[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 158 (Thursday, November 7, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7930-S7931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 289--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT AMBUSH 
 MARKETING ADVERSELY AFFECTS THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC 
                    TEAMS AND SHOULD BE DISCOURAGED

  Mr. BEGICH (for himself and Mr. Bennet) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation:

                              S. Res. 289

       Whereas the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games will occur on 
     February 7 through February 23, 2014, and March 7 through 
     March 16, 2014, respectively, in Sochi, Russia;
       Whereas more than 5,500 athletes from 80 nations will 
     compete in 7 Olympic sports and 1,350 Paralympic athletes 
     will compete in 5 sports;
       Whereas American athletes have spent countless days, 
     months, and years training to earn a spot on the United 
     States Olympic or Paralympic teams;
       Whereas the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (36 
     U.S.C. 220501 et seq.)--
           (1) established the United States Olympic Committee as 
     the coordinating body for all Olympic and Paralympic athletic 
     activity in the United States;
           (2) gave the United States Olympic Committee the 
     exclusive right in the United States to use the words 
     ``Olympic'', ``Olympiad'', ``Paralympic'', and 
     ``Paralympiad'', the emblem of the United States Olympic 
     Committee, and the symbols of the International Olympic 
     Committee and the International Paralympic Committee; and
           (3) empowered the United States Olympic Committee to 
     authorize sponsors that contribute to the United States 
     Olympic or Paralympic teams to use any trademark, symbol, 
     insignia, or emblem of the International Olympic Committee, 
     International Paralympic Committee, the Pan-American Sports 
     Organization, or the United States Olympic Committee;
       Whereas Team USA is significantly funded by 31 sponsors who 
     assure that the United States has the best Olympic teams 
     possible;
       Whereas, in recent years, a number of entities in the 
     United States have engaged in ambush marketing as a marketing 
     strategy, affiliating themselves with the Olympic and 
     Paralympic Games without becoming sponsors of Team USA;

[[Page S7931]]

       Whereas ambush marketing harms the United States Olympic 
     and Paralympic teams, undermines sponsorship activities, and 
     gives ambush marketers an unfair and unethical advantage over 
     entities that officially sponsor and provide funding for the 
     elite athletes of the United States; and
       Whereas efforts to prevent ambush marketing have enjoyed 
     limited success as the strategies used by ambush marketers 
     continue to multiply: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) ambush marketing adversely affects the United States 
     Olympic and Paralympic teams and their ability to attract and 
     retain the sponsorships necessary to be successful at the 
     2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia; and
       (2) entities in the United States should cease all ambush 
     marketing efforts related to the United States Olympic and 
     Paralympic teams.

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