[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8841 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8841
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Veteran Scam
Victims Foundation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2026
Mr. Whitesides (for himself, Mr. Shreve, and Mr. Austin Scott of
Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Veteran Scam
Victims Foundation, and for other purposes.
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 ``Veteran Scam Victims Foundation
Act''.
SEC. 2. VETERAN SCAM VICTIMS FOUNDATION.
(a) In General.--Title 38, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after chapter 83 the following new chapter:
``CHAPTER 84--VETERAN SCAM VICTIMS FOUNDATION
``Chapter 84--Veteran Scam Victims Foundation
``8401. Establishment and purposes of Foundation.
``8402. Board.
``8403. Gifts, devises, or bequests.
``8404. Disposition of property or income.
``8405. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as trustee;
personal liability for malfeasance.
``8406. Corporate powers.
``8407. Authority of Board.
``8408. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local government;
contributions, gifts, or transfers to or
for use of the United States.
``8409. Liability of the United States.
``8410. Annual report.
``Sec. 8401. Establishment and purposes of Foundation
``(a) Establishment.--There is established the Veteran Scam Victims
Foundation (in this chapter referred to as the `Foundation'). The
Foundation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation and is not an
agency or establishment of the United States.
``(b) Status.--Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the
Foundation shall be subject to, and have all the powers conferred upon
a nonprofit corporation by, the District of Columbia Nonprofit
Corporation Act.
``(c) Purposes.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the purposes
of the Foundation are--
``(A) to encourage, accept, and administer private
gifts of property for the benefit of, or in connection
with, the activities of the Department, to prevent
veterans and their beneficiaries from becoming the
victims of scams; and
``(B) to undertake and conduct such other
activities as will protect veterans and their
beneficiaries from scams, such as to educate veterans
and their beneficiaries about scams and support them
when they have become victims of scams.
``(2) Compensation not included.--The purposes of the
Foundation do not include providing compensation to veterans or
their beneficiaries for monetary losses in connection with
scams.
``Sec. 8402. Board
``(a) Membership.--The Foundation shall consist of a Board having
as members the following:
``(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (or the Secretary's
designee).
``(2) Six private citizens of the United States, of which--
``(A) one shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Commerce;
``(B) one shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Defense;
``(C) one shall be appointed by the Attorney
General;
``(D) one shall be appointed by the Chair of the
Federal Trade Commission;
``(E) one shall be appointed by the Commissioner of
the Internal Revenue Service; and
``(F) one shall be appointed by the Administrator
of the Social Security Administration.
``(3) Up to three members as the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs considers appropriate, each of whom shall be a private
citizen of the United States appointed by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.
``(b) Term of Office and Vacancies.--
``(1) In general.--The term of the private citizen members
of the Board is six years. If a successor is chosen to fill a
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of a term, the
successor shall be chosen only for the remainder of that term.
``(2) Initial terms.--The initial terms of the first
private citizen members of the Foundation shall be staggered so
that--
``(A) the first members appointed under subsections
(a)(2)(A) and (B) serve initial terms of six years;
``(B) the first members appointed under subsections
(a)(2)(C) and (D) serve initial terms of four years;
``(C) the first members appointed under subsections
(a)(2)(E) and (F) serve initial terms of two years; and
``(D) the first members appointed under subsection
(a)(3), if any, serve initial terms of six, four, or
two years, as determined by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs (or the Secretary's designee), except that no
more than one in every three such members may serve an
initial term of six years and no more than one in every
three may serve an initial term of four years.
``(c) Chairman.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (or the
Secretary's designee) shall be the Chairman of the Board.
``(d) Board Membership Not an Office.--Membership on the Board
shall not be an office within the meaning of the statutes of the United
States.
``(e) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Board serving at
any time shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
``(f) Seal.--The Foundation shall have an official seal selected by
the Board, which shall be judicially noticed.
``(g) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman
and there shall be at least one meeting each year.
``(h) Compensation and Reimbursement.--No compensation shall be
paid to the members of the Board for their services as members, but
they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling and
subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance of their
duties as members out of Foundation funds available to the Board for
those purposes.
``Sec. 8403. Gifts, devises, or bequests
``(a) Authority To Accept Gifts, Devises, or Bequests.--
``(1) In general.--The Foundation may accept, receive,
solicit, hold, administer, and use any gifts, devises, or
bequests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal
property, or any income from, or other interest in, the gift,
devise, or bequest, for the benefit of, or in connection with,
the Department, its activities, or its services.
``(2) Coordination with department.--Activities of the
Foundation under paragraph (1) shall be undertaken after
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure
that those activities are consistent with the programs and
policies of the Department.
``(3) Gift, devise, or bequest that is encumbered,
restricted, or subject to beneficial interests.--A gift,
devise, or bequest may be accepted by the Foundation even
though it is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial
interests of private persons if any current or future interest
in the gift, devise, or bequest is for the benefit of the
Department, its activities, or its services.
``(b) When Gift, Devise, or Bequest May Not Be Accepted.--The
Foundation may not accept any gift, devise, or bequest that entails any
expenditure other than from the resources of the Foundation.
``Sec. 8404. Disposition of property or income
``(a) Authority To Dispose or Deal With Property or Income.--Except
as otherwise required by the instrument of transfer, the Foundation may
sell, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or otherwise dispose of or deal
with any property or income from the property as the Board may
determine.
``(b) Restriction.--The Foundation shall not engage in any business
or make any investment that may not lawfully be made by a trust company
in the District of Columbia, except that the Foundation may make any
investment authorized by the instrument of transfer, and may retain any
property accepted by the Foundation.
``(c) Use of Services and Facilities of the Department.--The
Foundation may utilize the services and facilities of the Department,
and the services and facilities may be made available on request to the
extent practicable with or without reimbursement. Amounts reimbursed to
the Department shall be returned by the Department to the account from
which the funds for which the reimbursement is made were drawn and may,
without further appropriation, be expended for any purpose for which
the account is authorized.
``Sec. 8405. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as
trustee; personal liability for malfeasance
``(a) Perpetual Succession.--The Foundation shall have perpetual
succession.
``(b) Powers and Duties of Trustee.--The Foundation shall have all
the usual powers and obligations of a corporation acting as a trustee,
including the power to sue and to be sued in its own name.
``(c) Personal Liability of Board Members.--The members of the
Board shall not be personally liable, except for malfeasance.
``Sec. 8406. Corporate powers
``The Foundation shall have the power to enter into contracts, to
execute instruments, and generally to do any and all lawful acts
necessary or appropriate to its purposes.
``Sec. 8407. Authority of Board
``In carrying out this chapter, the Board may--
``(1) adopt bylaws and regulations necessary for the
administration of its functions; and
``(2) contract for any necessary services.
``Sec. 8408. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local
government; contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for
use of the United States
``(a) Tax Exemption.--The Foundation and any income or property
received or owned by it, and all transactions relating to that income
or property, shall be exempt from all Federal, State, and local
taxation.
``(b) Contributions in Lieu of Taxes.--The Foundation may--
``(1) contribute toward the costs of local government in
amounts not in excess of those which it would be obligated to
pay that government if it were not exempt from taxation by
virtue of subsection (a) or by virtue of its being a charitable
and nonprofit corporation; and
``(2) agree to contribute with respect to property
transferred to it and the income derived from the property if
the agreement is a condition of the transfer.
``(c) Transfers Deemed To Be to or for the Use of United States.--
Contributions, gifts, and other transfers made to or for the use of the
Foundation shall be deemed to be contributions, gifts, or transfers to
or for the use of the United States.
``Sec. 8409. Liability of the United States
``The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults,
acts, or omissions of the Foundation.
``Sec. 8410. Annual report
``(a) Report Required.--The Foundation shall, as soon as
practicable after the end of each fiscal year, transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees an annual report of its
proceedings and activities, including a full and complete statement of
its receipts, expenditures, and investments.
``(b) Definition.--In this section, the term `appropriate
congressional committees' means--
``(1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee
on Appropriations of the Senate; and
``(2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.''.
(b) Clerical Amendments.--The tables of chapters at the beginning
of title 38, United States Code, and of part VI of such title, are each
amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 83 the
following new item:
``84. Veteran Scam Victims Foundation....................... 8401''.
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