H.R. 8841

[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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