To amend title 36, United States Code, to move the place of incorporation and domicile of the National Woman's Relief Corps to Illinois, to move the principal office of such Corps to Murphysboro, Illinois, and for other purposes.
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Would update the federal charter of the National Woman's Relief Corps — a Civil War-era veterans' auxiliary organization — to move its place of incorporation from Washington, D.C. to Illinois, and its principal office from Springfield to Murphysboro, Illinois.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend title 36 of the U.S. Code, which governs federally chartered corporations, to reflect changes in where the National Woman's Relief Corps is legally domiciled and headquartered. Specifically, it would change the Corps' place of incorporation from the District of Columbia to Illinois, shift its principal office from Springfield to Murphysboro, Illinois, and update the service-of-process provisions to name the Illinois Secretary of State — rather than the D.C. Mayor — as the designated agent for legal process.
Key provisions
- 1Would change the Corps' place of incorporation and domicile from the District of Columbia to Illinois in title 36, U.S. Code.
- 2Would move the Corps' principal office designation from Springfield to Murphysboro, Illinois.
- 3Would update service-of-process provisions to name the Illinois Secretary of State, replacing the D.C. Mayor, as the designated legal agent.
Who would be affected
The National Woman's Relief Corps, a federally chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring Civil War Union veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic, and its members and officers who operate out of Illinois.
Why it matters
The change is administrative: it aligns the Corps' federal charter with its actual operating location in Murphysboro, Illinois, and ensures that legal process is directed to the appropriate state authority. It has no effect on the Corps' mission, programs, or membership.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Title 36, United States Code, § 153701(b) (Sec. 1(a))
Strikes 'the District of Columbia' and inserts 'Illinois' as the Corps' place of incorporation and domicile.
Amends Title 36, United States Code, § 153708 (Sec. 1(b))
Replaces 'Springfield' with 'Murphysboro' as the location of the Corps' principal office.
Amends Title 36, United States Code, § 153710 (Sec. 1(c))
Redirects service of process from a D.C.-designated agent to the Illinois Secretary of State or another office designated under Illinois law.
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 988 would have no effect on the federal budget.
CBO's estimate, published January 28, 2026, shows zero effect on direct spending, revenues, and the deficit in 2026, over the 2026–2030 window, and over the 2026–2035 window. Because the National Woman's Relief Corps is a congressionally chartered organization under title 36 of the U.S. Code and is not a federal agency, changing its place of incorporation and principal office carries no federal budgetary impact. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill moves the National Woman's Relief Corps' place of incorporation and domicile from the District of Columbia to Illinois and moves its principal office in Illinois from Springfield to Murphysboro.
The National Woman's Relief Corps is a federally chartered corporation whose purposes include (1) perpetuating the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and those who saved the Union during the Civil War; (2) preserving, and making available for research, documents and records pertaining to the Grand Army of the Republic and its members; and (3) honoring those who have patriotically served the United States in any war.
Legislative subjects
Government Operations and Politics; Illinois; Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations; U.S. history; Women's rights