1.This Act may be cited as the Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act of 2004
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(a)Congress finds the following:
(1)Special Olympics celebrates the possibilities of a world where everybody matters, everybody counts, every person has value, and every person has worth.
(2)The Government and the people of the United States recognize the dignity and value the giftedness of children and adults with an intellectual disability.
(3)The Government and the people of the United States are determined to end the isolation and stigmatization of people with an intellectual disability.
(4)For more than 36 years, Special Olympics has encouraged skill, sharing, courage, and joy through year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
(5)Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competitive opportunities to 1,500,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities in 26 sports and plans to expand the joy of participation through sport to hundreds of thousands of people with intellectual disabilities within the United States and worldwide over the next 5 years.
(6)Special Olympics has demonstrated its ability to provide a major positive effect on the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities, improving their health and physical well-being, building their confidence and self-esteem, and giving them a voice to become active and productive members of their communities.
(7)In society as a whole, Special Olympics has become a vehicle and platform for breaking down artificial barriers, improving public health, changing negative attitudes in education, and helping athletes overcome the prejudice that people with intellectual disabilities face in too many places.
(8)The Government of the United States enthusiastically supports Special Olympics, recognizes its importance in improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, and recognizes Special Olympics as a valued and important component of the global community.
(b)The purposes of this Act are to—
(1)provide support to Special Olympics to increase athlete participation in and public awareness about the Special Olympics movement;
(2)dispel negative stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities;
(3)build athletic and family involvement through sport; and
(4)promote the extraordinary gifts of people with intellectual disabilities.
3.Assistance for Special Olympics
(a)The Secretary of Education may award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out the following:
(1)Activities to promote the expansion of Special Olympics, including activities to increase the participation of individuals with intellectual disabilities within the United States.
(2)The design and implementation of Special Olympics education programs, including character education and volunteer programs that support the purposes of this Act, that can be integrated into classroom instruction and are consistent with academic content standards.
(b)The Secretary of State may award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out the following:
(1)Activities to increase the participation of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Special Olympics outside of the United States.
(2)Activities to improve the awareness outside of the United States of the abilities and unique contributions that individuals with intellectual disabilities can make to society.
(c)
(1)The Secretary of Health and Human Services may award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special Olympics for the implementation of on-site health assessments, screening for health problems, health education, data collection, and referrals to direct health care services.
(2)Activities under paragraph (1) shall be coordinated with private health providers, existing authorized programs of State and local jurisdictions, or the Department of Health and Human Services, as applicable.
(d)Amounts appropriated to carry out this section shall not be used for direct treatment of diseases, medical conditions, or mental health conditions. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to limit the use of non-Federal funds by Special Olympics.
4.Application and annual report
(a)
(1)To be eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 3, Special Olympics shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary of Education, Secretary of State, or Secretary of Health and Human Services, as applicable, may require.
(2)At a minimum, an application under this subsection shall contain the following:
(A)A description of activities to be carried out with the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
(B)Information on specific measurable goals and objectives to be achieved through activities carried out with the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
(b)
(1)As a condition on receipt of any funds under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 3, Special Olympics shall agree to submit an annual report at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary of Education, Secretary of State, or Secretary of Health and Human Services, as applicable, may require.
(2)At a minimum, each annual report under this subsection shall describe the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting the goals and objectives described in the applications submitted under subsection (a).
5.Authorization of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated—
(1)for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under section 3(a), $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years;
(2)for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under section 3(b), $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; and
(3)for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under section 3(c), $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.