[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 92 (Monday, June 18, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4240-S4243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Reid):
S. 3306. A bill to establish a United States Boxing Commission to
administer the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be joined by Senator
Reid of Nevada, our distinguished majority leader, to introduce the
Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2012. This legislation is
virtually identical to a measure reported by the Commerce Committee
during the 111th Congress, after being approved unanimously by the
Senate in 2005. Simply put, this legislation would better protect
professional boxing from the fraud, corruption, and ineffective
regulation that has plagued the sport for too many years, and that has
devastated physically and financially many of our Nation's professional
boxers.
My involvement with boxing goes back a long way, first as a fan in my
youth--in what many view as the golden age of boxing in America: in the
days of Joe Louis and Billy Conn and Floyd Patterson and Sugar Ray
Robinson--probably the greatest boxer in history--and Kid Gavilan and
Joey Giardello, the names I still remember because of the incredible
acts of sportsmanship and courage and tenacity in the ring that they
displayed, which made boxing one of the most popular sports in all of
the United States, then with my undistinguished record as a boxer at
the U.S. Naval Academy, and then over my time here in Congress, where I
have been involved in legislation related to boxing since the mid-
1990s.
The 19th century sportswriter Pierce Egan called the sport of boxing
the ``sweet science.'' Long-time boxing reporter Jimmy Cannon called it
the ``red light district of sports.'' In truth, it is both. I have
always believed that at its best, professional boxing is a riveting and
honorable contest of courageous and highly skilled athletes.
Unfortunately, the last few decades of boxing history have--through
countless examples of conflicts of interest, improper financial
arrangements, and inadequate or nonexistent oversight--led most to
believe that Cannon's words--that boxing is the ``red light district of
sports''--were more appropriate than that of Pierce Egan's words, who
called it the ``sweet science.''
The most recent controversy surrounding the Pacquiao-Bradley fight is
the latest example of the legitimate distrust boxing fans have for the
integrity of the sport. After the Pacquiao-Bradley decision was
announced, understandably fans were clearly apoplectic and many
commentators found the decision astonishing.
Bob Arum, the promoter of the fight--and he represented both Pacquiao
and Bradley--said:
What the hell were these people watching?. . . . How can
you watch a sport where you don't see any motive for any
malfeasance and yet come up with a result like we came up
with tonight? How do you explain it to anybody?. . . .
Something like this is so outlandish, it's a death knell for
the sport.
Those words came from the promoter of the fight, long-time promoter
Bob Arum.
ESPN boxing analyst Dan Rafael--who scored the fight 119 to 109 for
Pacquiao--called the decision an ``absolute absurdity.'' And he said:
I could watch the fight 1,000 times and not find seven
rounds to give to Timothy Bradley.
Additionally, following the fight, HBO's Max Kellerman--a guy I have
always enjoyed--was ringside, where he said:
This is baffling, punch stat had Pacquiao landing many more
punches, landing at a higher connect percentage, landing more
power punches. Ringside, virtually every reporter had
Pacquiao winning by a wide margin. . . . I can't understand
how Bradley gets this decision. There were times in that
fight where I felt a little bit embarrassed for Bradley.
Clearly, the conspiracy theories and speculation surrounding the
fight are given life because there are so many questions surrounding
the integrity of the sport and how it is managed in multiple
jurisdictions. Professional boxing remains the only major sport in the
United States that does not have a strong centralized association,
league, or other regulatory body to establish and enforce uniform rules
and practices. Because a powerful few benefit
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greatly from the current system of patchwork compliance and enforcement
of Federal boxing law, a national self-regulating organization--though
preferable to government oversight--is not a realistic option.
What has happened to the meaning of the word champion? There is an
alphabet soup of organizations today, some of them--or many of them--
based outside of the United States of America, that clearly manipulates
the rankings in order to set up a fight which has a ``championship''
associated with it.
Ineffective oversight of professional boxing will continue to result
in scandals, controversies, unethical practices, a lack of trust in the
integrity of judged outcomes and, most tragic of all, unnecessary
deaths in the sport. These problems have led many in professional
boxing to conclude that the only solution is an effective
and accountable Federal boxing commission.
The legislation that Senator Reid and I are introducing would
establish the United States Boxing Commission--the USBC or Commission--
providing the much-needed oversight to ensure integrity within this
profession through better reporting and disclosure, requiring that the
sport avoid the conflicts of interest which cause fans to question the
outcome of bouts, which hurts the sport.
If enacted, the commission would administer Federal boxing law and
coordinate with other Federal regulatory agencies to ensure that this
law is enforced, oversee all professional boxing matches in the United
States, and work with the boxing industry and local commissions to
improve the safety, integrity, and professionalism of professional
boxing in the United States.
More specifically, this legislation would require that all referees
and judges participating in a championship or a professional bout
lasting 10 rounds or more be fully registered and licensed by the
commission. Further, while a sanctioning organization could provide a
list of judges and referees deemed qualified, only the boxing
commission will appoint the judges and referees participating in these
matches.
Additionally, the commission would license boxers, promoters,
managers, and sanctioning organizations. The commission would have the
authority to revoke such a license for violations of Federal boxing
law, to stop unethical or illegal conduct, to protect the health and
safety of a boxer or if the revocation is otherwise in the public
interest.
The Professional Boxing Amendments Act would strengthen existing
Federal boxing law by improving the basic health and safety standards
for professional boxers, establishing a centralized medical registry to
be used by local commissions to protect boxers, reducing the arbitrary
practices of sanctioning organizations, and enhancing the uniformity
and basic standards for professional boxing contracts. Most
importantly, this legislation would establish a Federal regulatory
entity to oversee professional boxing and set basic uniform standards
for certain aspects of the sport.
Thankfully, current law--which we passed in the 1990s--has already
improved some aspects of the state of professional boxing. However,
like me, many others remain concerned the sport continues to be at
serious risk. In 2003, the Government Accountability Office spent more
than 6 months studying 10 of the country's busiest State and tribal
boxing commissions. Government auditors found that many of these
commissions do not comply with Federal boxing law, and that there is a
disturbing lack of enforcement by both Federal and State officials.
It is important to state clearly and plainly for the record that the
purpose of the commission created by this bill is not to interfere with
the daily operations of State and tribal boxing commissions. Instead,
it would work in consultation with local commissions, and it would only
exercise its authority when reasonable grounds exist for such
intervention. In fact, this bill states explicitly that it would not
prohibit any boxing commission from exercising any of its powers,
duties, or functions with respect to the regulation or supervision of
professional boxing to the extent consistent with the provisions of
Federal boxing law.
With respect to costs associated with this legislation, the pricetag
for this legislation should not fall on the shoulders of the American
taxpayer, especially during a time of crushing debt and deficits. As
such, to recover the costs, the bill authorizes the commission to
assess fees on promoters, sanctioning organizations, and boxers,
ensuring that boxers pay the smallest portion of what is, in fact,
collected.
Let there be no doubt, however, of the very basic and pressing need
in professional boxing for a Federal boxing commission. The
establishment of the USBC would address that need. The problems that
have plagued the sport of professional boxing for many years continue
to undermine the credibility of this sport in the eyes of the public
and, more importantly, compromise the safety of boxers. This bill
provides an effective approach to curbing these problems.
I take a back seat to no one in my desire for smaller government and
less regulation. It is a crying need today, not only for the integrity
of the sport but the health of boxers. We are finding more and more,
especially in the sport of professional football lately, the effect of
blows to the head. Anyone who has had the honor of knowing Muhammad
Ali, as I have over the years, recognizes that this is a very brutal
sport. There is no doubt that if in professional football blows to the
head can be damaging to one's health, clearly it can be in the sport of
boxing. I regret to tell my colleagues that there are not sufficient
protections for the safety of the boxers engaged in the sport today.
The Pacquiao-Bradley fight is only the latest example, and its
outrage is spread because of the size of the fight. Unfortunately, over
the years, there have been a series of fights--some of them I will add
for the Record at the appropriate time--where the wrong decision has
been announced.
This is a great sport. It has given an opportunity, for young men
particularly, to rise from the depths of poverty to pinnacles of
greatness in the sport--and wealth beyond their imagining at the time
they entered the sport. So we need to protect these people. We need to
give them a fair and legitimate playing field in which to compete.
I urge the support of my colleagues and again thank my friend the
majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, who was a boxer of great skill and
ability himself in his younger days. Some of those traits he has
displayed very prominently here on the floor of the Senate, and I
respect him greatly.
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By Mrs. MURRAY:
S. 3309. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the
assistance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to homeless
veterans, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today, as Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am pleased to introduce the Homeless
Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012. No one who has made
sacrifices to serve our Nation should ever be homeless, and this
problem should never be ignored. The bill I am introducing today would
allow the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, to continue the important
work of ending veteran homelessness.
The administration reported that on any given night in January 2011,
an estimated 67,500 veterans were homeless. I want to commend the VA
for its efforts to reduce the number of veterans sleeping in the
streets. Between 2010 and 2011 the number of homeless veterans
decreased by 12 percent, but the number of homeless women veterans has
continued to increase. We are making great progress, in large part due
to interagency collaborations, but there is still more work to be done.
In light of recent reports from VA's Office of Inspector General and
the Government Accountability Office, VA must do more to make its
homeless veterans programs more welcoming to women and veterans with
families. The reports highlighted limitations in available housing
options for women veterans with children. Additionally, infrastructure
needs such as private and secure rooms and showering facilities are
often lacking placing women veterans in uncomfortable and potentially
unsafe situations. We can and should do better.
The Homeless Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 helps
achieve this goal by allowing VA to provide
[[Page S4242]]
transitional housing services to the children of homeless veterans,
where it is appropriate to do so. It also requires grantees who receive
funding for transitional housing to meet the privacy, safety, and
security needs of women veterans and veterans with families. No veteran
should have to choose between housing and their safety or between
housing and remaining with their family.
Other provisions in this legislation help VA to meet the self-
identified, unmet needs of homeless veterans. VA conducts an annual
assessment of homeless veterans, homeless programs staff, and grantees
that ranks the top ten unmet needs of homeless veterans. The most
recent report, which was from fiscal year 2010, highlights the fact
that many homeless veterans ranked legal assistance among their top ten
unmet needs for the last several years. Among the top-ranked needs for
the last several years have been legal services and dental care. My
legislation makes veterans in the HUD-VASH program eligible to
participate in the Homeless Veterans Dental Program. It also ensures
that a percentage of the funding available for homelessness prevention
and rapid re-housing will be used for legal services to remove some of
the barriers to obtaining or maintaining stable housing for homeless
veterans.
This is not a full summary of all the provisions within this
legislation. However, I hope that I have provided an appropriate
overview of the major benefits this legislation would provide.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3309
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Homeless
Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Requirement that recipients of grants from Department of
Veterans Affairs for comprehensive service programs for
homeless veterans meet physical privacy, safety, and
security needs of such veterans.
Sec. 3. Modification of authority of Department of Veteran Affairs to
provide capital improvement grants for comprehensive
service programs that assist homeless veterans.
Sec. 4. Funding for furnishing legal services to very low-income
veteran families in permanent housing.
Sec. 5. Modifications to requirements relating to per diem payments for
services furnished to homeless veterans.
Sec. 6. Authorization of grants by Department of Veterans Affairs to
centers that provide services to homeless veterans for
operational expenses.
Sec. 7. Expansion of Department of Veterans Affairs authority to
provide dental care to homeless veterans.
Sec. 8. Extensions of authorities and programs affecting homeless
veterans.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT RECIPIENTS OF GRANTS FROM DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE
PROGRAMS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS MEET PHYSICAL
PRIVACY, SAFETY, AND SECURITY NEEDS OF SUCH
VETERANS.
Section 2011(f) of title 38, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) To meet the physical privacy, safety, and security
needs of homeless veterans receiving services through the
project.''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN
AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS
FOR COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS THAT ASSIST
HOMELESS VETERANS.
Section 2011(a) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended, in the matter before paragraph (1), by inserting
``and maintaining'' after ``in establishing''.
SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR FURNISHING LEGAL SERVICES TO VERY LOW-
INCOME VETERAN FAMILIES IN PERMANENT HOUSING.
Section 2044(e) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(3) and (4), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph (2):
``(2) Of amounts made available under paragraph (1), not
less than one percent shall be available for the furnishing
of services described in subsection (b)(1)(D)(vii).''.
SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO PER DIEM
PAYMENTS FOR SERVICES FURNISHED TO HOMELESS
VETERANS.
(a) Authorization of Per Diem Payments for Furnishing Care
to Dependents of Certain Homeless Veterans.--Section 2012(a)
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Services for which a recipient of a grant under
section 2011 of this title (or an entity described in
paragraph (1)) may receive per diem payments under this
subsection may include furnishing care for a dependent of a
homeless veteran who is under the care of such homeless
veteran while such homeless veteran receives services from
the grant recipient (or entity).''.
(b) Provision of Funds for Per Diem Payments for
Nonconforming Entities.--
(1) In general.--Section 2012(d)(1) of such title is
amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``may make'' and inserting ``shall make''.
(2) Regulations required.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall prescribe such regulations as may be
necessary to implement the amendment made by paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS TO CENTERS THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO
HOMELESS VETERANS FOR OPERATIONAL EXPENSES.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 20 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section
2012 the following new section:
``Sec. 2012A. Service center operational grants
``(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations provided for such purpose, the Secretary may
award to a recipient of a grant under section 2011 of this
title for the establishment of a service center described in
subsection (g) of such section a grant for the operational
expenses of such service center not otherwise covered by the
receipt of per diem payments under section 2012 of this
section.
``(b) Limitation.--The aggregate amount of all grants
awarded under subsection (a) in any fiscal year may not
exceed $500,000.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 2012 the following new item:
``2012A. Service center operational grants.''.
(c) Regulations.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
promulgate regulations to carry out section 2012A of title
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AUTHORITY
TO PROVIDE DENTAL CARE TO HOMELESS VETERANS.
Subsection (b) of section 2062 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Eligible Veterans.--(1) Subsection (a) applies to a
veteran who--
``(A) is enrolled for care under section 1705(a) of this
title; and
``(B) for a period of 60 consecutive days, is receiving--
``(i) assistance under section 8(o) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)); or
``(ii) care (directly or by contract) in any of the
following settings:
``(I) A domiciliary under section 1710 of this title.
``(II) A therapeutic residence under section 2032 of this
title.
``(III) Community residential care coordinated by the
Secretary under section 1730 of this title.
``(IV) A setting for which the Secretary provides funds for
a grant and per diem provider.
``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in determining whether
a veteran has received assistance or care for a period of 60
consecutive days, the Secretary may disregard breaks in the
continuity of assistance or care for which the veteran is not
responsible.''.
SEC. 8. EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING
HOMELESS VETERANS.
(a) Comprehensive Service Programs.--Section 2013 of title
38, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (5)
and inserting the following new paragraphs:
``(5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
``(6) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each subsequent
fiscal year.''.
(b) Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs.--Section
2021(e)(1)(F) of such title is amended by striking ``2012''
and inserting ``2013''.
(c) Outreach, Care, Treatment, Rehabilitation, and
Therapeutic Transitional Housing for Veterans Suffering From
Serious Mental Illness.--Section 2031(b) of such title is
amended by striking ``December 31, 2012'' and inserting
``December 31, 2014''.
(d) Program to Expand and Improve Provision of Benefits and
Services by Department of Veterans Affairs to Homeless
Veterans.--Section 2033(d) of such title is amended by
striking ``December 31, 2012'' and inserting ``December 31,
2014''.
(e) Housing Assistance for Homeless Veterans.--Section
2041(c) of such title is amended by striking ``December 31,
2012'' and inserting ``December 31, 2013''.
(f) Financial Assistance for Supportive Services for Very
Low-income Veteran
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Families in Permanent Housing.--Section 2044(e)(1) of such
title is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.''.
(g) Grant Program for Homeless Veterans With Special
Needs.--Section 2061(c)(1) of such title is amended by
striking ``through 2012'' and inserting ``through 2015''.
(h) Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.--Section
2066(d) of such title is amended by striking ``December 31,
2012'' and inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
____________________