Moving National Woman's Relief Corps Incorporation and Domicile to Illinois; Principal Office to Murphysboro, Illinois

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 988, a bill to amend the charter of the National Woman's Relief Corps to formally change its principal office from Springfield, Illinois, to Murphysboro, Illinois, where I understand it is already located. It also moves its place of incorporation from Washington, D.C., to Illinois.

The Woman's Relief Corps was formally organized in 1883 to preserve the memory of those who served in the Civil War and provide assistance to veterans, widows, and orphans. The National Woman's Relief Corps, as it is now known, was congressionally chartered on September 7, 1962, and continues to serve all of our veterans and their families.

Congress has incorporated both public and private organizations since 1791. While organizations are free to incorporate under D.C. laws or the laws of any other State, many continue to seek charters from Congress for the related prestige, which can help expand membership and increase funding. More than 90 organizations hold congressional charters, and many of them have principal offices and places of incorporation outside D.C.

Particularly as this administration has slashed programs that serve our veterans, gutted staff at the Veterans Crisis Line and Veterans Health Administration, and made drastic cuts to programs that veterans and their families rely upon, like SNAP and Medicaid, organizations that work to support our veterans, like the National Woman's Relief Corps, are more important than ever.

Ultimately, this bill is a straightforward administrative fix, and I support it.

Mr. Speaker, the Woman's Relief Corps began as a way for patriotic women to show their continued loyalty to the Union and support Civil War veterans.

More than 140 years later, the organization continues to serve veterans of all wars and endeavors to ``encourage the spread of universal liberty and equal rights of everyone.''

I support the National Woman's Relief Corps' work, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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