Title 36 is comprised of three subtitles: Subtitle I: Patriotic and National Observances and Ceremonies Subtitle II: Patriotic and National Organizations and Subtitle III: Treaty Obligation Organizations. 2 Title 36 of the United States Code, 3 where such corporate organizations are listed with their charters, was recodified by law in 1998 ( P.L. This report discusses a category of congressionally chartered 1 nonprofit organizations that have as their purpose the promotion of patriotic, charitable, educational, and other eleemosynary activities. (The Senate generally defers to the House on chartering matters.) On several recent occasions, however, Congress has established Title 36 corporations despite the moratorium. As a consequence, the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee of jurisdiction instituted a moratorium on granting new charters in 1989. government approves and supervises the corporations, when in fact this is not the case. In recent years, some in Congress have expressed concern that the public may be misled by its chartering process into believing that somehow the U.S. The attraction of Title 36 status for national organizations is that it tends to provide an "official" imprimatur to their activities, and to that extent it may provide them prestige and indirect financial benefit.
For instance, the corporation's debt is not guaranteed, explicitly or implicitly, by the full faith and credit of the United States. These so-called "Title 36 corporations," such as the Girl Scouts of America and the National Academy of Public Administration, are typically incorporated first under state law, then request that Congress grant them a congressional or federal charter.Ĭhartered corporations listed in Title 36 are not agencies of the United States, and their charters only rarely assign the corporate bodies any governmental attributes. There are currently some 92 nonprofit corporations listed in Title 36, Subtitle II, of the U.S. The chartering by Congress of organizations with a patriotic, charitable, historical, or educational purpose is essentially a 20 th century practice. This report will be updated in the event of a significant development. As a consequence, the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee of jurisdiction instituted a moratorium on granting new charters in 1989. The attraction of Title 36 status for national organizations is that it tends to provide an “official” imprimatur to their activities, and to that extent it may provide them prestige and indirect financial benefit. For instance, the corporation’s debt is not guaranteed, explicitly or implicitly, by the full faith and credit of the United States. These so-called “Title 36 corporations,” such as the Girl Scouts of America and the National Academy of Public Administration, are typically incorporated first under state law, then request that Congress grant them a congressional or federal charter.Ĭhartered corporations listed in Title 36 are not agencies of the United States, and their charters only rarely assign the corporate bodies any governmental attributes. The chartering by Congress of organizations with a patriotic, charitable, historical, or educational purpose is essentially a 20th century practice.