piring at the third annual meeting following the an-
nual meeting at which such member was elected. 
‘‘(3) TERM LIMITS.—No person may serve as a 
member of the board of governors for more than 
such number of terms of office or years as may be 
provided in the bylaws. 
‘‘(c) COMMITTEES AND OFFICERS.—The board—
‘‘(1) may appoint, from its own members, an 
executive committee to exercise such powers of the 
board when the board is not in session as may be 
provided in the bylaws; 
‘‘(2) may appoint such other committees or ad-
visory councils with such powers as may be provided 
in the bylaws or a resolution of the board of gov-
ernors; 
‘‘(3) shall appoint such officers of the corpora-
tion, including a chief executive officer, with such 
duties, responsibilities, and terms of office as may be 
provided in the bylaws or a resolution of the board 
of governors; and 
‘‘(4) may remove members of the board of gov-
ernors (other than the chairman), officers, and em-
ployees under such procedures as may be provided in 
the bylaws or a resolution of the board of governors. 
‘‘(d) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be an advi-
sory council to the board of governors. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP; APPOINTMENT
BY
PRESI-
DENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory council 
shall be composed of no fewer than 8 and no 
more than 10 members, each of whom shall be 
appointed by the President from principal offi-
cers of the executive departments and senior of-
ficers of the Armed Forces whose positions and 
interests qualify them to contribute to carrying 
out the programs and purposes of the corpora-
tion. 
‘‘(B) 
MEMBERS
FROM
THE
ARMED 
FORCES.—At least 1, but not more than 3, of 
the members of the advisory council shall be se-
lected from the Armed Forces. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The advisory council shall ad-
vise, report directly to, and meet, at least 1 time per 
year with the board of governors, and shall have 
such name, functions and be subject to such proce-
dures as may be provided in the bylaws. 
‘‘(e) ACTION WITHOUT MEETING.—Any action re-
quired or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the 
board of governors or of any committee thereof may be
taken without a meeting if all members of the board or 
committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, 
or by electronic transmission and the writing or writings 
or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with 
the minutes of proceedings of the board or committee. 
Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are main-
tained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if 
the minutes are maintained in electronic form. 
‘‘(f) VOTING BY PROXY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Voting by proxy is not al-
lowed at any meeting of the board, at the annual 
meeting, or at any meeting of a chapter. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The board may allow the 
election of governors by proxy during any emer-
gency. 
‘‘(g) BYLAWS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The board of governors 
may—
‘‘(A) at any time adopt bylaws; and 
‘‘(B) at any time adopt bylaws to be effec-
tive only in an emergency. 
‘‘(2) EMERGENCY BYLAWS.—Any bylaws adopt-
ed pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) may provide spe-
cial procedures necessary for managing the corpora-
tion during the emergency. All provisions of the reg-
ular bylaws consistent with the emergency bylaws re-
main effective during the emergency. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘entire board’ means the total 
number of members of the board of governors that 
the corporation would have if there were no vacan-
cies; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘emergency’ shall have such 
meaning as may be provided in the bylaws.’’. 
SEC. 7. POWERS. 
Subsection (a)(1) of section 300105 of title 36, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘bylaws’’ and 
inserting ‘‘policies’’. 
SEC. 8. ANNUAL MEETING. 
Section 300107 of title 36, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 300107. Annual meeting 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The annual meeting of the cor-
poration is the annual meeting of delegates of the chap-
ters. 
‘‘(b) TIME OF MEETING.—The annual meeting shall 
be held as determined by the board of governors. 
‘‘(c) PLACE OF MEETING.—The board of governors 
is authorized to determine that the annual meeting shall 
not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely
by means of remote communication subject to such proce-
dures as are provided in the bylaws. 
‘‘(d) VOTING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In matters requiring a vote 
at the annual meeting, each chapter is entitled to at 
least 1 vote, and voting on all matters may be con-
ducted by mail, telephone, telegram, cablegram, elec-
tronic mail, or any other means of electronic or tele-
phone transmission, provided that the person voting 
shall state, or submit information from which it can 
be determined, that the method of voting chosen was 
authorized by such person. 
‘‘(2) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
NUMBER
OF 
VOTES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The board of gov-
ernors shall determine on an equitable basis the 
number of votes that each chapter is entitled to 
cast, taking into consideration the size of the 
membership of the chapters, the populations 
served by the chapters, and such other factors 
as may be determined by the board. 
‘‘(B) PERIODIC
REVIEW.—The board of 
governors shall review the allocation of votes at 
least every 5 years.’’.
SEC. 9. ENDOWMENT FUND. 
Section 300109 of title 36, United States Code is 
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘nine’’ from the first sentence 
thereof; and 
(2) by striking the second sentence and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘The corporation shall prescribe 
policies and regulations on terms and tenure of of-
fice, accountability, and expenses of the board of 
trustees.’’. 
SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT AND AUDIT. 
Subsection (a) of section 300110 of title 36, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the end of the corporation’s fiscal year, which 
may be changed from time to time by the board of gov-
ernors, the corporation shall submit a report to the Sec-
retary of Defense on the activities of the corporation dur-
ing such fiscal year, including a complete, itemized report 
of all receipts and expenditures.’’. 
SEC. 11. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 
AND OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3001 of title 36, United 
States Code, is amended by redesignating section 300111 
as section 300113 and by inserting after section 300110 
the following new sections:
‘‘§ 300111. Authority of the Comptroller General of 
the United States 
‘‘The Comptroller General of the United States is au-
thorized to review the corporation’s involvement in any 
Federal program or activity the Government carries out 
under law. 
‘‘§ 300112. Office of the Ombudsman 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The corporation shall estab-
lish an Office of the Ombudsman with such duties and 
responsibilities as may be provided in the bylaws or a reso-
lution of the board of governors. 
‘‘(b) REPORT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of the Ombuds-
man shall submit annually to the appropriate Con-
gressional committees a report concerning any 
trends and systemic matters that the Office of the 
Ombudsman has identified as confronting the cor-
poration. 
‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the appro-
priate Congressional committees are the following 
committees of Congress: 
‘‘(A) SENATE
COMMITTEES.—The appro-
priate Congressional committees of the Senate 
are—
‘‘(i) the Committee on Finance;
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions; 
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions; 
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs; and 
‘‘(v) the Committee on the Judiciary. 
‘‘(B) HOUSE
COMMITTEES.—The appro-
priate Congressional committees of the House 
of Representatives are—
‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs; 
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity; 
‘‘(iv) the Committee on the Judiciary; 
and 
‘‘(v) the Committee on Ways and 
Means.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 3001 of title 36, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 300111 
and inserting the following:
‘‘300111. Authority of the Comptroller General of the United States.
‘‘300112. Office of the Ombudsman. 
‘‘300113. Reservation of right to amend or repeal.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives April 17, 2007. 
Attest:
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1681
AN ACT 
To amend the Congressional Charter of The Amer-
ican National Red Cross to modernize its govern-
ance structure, to enhance the ability of the 
board of governors of The American National 
Red Cross to support the critical mission of The 
American National Red Cross in the 21st cen-
tury, and for other purposes.