[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1561 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1561

 To amend title 36, United States Code, to grant a Federal charter to 
                 the Irish American Cultural Institute.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2005

Mr. Corzine (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and 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.

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

SECTION 1. CHARTER FOR IRISH AMERICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE.

    Part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating chapter 1001 as chapter 1003;
            (2) by redesignating sections 100101 through 100110, and 
        the items relating thereto in the table of sections, as 
        sections 100301 through 100310, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after chapter 901 the following new 
        chapter:

           ``CHAPTER 1001--IRISH AMERICAN 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.
``Sec. 100101. Organization
    ``(a) Federal Charter.--The Irish American Cultural Institute (in 
this chapter, the `corporation'), incorporated in New Jersey, is a 
federally chartered corporation.
    ``(b) Expiration of Charter.--If the corporation does not comply 
with any provision of this chapter, the charter granted by this chapter 
expires.
``Sec. 100102. Purposes
    ``The purposes of the corporation are as provided in the articles 
of incorporation and include--
            ``(1) establishing the Museum of Irish America in 
        Washington, D.C., as the center of Irish American thought, 
        dialogue, debate, and reflection;
            ``(2) recognizing and recording a living memorial to the 
        contributions of Irish-born and Irish Americans to the 
        development of the United States;
            ``(3) providing a focal point for all Irish Americans, who 
        make up 17 percent of the United States population, according 
        to the 2000 census;
            ``(4) exploring past, current, and future events in Ireland 
        and the United States, as they relate to Irish Americans and 
        society as a whole;
            ``(5) documenting the tremendous contributions of Irish 
        immigrants to the United States in the areas of architecture, 
        military, politics, religion, labor, sports, literature, and 
        art;
            ``(6) providing ongoing studies to ensure that the 
        experiences of the past will benefit the future of both Ireland 
        and the United States; and
            ``(7) establishing an Irish American Studies Program for 
        students from both Ireland and the United States.
``Sec. 100103. Membership
    ``Eligibility for membership in the corporation and the rights and 
privileges of membership are as provided in the bylaws.
``Sec. 100104. Governing body
    ``(a) Board of Directors.--The board of directors and the 
responsibilities of the board are as provided in the articles of 
incorporation.
    ``(b) Officers.--The officers and the election of officers are as 
provided in the articles of incorporation.
``Sec. 100105. Powers
    ``The corporation shall have only the powers provided in its bylaws 
and articles of incorporation filed in each State in which it is 
incorporated.
``Sec. 100106. Exclusive right to name, seals, emblems, and badges
    ``The corporation has the exclusive right to use the name `Irish 
American Cultural Institute' and any seals, emblems, and badges 
relating thereto that the corporation adopts.
``Sec. 100107. Restrictions
    ``(a) Stock and Dividends.--The corporation may not issue stock or 
declare or pay a dividend.
    ``(b) Political Activities.--The corporation or a director or 
officer as such may not contribute to, support, or participate in any 
political activity or in any manner attempt to influence legislation.
    ``(c) Distribution of Income or Assets.--The income or assets of 
the corporation may not inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to, 
a director, officer, or member during the life of the charter granted 
by this chapter. This subsection does not prevent the payment of 
reasonable compensation to an officer or member in an amount approved 
by the board of directors.
    ``(d) Loans.--The corporation may not make any loan to a director, 
officer, or employee.
    ``(e) Claim of Governmental Approval or Authorization.--The 
corporation may not claim congressional approval or the authority of 
the United States Government for any of its activities.
``Sec. 100108. 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 (26 U.S.C. 
1 et seq.).
``Sec. 100109. Principal office
    ``The principal office of the corporation shall be in Morristown, 
New Jersey, or another place decided by the board of directors.
``Sec. 100110. Records and inspection
    ``(a) Records.--The corporation shall keep--
            ``(1) correct and complete books and records of account;
            ``(2) minutes of the proceedings of its members, board of 
        directors, and committees having any of the authority of its 
        board of directors; and
            ``(3) at its principal office, a record of the names and 
        addresses of its members entitled to vote.
    ``(b) Inspection.--A member entitled to vote, or an agent or 
attorney of the member, may inspect the records of the corporation for 
any proper purpose, at any reasonable time.
``Sec. 100111. Service of process
    ``The corporation shall comply with the law on service of process 
of each State in which it is incorporated and each State in which it 
carries on activities.
``Sec. 100112. Liability for acts of officers and agents
    ``The corporation is liable for the acts of its officers and agents 
acting within the scope of their authority.
``Sec. 100113. Annual report
    ``The corporation shall submit an annual report to Congress on the 
activities of the corporation during the prior fiscal year. The report 
shall be submitted at the same time as the report of the audit required 
by section 10101 of this title. The report shall not be printed as a 
public document.''.

SEC. 2. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

    The table of chapters at the beginning of subtitle II of title 36, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the item relating to chapter 1001, by striking 
        ``1001'' and inserting ``1003'' and by striking ``100101'' and 
        inserting ``100301''; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to chapter 901 the 
        following new item:

``1001. Irish American Cultural Institute..................   100101''.
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