[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6535-S6536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                S. 2330

  Mr. MORAN. Madam President, today in the Commerce Committee, 
following an in-depth 18-month investigation to examine cultural and 
systemic issues regarding abuse in the Olympic movement, Senator 
Blumenthal and I introduced bipartisan legislation, the Empowering 
Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2019. It was accompanied by an 
investigative report, findings, and, recommendations. I am pleased that 
the Commerce Committee approved that legislation today. This marks a 
significant step forward to improving the protections and 
representations provided to our amateur athletes.
  The subcommittee that I chair exercises jurisdiction over the U.S. 
Olympic Committee and amateur sports at large, and I remain fully 
committed to ensuring the health and safety of all American athletes. 
Our Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act would enact reforms to 
the U.S. Olympic system by strengthening legal liability and 
accountability mechanisms, restoring a culture of putting athletes 
first, and fortifying the independence and capacity of the U.S. Center 
for Safe Sports.
  Our investigation, which led to the foundation of the provisions in 
this bill, included four subcommittee hearings, interviews with Olympic 
athletes and survivors, and the retrieval of 70,000 pages of documents. 
This was also made possible by the supportive leadership of the 
committee--the chairman and ranking member, Senator Wicker and Senator 
Cantwell--and the contributions of the committee staff, including the 
contributions of my staff and those of former Chairman Thune and 
Ranking Member Nelson.
  Also, I want to take this moment to thank Mr. Grassley, the Senator 
from Iowa and the chairman now of the Finance Committee. For a portion 
of the time we were dealing with this issue, he was the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee. He, too, made contributions to our legislation, 
and his continued leadership on this issue in general has helped to 
move this bill forward and out of the committee today.
  During our investigation, Senator Grassley indicated an interest in 
working together to protect amateur athletes. After we introduced the 
legislation, I am pleased we were able to include provisions from his 
legislation that was just introduced yesterday here in the Senate. 
Specifically, the substitute amendment included funding accountability 
language for safe sports, clarification on mandatory reporting parties 
related to child abuse, and new reporting requirements to improve 
transparency. Senator Grassley was also successful in working with 
Senator Peters to include whistleblower protection language in the bill 
during today's markup.
  Again, I thank Senator Grassley for his leadership and commitment to 
the health and safety of our amateur athletes.
  Additionally, there were thoughtful contributions to our 
legislation--most recently, in the form of our substitute amendment--
from other members of the Commerce Committee, including Senator Gardner 
of Colorado.
  I also thank my colleague Senator Blumenthal, the ranking member of 
the subcommittee, for his steadfast and ongoing support and leadership 
that he has shown throughout this long process.
  This investigation and legislative process started out as a 
bipartisan effort to provide substantive policy protections to amateur 
athletes and has remained as such. That bipartisanship has continued 
and will continue to be prioritized as we push for timely consideration 
of this legislation on the Senate floor.
  Finally, I would be remiss not to express my sincere and humble 
thanks to the survivors for their bravery in guiding our policymaking 
with their testimonies and ongoing input throughout the process. Their 
willingness to recount and relive their traumatic experiences played a 
vital role in informing Congress as it seeks to address key reporting, 
governance, and resource issues within the Olympic system. This 
critical legislation would not have happened without their active 
involvement.
  I will never forget the question that was asked of me by one of the 
survivors

[[Page S6536]]

as we were gathered together in the Russell Senate Office Building. The 
question was this: Why was there more than one? It is a question we 
would always hope to answer. There should never be a victim or survivor 
of sexual abuse. And if there is one, there should never be a second.
  The sad thing about this circumstance in which we found ourselves and 
in which the athletes found themselves was that not only was there one, 
but there were many more. We should be able to take that call--why was 
there ever more than one?--and make certain that we do everything to 
keep it from ever happening again.
  I thank my colleagues in the Commerce Committee for their support on 
this critical legislation. I look forward to working with the leader 
and my Senate colleagues as we push to enact these necessary reforms.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. TESTER. Madam President, before I get into my comments on Agent 
Orange, I just want to thank Senator Moran and Senator Blumenthal for 
leading the charge on making sure that our Olympic athletes are 
protected. There are some who say that government has no business in 
this realm; I couldn't disagree with them more. The fact is, this is a 
wrong that I think Senator Moran and Senator Blumenthal have tried to 
right. I just want to thank them for their leadership.
  Mr. MORAN. I thank the Senator.