Acongressional charter is alaw passed by theUnited States Congress thatstates the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issuedcorporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified inTitle 36 of the United States Code.[1] The first charter issued by Congress was for theFirst Bank of the United States.[2][3]
The relationship between Congress and an organization so recognized is largely symbolic, and is intended to lend the organization the legitimacy of being officially sanctioned by theU.S. government. Congress does not oversee or supervise organizations it has so chartered, aside from receiving a yearly financial statement.
Until theDistrict of Columbia was granted the ability to issue corporate charters in the late 1800s, corporations operating in the District required a congressional charter. With few exceptions, most corporations since created by Congress are not federally chartered but are simply created as District of Columbia corporations.
Some charters create corporate entities, akin to being incorporated at the federal level. Examples of such charters are theFederal Reserve Bank,Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,Civil Air Patrol,Fannie Mae,Freddie Mac, and theTennessee Valley Authority. Other national-level groups with such charters are theAmerican Chemical Society,American Legion,American Red Cross, theBoy Scouts of America,[4] theGirl Scouts of the USA,[5]Little League Baseball Inc, theNational Academy of Public Administration, TheNational Academy of Sciences, theNational Ski Patrol, theNational FFA Organization, theNational Safety Council,National Park Foundation, theDisabled American Veterans,Veterans of Foreign Wars,National Trust for Historic Preservation, theUnited States Olympic Committee, theNational Conference on Citizenship, andNeighborWorks America.
American University,Gallaudet University,Georgetown University,George Washington University,[7]Howard University, and theInstitute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) are the only congressionally chartered universities in the United States. Gonzaga College, now Gonzaga College High School, was Congressionally chartered in 1858.
More common is a charter that recognizes a group already incorporated at the state level. These mostly honorific charters tend "to provide an 'official' imprimatur to their activities, and to that extent it may provide them prestige and indirect financial benefit".[8] Groups that fall into this group are usually veterans’ groups, fraternal groups, youth groups or patriotic groups like theUSO. Congress has chartered about 100 fraternal or patriotic groups.[9]
Eligibility for a charter is based on a group’s activities, whether they are unique, and whether or not they are in thepublic interest. If this is the case, a bill to grant a charter is introduced in Congress and must be voted into law.
There had been questions regarding the federal government's power to manage corporations which have received charters. Amid dissatisfaction with the system, the subcommittee of theHouse Judiciary Committee decided not to consider applications for further charters in 1992.[8] However, Congress issued corporate charters for theCorporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety,[10] theFleet Reserve Association,[11] and theAir Force Sergeants Association under theNational Defense Authorization Acts for the 1996, 1997, and 1998fiscal years respectively,[12] theNational Recording Preservation Foundation under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000,[13] and theAmerican GI Forum,[14] the Korean War Veterans Association,[15] theMilitary Officers Association of America,[16] and the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition in 1998, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively under laws passed with the sole purpose of issuing the charters.[17][1][18] The granting of a charter does not includecongressional oversight.[9]