[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4255 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4255

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to provide assistance to the Paralympic Program of the 
        United States Olympic Committee, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 4, 2007

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to provide assistance to the Paralympic Program of the 
        United States Olympic Committee, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States Olympic Committee 
Paralympic Program Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1998, Congress enacted the Olympic and Amateur 
        Sports Act Amendments of 1998, which amended chapter 2205 of 
        title 36, United States Code, which included a statement that 
        the purpose of the Act was ``to encourage and provide 
        assistance to amateur athletic programs and competition for 
        amateur athletes with disabilities, including, where feasible, 
        the expansion of opportunities for meaningful participation by 
        such amateur athletes in programs of athletic competition for 
        able-bodied amateur athletes''.
            (2) The United States Olympic Committee manages and 
        administers the Paralympic Program for physically disabled 
        athletes.
            (3) In 2005, the United States Olympic Committee entered 
        into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs to expand the Paralympic Program to provide 
        special training and rehabilitation to physically disabled 
        members of the Armed Forces and veterans as part of their 
        rehabilitation and return to an active lifestyle.
            (4) The Paralympic Program has a significant positive 
        effect on the quality of life of members of the Armed Forces 
        and veterans with physical disabilities, including helping to 
        improve the mobility, vitality, physical, psychological, and 
        social well-being of physically disabled members of the Armed 
        Forces and veterans who participate in the program and reducing 
        the incidence of secondary medical conditions in those 
        participants.
            (5) Because of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 
        Enduring Freedom, the number of physically disabled members of 
        the Armed Forces and veterans has increased substantially and 
        it is therefore necessary to expand the scope and size of the 
        United States Olympic Committee's Paralympic Program to provide 
        rehabilitative services through sports to physically disabled 
        members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To provide support to the United States Olympic 
        Committee for the Paralympic Program to increase the 
        participation of physically disabled members of the Armed 
        Forces and veterans in sports as part of their rehabilitation.
            (2) To promote the life-long health of members of the Armed 
        Forces and veterans with service-connected disabilities through 
        regular participation in physical activity and sports.
            (3) To provide training and support to local organizations 
        to provide paralympic sports training to physically disabled 
        members of the Armed Forces and veterans in their own 
        communities.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO 
              UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PARALYMPIC PROGRAM.

    (a) Provision of Assistance Authorized.--Subchapter II of chapter V 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
521 the following new section:
``Sec. 521A. Assistance for the United States Olympic Committee's 
              Paralympic Program
    ``(a) Authorization To Provide Assistance.--The Secretary may make 
a grant to the United States Olympic Committee to plan, develop, 
manage, and implement the Paralympic Program for veterans and members 
of the Armed Forces.
    ``(b) Oversight by Under Secretary for Health.--As a condition of 
receiving a grant under this section, the United States Olympic 
Committee shall permit the Under Secretary for Health to conduct such 
oversight of the use of grant funds as the Under Secretary determines 
is appropriate.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--(1) The United States Olympic Committee, with 
the assistance and cooperation of the Secretary and the heads of other 
appropriate Federal and State departments and agencies, shall use a 
grant under this section to recruit, support, encourage, schedule, 
facilitate, supervise, and implement the activities described in 
paragraph (3) for veterans and members of the Armed Forces with 
physical disabilities, either directly or by supporting a program 
described in paragraph (2).
    ``(2) A program described in this paragraph is a community-based 
paralympic sport program, including such a program that promotes basic 
physical activity, games, recreation, training, and competition, that--
            ``(A) is approved by the Secretary; and
            ``(B) provides services and activities for veterans and 
        members of the Armed Forces with physical disabilities and may 
        provide such services and activities for individuals with 
        physical disabilities who are not veterans or members of the 
        Armed Forces.
    ``(3) Activities described in this paragraph are--
            ``(A) instruction and competition in paralympic sports;
            ``(B) training and technical assistance to program 
        administrators, coaches, recreational therapists, instructors, 
        Department employees, and other appropriate individuals; and
            ``(C) coordination, Paralympic classification of athletes, 
        athlete assessment, sport-specific training techniques, program 
        development, program specific medical and personal care 
        support, sports equipment, supplies, program evaluation, and 
        other activities related to the implementation and operation of 
        the program.
    ``(d) Limitation on Use of Funds.--If a program described in 
subsection (c)(2) provides services or activities for individuals with 
physical disabilities who are not veterans or members of the Armed 
Forces, funds provided to the program through the United States Olympic 
Committee under this section may not be used for such services and 
activities.
    ``(e) Outreach Requirement.--The Secretary shall inform all 
veterans with physical disabilities about the existence of the 
Paralympic Program and shall provide for, facilitate, and encourage 
participation of such veterans.
    ``(f) Coordination.--The Secretary shall ensure access to and use 
of appropriate Department facilities by all individuals participating 
in the Paralympic Program.
    ``(g) Application Requirement.--Before the Secretary may make a 
grant to the United States Olympic Committee under this section, the 
United States Olympic Committee shall submit to the Secretary an 
application that describes the activities to be carried out with the 
grant, including information on specific measurable goals and 
objectives to be achieved using grant funds.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 $10,000,000 to 
carry out this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
521 the following new item:

``521A. Assistance for United States Olympic Committee's Paralympic 
                            Program.''.
    (c) Deadline for Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs may not award a grant under section 521A of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), until the United States 
Olympic Committee has entered into a memorandum of understanding or 
cooperative agreement with the Secretary regarding implementation of 
the Paralympic Program. Such agreement shall be concluded not later 
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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