[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1112 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1112

 To grant a Federal charter to the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum 
                         of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 1993

 Mr. Hollings 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 Congressional Medal of Honor Museum 
                         of the United States.

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

SECTION 1. RECOGNITION AS CORPORATION AND GRANT OF FEDERAL CHARTER.

    The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum of the United States, a 
nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New 
York, is recognized as such and is granted a Federal charter.

SEC. 2. POWERS.

    The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum of the United States (in 
this Act referred to as the ``corporation'') shall have only those 
powers granted to it through its bylaws and articles of incorporation 
filed in the State in which it is incorporated and subject to the laws 
of such State.

SEC. 3. OBJECTS AND PURPOSES.

    The objects and purposes of the corporation are those provided for 
in its bylaws and articles of incorporation and shall include the 
following:
            (1) Preserving the memory and history of medal of honor 
        recipients.
            (2) Preserving artifacts and records of medal of honor 
        recipients that are donated or loaned to the museum in order to 
        honor the memory and history of such recipients, to display 
        such artifacts and records for educational purposes, and to 
        encourage research relating to such artifacts and records.
            (3) Educating the people of the United States on the value 
        of the medal of honor.
            (4) Inspiring and stimulating the youth of the United 
        States to become worthy citizens of the United States.

SEC. 4. SERVICE OF PROCESS.

    With respect to service of process, the corporation shall comply 
with the laws of the State in which it is incorporated and those States 
in which it carries on its activities in the furtherance of its 
corporate purposes.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

    Except as provided in section 8, eligibility for membership in the 
corporation and the rights and privileges of members of the corporation 
shall be as provided in the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the 
corporation.

SEC. 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

    Except as provided in section 8, the composition of the board of 
directors of the corporation and the responsibilities of such board 
shall be as provided in the articles of incorporation of the 
corporation and in conformity with the laws of the State in which it is 
incorporated.

SEC. 7. OFFICERS OF CORPORATION.

    Except as provided in section 8, the positions of officers of the 
corporation and the election of members to such positions shall be as 
provided in the articles of incorporation of the corporation and in 
conformity with the laws of the State in which it is incorporated.

SEC. 8. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION.

    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, handicap, age, 
or national origin.

SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS.

    (a) Income and Compensation.--No part of the income or assets of 
the corporation may inure to the benefit of any member, officer, or 
director of the corporation or be distributed to any such individual 
during the life of this charter. Nothing in this subsection shall be 
construed to prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to the 
officers of the corporation or reimbursement for actual necessary 
expenses in amounts approved by the board of directors.
    (b) Loans.--The corporation may not make any loan to any officer, 
director, or employee of the corporation.
    (c) Stock.--The corporation shall have no power to issue any shares 
of stock or to declare or pay any dividends.
    (d) Congressional Approval.--The corporation shall not claim 
congressional approval or the authorization of the Federal Government 
for any of its activities by reason of this Act.

SEC. 10. LIABILITY.

    The corporation shall be liable for the acts of its officers and 
agents whenever such officers and agents have acted within the scope of 
their authority.

SEC. 11. BOOKS AND RECORDS.

    The corporation shall keep correct and complete books and records 
of account and minutes of any proceeding of the corporation involving 
any of its members, the board of directors, or any committee having 
authority under the board of directors. The corporation shall keep, at 
its principal office, a record of the names and addresses of all 
members having the right to vote in any proceeding of the corporation. 
All books and records of such corporation may be inspected by any 
member having the right to vote in any corporation proceeding, or by 
any agent or attorney of such member, for any proper purpose at any 
reasonable time. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
contravene any applicable State law.

SEC. 12. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

    The first section of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
audit of accounts of private corporations established under Federal 
law'', approved August 30, 1964 (36 U.S.C. 1101), is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
                    ``(77) The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum of 
                the United States.''.

SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT.

    The corporation shall report annually to Congress concerning the 
activities of the corporation during the preceding fiscal year. Such 
annual report shall be submitted at the same time as the report of the 
audit required by section 2 of the Act referred to in section 12. The 
report shall not be printed as a public document.

SEC. 14. RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO AMEND OR REPEAL CHARTER.

    The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is expressly reserved 
to Congress.

SEC. 15. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.

    The corporation shall maintain its status as an organization exempt 
from taxation as provided in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. If the 
corporation fails to maintain such status, the charter granted by this 
Act shall expire.

SEC. 16. TERMINATION.

    The charter granted by this Act shall expire if the corporation 
fails to comply with--
            (1) any restriction or other provision of this Act;
            (2) any provision of its bylaws or articles of 
        incorporation; or
            (3) any provision of the laws of the State of New York that 
        apply to corporations such as the corporation recognized under 
        this Act.

SEC. 17. DEFINITION.

    For the purposes of this Act, the term ``State'' includes the 
District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories and possessions of 
the United States.

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