[House Report 112-314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-314
======================================================================
TO REVISE THE FEDERAL CHARTER FOR THE BLUE STAR MOTHERS OF AMERICA,
INC., TO REFLECT A CHANGE IN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP
_______
December 5, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following,
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2815]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 2815) to revise the Federal charter for the Blue
Star Mothers of America, Inc., to reflect a change in
eligibility requirements for membership, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 2815 revises the Federal charter for the Blue Star
Mothers of America to reflect changes in eligibility
requirements for membership.
Background and Need for the Legislation
The Blue Star Mothers of America is a federally chartered
organization.\1\ The purposes of the corporation are
``patriotic, educational, social, and for service,'' and
include--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See 36 U.S.C. sec. 30502.
1) Lperpetuating the Blue Star Mothers of America,
Inc., and the memory of all the men and women who have
served our country as members of the Armed Forces;
2) Lmaintaining true allegiance to the Government of
the United States;
3) Leducating members of the corporation and others
not to divulge military, naval, or other Government
information;
4) Lassisting in veterans' ceremonies;
5) Lattending patriotic rallies and meetings;
6) Lfostering true democracy;
7) Lcaring for unsupported mothers who gave their sons
to the service of the Nation;
8) Laiding in bringing about recognition of the need
for permanent civilian defense in each community and
the need to be always alert against invasion of un-
American activities;
9) Lupholding the American institutions of freedom,
justice, and equal rights; and
10) Ldefending the United States from all enemies.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\36 U.S.C. sec. 30503.
Membership is open to ``a mother, adoptive mother, or
stepmother (who has given a mother's care at least since the
stepchild was age 13) [living in the U.S.] of a son or daughter
who . . . is serving in the Armed Forces . . . or has served
in, or has been honorably discharged from, the Armed Forces in
World War II or the Korean hostilities. . . .''\3\ The
organization has over 5,000 members in 225 chapters around the
U.S.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\36 U.S.C. sec. 30504.
\4\Information provided by the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Blue Star Mothers of America states that:
On January 22, 1942 the Flint News Advertiser printed a
coupon asking Mothers of serviceman to return the
coupon after filling it out. The following February 1st
300 mothers met in the Durant Hotel, in Flint Michigan.
Captain George H. Maines, who had conceived the idea
for this group, acted as the chair of this first
meeting. It was decided that after receiving 1000
responses from the ad to form a permanent organization.
. . . Chapters then formed in Michigan, Ohio,
Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, California,
Iowa and Washington. In June 1960 the organization was
chartered by Congress.
Mothers volunteered throughout the tough times of World
War II. They worked in hospitals, train stations,
packed care packages for soldiers and were a working
part of homeland security during times our time of war.
The organization waned in size over the years but was
held together by mothers showing pride in both their
children and country. In recent times we have began to
grow in strength. Being attacked on our own soil has
once again started mothers hanging flags in their
windows at home proclaiming pride in the fact that we
have children protecting our freedom during a time of
war.
Our organization . . . provides support for active duty
service personnel, promotes patriotism, assists
Veterans organizations, and [is] available to assist in
homeland volunteer efforts to help our country remain
strong.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Website of Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.
The National President of the Blue Star Mothers sent a
letter to the Committee requesting that the Committee amend
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
their Federal charter. The letter stated that:
At the National Convention held in Grand Junction
Colorado in August 2010 a resolution was passed by the
convention body revising the language regarding
eligibility. . . . As Mothers of . . . American service
members and veterans we recognize the changing family
dynamics and have found it extremely important to
include other `mother[s]' who have played a part in
raising these military heroes and also those mothers
who are not residents of the U.S. The additional change
regards amendment to the original charter language of
1960 that included only the Korean conflict and prior
years since our membership consists of mothers of all
conflicts.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\Letter from Wendy Hoffman, National President, Blue Star Mothers
of America, Inc., to Lamar Smith (Nov. 7, 2011).
H.R. 2815 amends the Blue Star Mothers' Federal charter to
open eligibility to ``a mother (meaning a woman who filled the
role of birth mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, foster-
mother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a person who'' is
serving in the Armed Forces or who has served at any time.
Finally, to be eligible, the mother does not have to reside in
the U.S. as long as she is a U.S. citizen.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
2815.
Committee Consideration
On November 17, 2011, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 2815 favorably reported without amendment
by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 2815.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 2815, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, December 2, 2011.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2815, a bill to
revise the federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of
America, Inc., to reflect a change in eligibility requirements
for membership.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Dawn Regan,
who can be reached at 226-2840.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 2815--A bill to revise the federal charter for the Blue Star
Mothers of America, Inc., to reflect a change in eligibility
requirements for membership.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on
November 17, 2011
H.R. 2815 would amend title 36 of the U.S. Code to expand
eligibility for membership in the Blue Star Mothers of America,
Inc. The bill would broaden the definition of mother to include
a woman who filled the role of stepmother for any period of
time in the child's life, foster mother, grandmother, or legal
guardian. Also, the bill would remove the eligibility
requirement that participants have to be the mothers of
military members who served during World War II or the Korean
hostilities. Further, eligibility would be expanded to include
U.S. citizens who live outside the United States.
Because chartered organizations listed in title 36 are not
agencies of the U.S. government and are not conferred Federal
benefits, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have no
impact on the Federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2815 would not
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
H.R. 2815 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of State, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Dawn Regan. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
2815 revises the Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of
America to reflect changes in eligibility requirements for
membership.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 2815 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Sec. 1. Modification of Eligibility Requirements for
Membership in Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.
The section amends paragraph 1 of section 30504 of title 36
of the United States Code to modify the Blue Star Mothers'
Federal charter to open eligibility to ``a mother (meaning a
woman who filled the role of birth mother, adoptive mother,
stepmother, foster-mother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a
person who'' is serving in the Armed Forces or who has served
at any time. The section also amends paragraph 2 to provide
that to be eligible, a mother does not have to reside in the
U.S. as long as she is a U.S. citizen.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 36, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE II--PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
* * * * * * *
PART B--ORGANIZATIONS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 305--BLUE STAR MOTHERS OF AMERICA, INC.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 30504. Membership
An individual is eligible for membership in the corporation
if--
(1) [she is a mother, adoptive mother, or stepmother
(who has given a mother's care at least since the
stepchild was age 13) of a son or daughter who--] she
is a mother (meaning a woman who filled the role of
birth mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, foster-
mother, grandmother, or legal guardian) of a person
who--
(A) * * *
(B) has served in, or has been honorably
discharged from, the Armed Forces [in World War
II or the Korean hostilities]; and
(2) she is living in the United States or is a United
States citizen living outside the United States.
* * * * * * *