendous contributions 

14 of Irish immigrants to the United States in the 

15 areas of architecture, military, politics, religion, 

16 labor, sports, literature, and art; 

17 ‘‘(6) providing ongoing studies to ensure that 

18 the experiences of the past will benefit the future of 

19 both Ireland and the United States; and 

20 ‘‘(7) establishing an Irish American Studies 

21 Program for students from both Ireland and the 

22 United States. 
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1 ‘‘§ 100103. Membership 

2 ‘‘Eligibility for membership in the corporation and 

3 the rights and privileges of membership are as provided 

4 in the bylaws. 

5 ‘‘§ 100104. Governing body 

6 ‘‘(a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The board of directors 

7 and the responsibilities of the board are as provided in 

8 the articles of incorporation. 

9 ‘‘(b) OFFICERS.—The officers and the election of offi10 cers are as provided in the articles of incorporation. 

11 ‘‘§ 100105. Powers 

12 ‘‘The corporation shall have only the powers provided 

13 in its bylaws and articles of incorporation filed in each 

14 State in which it is incorporated. 

15 ‘‘§ 100106. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, 

16 and badges 

17 ‘‘The corporation has the exclusive right to use the 

18 name ‘Irish American Cultural Institute’ and any seals, 

19 emblems, and badges relating thereto that the corporation 

20 adopts. 

21 ‘‘§ 100107. Restrictions 

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

23 not issue stock or declare or pay a dividend. 

24 ‘‘(b) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—The corporation or a 

25 director or officer as such may not contribute to, support, 
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1 or participate in any political activity or in any manner 

2 attempt to influence legislation. 

3 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME OR ASSETS.—The in4 come or assets of the corporation may not inure to the 

5 benefit of, or be distributed to, a director, officer, or mem6 ber during the life of the charter granted by this chapter. 

7 This subsection does not prevent the payment of reason8 able compensation to an officer or member in an amount 

9 approved by the board of directors. 

10 ‘‘(d) LOANS.—The corporation may not make any 

11 loan to a director, officer, or employee. 

12 ‘‘(e) CLAIM OF GOVERNMENTAL APPROVAL OR AU13 THORIZATION.—The corporation may not claim congres14 sional approval or the authority of the United States Gov15 ernment for any of its activities. 

16 ‘‘§ 100108. Duty to maintain tax-exempt status 

17 ‘‘The corporation shall maintain its status as an or18 ganization exempt from taxation under the Internal Rev19 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘§ 100109. Principal office 

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

22 Morristown, New Jersey, or another place decided by the 

23 board of directors. 

24 ‘‘§ 100110. Records and inspection 

25 ‘‘(a) RECORDS.—The corporation shall keep— 
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1 ‘‘(1) correct and complete books and records of 

2 account; 

3 ‘‘(2) minutes of the proceedings of its members, 

4 board of directors, and committees having any of the 

5 authority of its board of directors; and 

6 ‘‘(3) at its principal office, a record of the 

7 names and addresses of its members entitled to vote. 

8 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION.—A member entitled to vote, or an 

9 agent or attorney of the member, may inspect the records 

10 of the corporation for any proper purpose, at any reason11 able time. 

12 ‘‘§ 100111. Service of process 

13 ‘‘The corporation shall comply with the law on service 

14 of process of each State in which it is incorporated and 

15 each State in which it carries on activities. 

16 ‘‘§ 100112. Liability for acts of officers and agents 

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

18 and agents acting within the scope of their authority. 

19 ‘‘§ 100113. Annual report 

20 ‘‘The corporation shall submit an annual report to 

21 Congress on the activities of the corporation during the 

22 prior fiscal year. The report shall be submitted at the 

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

24 10101 of this title. The report shall not be printed as a 

25 public document.’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

2 The table of chapters at the beginning of subtitle II 

3 of title 36, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in the item relating to chapter 1001, by 

5 striking ‘‘1001’’ and inserting ‘‘1003’’ and by strik6 ing ‘‘100101’’ and inserting ‘‘100301’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting after the item relating to chap8 ter 901 the following new item: 

‘‘1001. Irish American Cultural Institute .................................100101’’. 

Æ