[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6544-S6545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SAFESPORT ACT OF 2019

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this week I introduced S. 2838 with 
Senators Ernst, Blackburn, Sullivan, Murkowski, and Perdue. This 
legislation, which we have titled the SAFESPORT Act of 2019, includes 
funding accountability, antiretaliation protection, child abuse 
reporting, and other reform measures.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank the Commerce Committee 
members who lead the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Ted 
Stevens Act, along with Commerce Committee Chairman Wicker, for 
including so much of my SAFESPORT Act as an amendment to a larger 
package that they developed. That measure is S. 2330, the Empowering 
Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2019, sponsored by Senators Moran 
and Blumenthal.
  Senators Moran and Blumenthal worked closely with me to secure the 
inclusion of multiple provisions of my SAFESPORT Act in their bill, 
which cleared the Commerce Committee this morning with unanimous 
bipartisan support. Every one of these provisions is designed to ensure 
that the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which is tasked by Congress with 
investigating abuse of athletes in amateur sports, continues on its 
current track of excellence. I extend my sincere appreciation to both 
subcommittee leaders for their hard work on S. 2330 and for 
collaborating with me to improve their bipartisan bill.
  First, the SAFESPORT Act would enhance child abuse reporting, by 
ensuring that the Center for SafeSport is subject to the same mandatory 
reporting requirements as other professionals who work with children, 
under the Federal Victims of Child Abuse Act. By law, this center is 
tasked with receiving and investigating complaints of sexual abuse in 
amateur sports, which is why its personnel should have to report 
suspected crimes against children to the authorities.
  Second, this bill ensures that the Center for SafeSport, a private 
organization that already receives millions annually in revenue from 
the Olympic community--and which would receive $20 million annually, at 
the direction of Congress, if the Moran-Bhimenthal bill is enacted--is 
subject to an annual audit by an independent auditor. Such an audit is 
highly recommended by charity watchdog groups for the highest 
functioning nonprofit organizations. It is also a standard requirement 
for almost any nonprofit charitable organization receiving Federal 
grant awards of more than $750,000 annually. My legislation also calls 
for the Center for SafeSport to implement any corrective actions 
recommended by the auditor each year or explain why it disagrees with 
the recommendations.
  Third, this legislation subjects the Center for SafeSport to certain 
transparency requirements, ensuring, for example, that this 
organization reports to Congress annually with a detailed account of 
its activities, any changes in its financial standing, and a corrective 
action plan to implement auditor recommendations, if any. We are 
entitled to know how many complaints the organization investigates and 
resolves using the millions of dollars it receives from the U.S. 
Olympic community each year. Such information would be made available 
to the public, under the SAFESPORT Act.
  The Commerce Committee included all of these accountability, 
transparency, and child abuse reporting provisions, as well as the 
antiretaliation language of my SAFESPORT Act in the package it approved 
today. That antiretaliation language, on which I collaborated with 
Senator Peters, protects whistleblowers who come forward and report 
abuses in amateur sports. I thank Senator Peters for his collaboration 
on that language. I am delighted

[[Page S6545]]

we made this progress and look forward to working with the committee to 
ensure it is enacted.
  The only language that the committee did not accept, due to 
jurisdictional concerns raised by Senators Blumenthal and Moran, was 
the grant accountability language in the SAFESPORT Act. One section of 
my bill, which bars nonprofits receiving Justice Department grants from 
stashing funds in offshore accounts for tax avoidance purposes, among 
other requirements, has cleared the Judiciary Committee with bipartisan 
support on multiple occasions. Chairman Graham approved its inclusion 
in the Commerce package, and Ranking Member Feinstein has cosponsored 
similar language on multiple occasions. So I am disappointed that these 
reforms were omitted from S. 2330 today. Senators Blackburn and 
Sullivan, who joined with me in seeking the inclusion of that grant 
accountability language in that Commerce Committee package today, have 
called for adding it to S. 2330 before its floor consideration.
  I look forward to working with the leaders of the Commerce Committee 
to achieve that goal. The only other key provision of my SAFESPORT Act 
that was not included in S. 2330 would enable the Attorney General to 
seek the removal of officers and directors of the Center for SafeSport, 
in the event these individuals engage in serious misconduct or material 
violations of the Ted Stevens Act.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring S. 2838, the 
SAFESPORT Act, which is so important to ensure that the organization 
tasked by Congress with protecting amateur athletes retains its 
current, high standard of excellence. I, again, thank Senator Peters as 
well as my cosponsors, particularly Senators Blackburn and Sullivan, 
for helping me negotiate for the inclusion of so many provisions of the 
SAFESPORT Act in the bipartisan measure that cleared the Commerce 
Committee. I also want to thank my committee staff, including Kolan 
Davis, Evelyn Fortier, Rachael Soloway, and Dario Camacho for their 
hard work on this measure. Finally, I thank the organizations, such as 
Fairness, Dignity & Respect for Crime Victims & Survivors Project, 
which endorsed this legislation, as well as the Athletes Advisory 
Council, which worked with us on the antiretaliation provisions.

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