If At First You Don’t Succeed…

A Congressional charter is simply a federal statute that creates or legally recognizes an organization. Relatively rare, just under 100 active charters are collected in Title 36 of the U.S. Code. Many prominent national nonprofit organizations obtained such charters in the middle of the 20th Century and benefited from the Congressional imprimatur. As with any federal legislation, changing even so much as a comma requires an Act of Congress, passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the President.

Until last year, the FBA Foundation’s charter, which dates to 1954, had never been updated, and many of the original provisions had become impractical or unworkable. On page 8 of this magazine, Foundation President Steve Jackson explains in detail how the legislation enacted in December will help streamline operations and better facilitate the fulfillment of the Foundation’s mission. This article focuses on the process by which the FBA secured enactment of this legislation, the importance of thoughtful and consistent engagement with Members of Congress, and the critical role of FBA member involvement.

In 2016, Bruce Moyer led the first effort to amend the Foundation’s charter with legislation introduced by Ohio Republican Steve Chabot and Puerto Rican Democrat Pedro Pierlusi. Although the charter amendments bill did not advance in the 114th Congress, Rep. Chabot reintroduced the legislation in the 115th Congress and secured unanimous House passage despite having no cosponsors. The bill stalled in the Senate, however. Undeterred, Rep. Chabot, this time joined by Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin, introduced another charter amendments bill in the 116th Congress. Although the House again approved the bill unanimously, the Senate did not bring it to a vote. Both times, the Senate’s progress was impeded by a “hold” by a Senator or Senators who were objecting to the passage of a broad list of bills in the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. 

Reps. Chabot and Raskin tried again in the 117th Congress, with the same results in both chambers, but FBA received reports that one or more Senators had expressed concern about approving any bill related to Congressional charters for nonprofits. The FBA had hoped the House-passed bill would also pass the Senate by unanimous consent. In the Senate, however, before a bill is brought to the Floor for a unanimous consent request, an informal “hotline” message is distributed to all Senators. If any Senator objects behind the scenes (places a “hold”), it is often the case that the bill will not be brought to a vote. (Some bills are so critical that a hold can’t stop them and the Majority Leader will file a cloture petition to cut off objections and permit floor consideration.) Through existing relationships with Senate staff and because of the FBA’s strong reputation as a trusted, nonpartisan advocate, outside counsel learned which Senators had informally objected via their staff and why. With this information, outside counsel and FBA members were able to communicate with the concerned Senators and work to address their concerns.

Having seen the House-passed bill die in the Senate three Congresses in a row, it was clear that an alternative approach was warranted. FBA thought that it made sense to try to start the legislation in the Senate in the 118th Congress (2023-24) since it could create a different dynamic (it can be easier for Senators to place holds on House bills rather than ending the progress of a bill sponsored by one of their colleagues). Since Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy had been helpful the prior year in trying to secure Senate consideration of the House-passed charter bill, FBA members from Louisiana successfully asked the Senator to consider sponsoring the Senate version. Knowing that Rhode Island Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has been very supportive of FBA, including speaking at Capitol Hill Day, FBA asked him to be the lead Democratic cosponsor. Multiple strategic contacts from FBA constituents and outside counsel emphasized the importance of the bill to the Foundation and were key to keeping such a niche bill on the busy Senators’ agendas in order to secure its discharge from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Staff for the two Senators collaborated on a bipartisan basis and coordinated with Senate leadership staff to ensure that the bill would be hotlined and passed. The sponsors and their staff also proactively worked to help avoid a repeat of past objections, educating colleagues as needed as to the value of the FBA Foundation and the need for the efficiencies reflected by the bill. At last, the bill passed the full Senate by voice vote on April 30, 2025.

Once the bill moved across Capitol Hill, FBA members with connections to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan played an essential role, making regular contacts even during the month-long August recess and the 43-day shutdown. Since the House had unanimously approved charter amendments bills in the three preceding Congresses, the FBA urged leadership to present the Senate-passed bill directly to the full House under “suspension of the rules,” a procedure requiring a two-thirds vote for passage, often used for uncontroversial legislation. On December 1, California Republican Representative Thomas McClintock moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote, the bill was presented to the President on December 10, and it was signed into law on December 12.

The foregoing play-by-play shows that patient, responsive, and adaptive advocacy over multiple Congresses is often required to secure the enactment of even an uncontroversial bill. As mentioned above, the FBA’s excellent reputation in Congress added invaluable credibility to every request for support or assistance. Finally, we cannot overstate the importance of the contacts made by individual FBA members throughout this process, and it has been our pleasure to work with such a willing group of dedicated members.