[House Report 106-205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    106-205

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       CONGRATULATING AND COMMENDING THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

                                _______


 June 29, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Stump, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                      [To accompany H.J. Res. 34]

  The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred the 
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 34) congratulating and commending 
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the joint resolution do pass.

    The organization which today is known as the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars of the United States traces its origin to the 
establishment in 1899 of a number of different veterans 
organizations following United States participation in the 
Spanish-American War. Today, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 
is an organization with 2,000,000 members involved in community 
and civic activities throughout the United States. Through such 
programs and activities as:

         LThe Voice of Democracy scholarship programs 
        for high school students;
         LCharitable and disaster relief programs;
         LVeterans service officers who handle 
        thousands of veterans claims each year;
         LCo-sponsorship of the National Veterans 
        Golden Age Games; and
         LVoluntary service at veterans hospitals and 
        thousands of other local community functions;
the VFW, whose motto is to ``honor the dead by serving the 
living'', has contributed immeasurably to the improvement of 
the United States of America, the well-being of its veterans, 
and all of its citizens. Accordingly, the Committee believes it 
is appropriate to recognize the 100th anniversary of the VFW's 
establishment and recommends that H.J. Res. 34 be favorably 
considered by the House.

                           Oversight Findings

    No oversight findings have been submitted to the Committee 
by the Committee on Government Reform.

                             Cost Estimate

    The Committee projects that the reported bill would have no 
cost.

                     Inflationary Impact Statement

    The enactment of the reported bill would have no 
inflationary impact.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The reported bill would not be applicable to the 
legislative branch under the Congressional Accountability Act, 
Public Law 104-1, because the bill would only affect certain 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, and U.S. 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims programs and 
beneficiaries.

                     Statement of Federal Mandates

    The reported bill would not establish a federal mandate 
under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Public Law 104-4.

                 Statement of Constitutional Authority

    Pursuant to Article I, section 8 of the United States 
Constitution, the reported bill is authorized by Congress' 
power to ``provide for the common Defence and general Welfare 
of the United States''.
                                  
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