[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1554 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1554
To grant a Federal charter to the National American Indian Veterans,
Incorporated.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11, 2023
Mr. Rounds (for himself, Mr. Thune, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Lankford, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Barrasso, Ms.
Murkowski, Mr. Graham, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Sullivan,
Mr. Moran, Mr. Daines, Mr. Braun, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Warnock, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, Ms. Smith, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr.
Kelly, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Bennet, Mr.
Hickenlooper, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. King, Mr.
Ossoff, and Mr. Mullin) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To grant a Federal charter to the National American Indian Veterans,
Incorporated.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National American Indian Veterans
Charter Act''.
SEC. 2. RECOGNITION AS CORPORATION AND GRANT OF FEDERAL CHARTER FOR
NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN VETERANS, INCORPORATED.
(a) In General.--Part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 1503 the following:
``CHAPTER 1504--NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN VETERANS, INCORPORATED
``Sec.
``150401. Organization.
``150402. Purposes.
``150403. Membership.
``150404. Board of directors.
``150405. Officers.
``150406. Nondiscrimination.
``150407. Powers.
``150408. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, and badges.
``150409. Restrictions.
``150410. Duty to maintain tax-exempt status.
``150411. Records and inspection.
``150412. Service of process.
``150413. Liability for acts of officers and agents.
``150414. Failure to comply with requirements.
``150415. Annual report.
``Sec. 150401 Organization
``The National American Indian Veterans, Incorporated, a nonprofit
corporation organized in the United States (referred to in this chapter
as the `corporation'), is a federally chartered corporation.
``Sec. 150402. Purposes
``The purposes of the corporation are those stated in the articles
of incorporation, constitution, and bylaws of the corporation, and
include a commitment--
``(1) to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United
States while respecting the sovereignty of the American Indian
Nations;
``(2) to unite under one body all American Indian veterans
who served in the Armed Forces of United States;
``(3) to be an advocate on behalf of all American Indian
veterans without regard to whether they served during times of
peace, conflict, or war;
``(4) to promote social welfare (including educational,
economic, social, physical, and cultural values and traditional
healing) in the United States by encouraging the growth and
development, readjustment, self-respect, self-confidence,
contributions, and self-identity of American Indian veterans;
``(5) to serve as an advocate for the needs of American
Indian veterans and their families and survivors in their
dealings with all Federal and State government agencies;
``(6) to promote, support, and utilize research, on a
nonpartisan basis, pertaining to the relationship between
American Indian veterans and American society; and
``(7) to provide technical assistance to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs regional areas that are not served by any
veterans committee or organization or program by--
``(A) providing outreach service to Indian Tribes
in need; and
``(B) training and educating Tribal Veterans
Service Officers for Indian Tribes in need.
``Sec. 150403. Membership
``Subject to section 150406, eligibility for membership in the
corporation, and the rights and privileges of members, shall be as
provided in the constitution and bylaws of the corporation.
``Sec. 150404. Board of directors
``Subject to section 150406, the board of directors of the
corporation, and the responsibilities of the board, shall be as
provided in the constitution and bylaws of the corporation and in
conformity with the laws under which the corporation is incorporated.
``Sec. 150405. Officers
``Subject to section 150406, the officers of the corporation, and
the election of such officers, shall be as provided in the constitution
and bylaws of the corporation and in conformity with the laws of the
jurisdiction under which the corporation is incorporated.
``Sec. 150406. Nondiscrimination
``In establishing the conditions of membership in the corporation,
and in determining the requirements for serving on the board of
directors or as an officer of the corporation, the corporation may not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national
origin, handicap, or age.
``Sec. 150407. Powers
``The corporation shall have only those powers granted the
corporation through its articles of incorporation, constitution, and
bylaws, which shall conform to the laws of the jurisdiction under which
the corporation is incorporated.
``Sec. 150408. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, and badges
``(a) In General.--The corporation shall have the sole and
exclusive right to use the names `National American Indian Veterans,
Incorporated' and `National American Indian Veterans', and such seals,
emblems, and badges as the corporation may lawfully adopt.
``(b) Effect.--Nothing in this section interferes or conflicts with
any established or vested rights.
``Sec. 150409. Restrictions
``(a) Stock and Dividends.--The corporation may not--
``(1) issue any shares of stock; or
``(2) declare or pay any dividends.
``(b) Distribution of Income or Assets.--
``(1) In general.--The income or assets of the corporation
may not--
``(A) inure to any person who is a member, officer,
or director of the corporation; or
``(B) be distributed to any such person during the
life of the charter granted by this chapter.
``(2) Effect.--Nothing in this subsection prevents the
payment of reasonable compensation to the officers of the
corporation, or reimbursement for actual and necessary
expenses, in amounts approved by the board of directors.
``(c) Loans.--The corporation may not make any loan to any officer,
director, member, or employee of the corporation.
``(d) No Federal Endorsement.--The corporation may not claim
congressional approval or Federal Government authority by virtue of the
charter granted by this chapter for any of the activities of the
corporation.
``Sec. 150410. Duty to maintain tax-exempt status
``The corporation shall maintain its status as an organization
exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``Sec. 150411. Records and inspection
``(a) Records.--The corporation shall keep--
``(1) correct and complete books and records of accounts;
``(2) minutes of any proceeding of the corporation
involving any of member of the corporation, the board of
directors, or any committee having authority under the board of
directors; and
``(3) at the principal office of the corporation, a record
of the names and addresses of all members of the corporation
having the right to vote.
``(b) Inspection.--
``(1) In general.--All books and records of the corporation
may be inspected by any member having the right to vote, or by
any agent or attorney of such a member, for any proper purpose,
at any reasonable time.
``(2) Effect.--Nothing in this section contravenes--
``(A) the laws of the jurisdiction under which the
corporation is incorporated; or
``(B) the laws of those jurisdictions within the
United States and its territories within which the
corporation carries out activities in furtherance of
the purposes of the corporation.
``Sec. 150412. Service of process
``With respect to service of process, the corporation shall comply
with the laws of--
``(1) the jurisdiction under which the corporation is
incorporated; and
``(2) those jurisdictions within the United States and its
territories within which the corporation carries out activities
in furtherance of the purposes of the corporation.
``Sec. 150413. Liability for acts of officers and agents
``The corporation shall be liable for the acts of the officers and
agents of the corporation acting within the scope of their authority.
``Sec. 150414. Failure to comply with requirements
``If the corporation fails to comply with any of the requirements
of this chapter, including the requirement under section 150410 to
maintain its status as an organization exempt from taxation, the
charter granted by this chapter shall expire.
``Sec. 150415. Annual report
``(a) In General.--The corporation shall submit to Congress an
annual report describing the activities of the corporation during the
preceding fiscal year.
``(b) Submittal Date.--Each annual report under this section shall
be submitted at the same time as the report of the audit of the
corporation required by section 10101(b).
``(c) Report Not Public Document.--No annual report under this
section shall be printed as a public document.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for subtitle II of
title 36, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to chapter 1503 the following:
``1504. National American Indian Veterans, Incorporated..... 150401''.
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