	What Is a Congressional or Federal Charter? A congressional or federal charter is a federal statute that establishes a corporation. Enduring Issues

Congressionally chartered corporations have raised diverse issues for Congress, including (1) Title 36 corporations' membership practices; (2) prohibitions on Title 36 corporations engaging in "political activities"; (3) confusion over which corporations are governmental and which are private; and (4) federal management of these corporations. entities that have both governmental and private sector attributes). The Federal Management of Corporations

The management of government corporations has been made difficult by a few factors. This practice has fallen by the wayside; usually, Congress charters entities to have "perpetual succession."
A congressional or federal charter is a federal statute that establishes a corporation. Congress has issued charters since 1791, although most charters were issued after the start of the 20th century. Congress has used charters to create a variety of corporate entities, such as banks, government-sponsored enterprises, commercial corporations, venture capital funds, and quasi governmental entities. Congressionally chartered corporations have raised diverse issues for Congress, including (1) Title 36 corporations' membership practices; (2) prohibitions on Title 36 corporations engaging in "political activities"; (3) confusion over which corporations are governmental and which are private; and (4) federal management of these corporations. This report will be updated annually.
Readers seeking additional information about congressionally chartered organizations may consult:
CRS Report RL30365, Federal Government Corporations: An Overview, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RL30533, The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report RL30340, Congressionally Chartered Nonprofit Organizations ("Title 36 Corporations"): What They Are and How Congress Treats Them, by [author name scrubbed].