A bill to amend the Act incorporating The American Legion so as to redefine eligibility for membership therein.
Public Law 93-557 · S. 4013 · 93rd Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Dec 27, 1974 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Sen. James Eastland (D-MS)
Cosponsors (3): Sen. John McClellan, Sen. Roman Hruska,
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Extends the periods of service related to World War II and the Korean War required for membership in the American Legion. Extends the period for World War II to December 31, 1946 (presently September 2, 1945). Extends the period for the Korean War to January 31, 1955 (presently July 27, 1953).
Sets the date of termination of the Vietnam hostilities for purposes of such membership at August 15, 1973. (Amends 36 U.S.C. 45)
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 10 actions.
- Dec 27, 1974Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 93-557.
- Dec 18, 1974PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Dec 16, 1974FloorFloor · Measure passed House.
- Dec 11, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- Oct 7, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- Oct 4, 1974FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- Oct 2, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Sep 17, 1974CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.