Seniors Protection Act

Seniors Protection Act - Repeals the Federal charter of the Retired Enlisted Association, Incorporated.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1136 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1136

 To amend title 36, United States Code, to repeal the Federal Charter 
            for Retired Enlisted Association, Incorporated.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

    Mr. Kleczka (for himself, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
 Ballenger, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, 
Mr. LaHood, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, and Mr. 
  Goodlatte) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 36, United States Code, to repeal the Federal Charter 
            for Retired Enlisted Association, Incorporated.

    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 ``Seniors Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal charters are prestigious distinctions awarded 
        to organizations with a patriotic, charitable, or educational 
        purpose.
            (2) Although intended as an honorific title, a Federal 
        charter implies Government support for such organizations.
            (3) In 1992, the Federal Government granted a Federal 
        charter to the Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), and in 1993 
        TREA established the TREA Senior Citizens League (TSCL).
            (4) TREA and TSCL operate as one entity, and TREA should be 
        held accountable for TSCL's actions because there is no real 
        distinction between the two organizations, except in name only.
            (5) The interconnectedness of TREA and TSCL is evidenced by 
        the following:
                    (A) Independently conducted audit reports for 
                fiscal years 1999 and 2000 concluded that TREA's and 
                TSCL's financial statements should be consolidated 
                because their financial activities are inseparable.
                    (B) Amendments to TSCL's articles of incorporation 
                and bylaws must be ratified by a majority vote of 
                TREA's Board of Directors.
                    (C) TSCL's Board of Trustees are appointed or 
                elected by TREA's National Board of Directors.
                    (D) TSCL may only be dissolved by a two-thirds vote 
                of TREA's National Board of Directors.
            (6) TSCL has solicited contributions from seniors through 
        the use of misleading tactics, and seniors who received 
        deceptive mailings from TSCL have filed numerous complaints 
        with the Social Security Administration, State Attorney General 
        offices, and Members of Congress requesting remedial action.
            (7) TCSL's misleading tactics include the following:
                    (A) Mailing solicitations containing replicas of 
                United States Government Social Security Trust Fund 
                checks written in the amount of $5,000.
                    (B) Purporting to have the authority to handle 
                distribution of Social Security payments by mailing 
                seniors an official looking ``Notch Registry'' plastic 
                identification card and a ``National Notch Victim 
                Register'' form that asks seniors to specify whether 
                they prefer their $5,000 notch payment sent to them in 
                one lump sum or in four installment payments, in spite 
                of the fact that any such payment (if offered) would be 
                handled exclusively by the Social Security 
                Administration.
                    (C) Aggressively soliciting seniors to support 
                misleading activities, including requesting seniors to 
                add a bequest in their wills to TSCL, along with 
                instructions for such will preparation.
            (8) TSCL's actions are clearly not patriotic, charitable, 
        or educational, and failure to revoke TREA's Federal charter 
        sends a signal to the American public that the Federal 
        Government condones such unethical and misleading behavior.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF FEDERAL CHARTER OF RETIRED ENLISTED ASSOCIATION, 
              INCORPORATED.

    (a) Repeal.--Chapter 1903 of title 36, United States Code (relating 
to a Federal charter for Retired Enlisted Association, Incorporated), 
is repealed.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis at the beginning of subtitle 
II of title 36, United States Code, is amended by striking the item 
relating to chapter 1903.
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