[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            AMBUSH MARKETING

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                             HON. JIM RYUN

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2000

  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, with the Olympic Games scheduled to 
begin shortly in Sydney, Australia, now is an exciting time for all 
Americans, and we all have high hopes for our U.S. Olympic team. As I 
can attest through personal experience, these athletes have been 
working for many years to arrive at this point in their careers and we 
certainly wish all of them the best of luck.
  As these talented and dedicated men and women travel across the world 
to Sydney they should be reassured by the recognition that they have 
the complete support of all of us back here in the United States, 
including a number of major U.S. companies. These companies are the 
official Olympic sponsors who have invested millions of dollars to 
ensure that the United States can fully participate in the Olympic 
Games. However, these companies have been plagued in the past by a 
problem that is expected to rear its ugly head again in Sydney. The 
problem is ``ambush marketing,'' a practice in which companies with no 
relationship to the Olympic Movement never-theless deceptively portray 
themselves as being associated with it, thus diminishing the value of 
an authorized sponsorship, and ultimately depriving American athletes 
of the necessary funds to prepare for Olympic competition.
  The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act places with the United 
States Olympic Committee the responsibility for providing the financial 
support for American athletes, and for developing all athletic activity 
in the U.S. related to international competition. All funds for the 
training and preparation of our athletes for competition in the 
Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic Games are generated through 
private sources, such as Olympic sponsorships, rather than from a 
government appropriation. Indeed, the USOC is the only National Olympic 
Committee from throughout the world that receives no government 
funding, and it is for this reason that the USOC declares with a degree 
of pride that ``America does not send its athletes to the Olympic 
Games, Americans do.''
  Apparently the act that gave the USOC the tools to fund its athlete 
programs privately needs strengthening to ensure that they are not 
devalued through deceptive practices of ambush advertisers. Congress 
should consider improvements to the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur 
Sports Act to prevent harm to the Olympic movement, legitimate official 
sponsors, and, most important, America's Olympic athletes. I look 
forward to monitoring the activities surrounding the Summer Games and 
exploring ways in which we can ensure that the intent and spirit of the 
Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act are followed.

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