II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3376 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to provide assistance to the Paralympic Program of the United 

States Olympic Committee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Mr. SALAZAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide assistance to 

the Paralympic Program of the United States Olympic 

Committee, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Olympic 

5 Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


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1 (1) In 1998, Congress enacted the Olympic and 

2 Amateur Sports Act Amendments of 1998, which 

3 amended chapter 2205 of title 36, United States 

4 Code, which included a statement that the purpose 

5 of the Act was ‘‘to encourage and provide assistance 

6 to amateur athletic programs and competition for 

7 amateur athletes with disabilities, including, where 

8 feasible, the expansion of opportunities for meaning9 ful participation by such amateur athletes in pro10 grams of athletic competition for able-bodied ama11 teur athletes’’. 

12 (2) The United States Olympic Committee 

13 manages and administers the Paralympic Program 

14 for physically disabled athletes. 

15 (3) In 2005, the United States Olympic Com16 mittee entered into a memorandum of understanding 

17 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand the 

18 Paralympic Program to provide special training and 

19 rehabilitation to disabled veterans and disabled 

20 members of the Armed Forces as part of their reha21 bilitation and return to an active lifestyle. 

22 (4) The Paralympic Program has a significant 

23 positive effect on the quality of life of such veterans 

24 and servicemembers, including helping to improve 

25 the mobility, vitality, and physical, psychological, 


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1 and social well-being of disabled veterans and dis2 abled members of the Armed Forces who participate 

3 in the program and reducing the incidence of sec4 ondary medical conditions in those participants. 

5 (5) Because of Operation Iraqi Freedom and 

6 Operation Enduring Freedom, the number of dis7 abled veterans and disabled members of the Armed 

8 Forces has increased substantially and it is therefore 

9 necessary to expand the scope and size of the 

10 Paralympic Program to provide rehabilitative serv11 ices through sports to disabled veterans and mem12 bers of the Armed Forces. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are as fol14 lows: 

15 (1) To promote the life-long health of disabled 

16 veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces 

17 through regular participation in physical activity and 

18 sports. 

19 (2) To develop a system that promotes disabled 

20 sports from the local level through elite levels by cre21 ating partnerships among organizations specializing 

22 in supporting, training, and promoting programs for 

23 disabled athletes. 

24 (3) To provide training and support to local or25 ganizations to provide Paralympic sports training to 


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1 disabled veterans and disabled members of the 

2 Armed Forces in their own communities. 

3 (4) To provide support to the United States 

4 Olympic Committee for the Paralympic Program to 

5 increase the participation of disabled veterans and 

6 disabled members of the Armed Forces in sports as 

7 part of their rehabilitation. 

8 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVISION 

9 OF ASSISTANCE TO UNITED STATES OLYMPIC 

10 COMMITTEE PARALYMPIC PROGRAM. 

11 (a) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—Sub12 chapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, 

13 is amended by inserting after section 521 the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 521A. Assistance for the United States Olympic 

15 Committee Paralympic Program 

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

17 The Secretary may make grants to the United States 

18 Olympic Committee to plan, develop, manage, and imple19 ment the Paralympic Program for disabled veterans and 

20 disabled members of the Armed Forces. 

21 ‘‘(b) OVERSIGHT BY SECRETARY.—As a condition of 

22 receiving a grant under this section, the United States 

23 Olympic Committee shall permit the Secretary to conduct 

24 such oversight of the use of grant funds as the Secretary 

25 determines is appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENT.—(1) Before the 

2 Secretary may make a grant to the United States Olympic 

3 Committee under this section, the Committee shall submit 

4 to the Secretary an application that describes the activities 

5 to be carried out with the grant, including information on 

6 specific measurable goals and objectives to be achieved 

7 using grant funds. The application shall include a detailed 

8 description of all partnerships referred to in paragraph (2) 

9 at the national and local levels that will be participating 

10 in such activities and the amount of grant funds that will 

11 be made available for each of such partnerships. 

12 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—Partnerships referred to in 

13 this paragraph are agreements between the United States 

14 Olympic Committee and national organizations with sig15 nificant experience in the training and support of disabled 

16 athletes and the promotion of disabled sports at the local 

17 and national levels. Such organizations include Disabled 

18 Sports USA, Blaze Sports, Paralyzed Veterans of Amer19 ica, and Disabled American Veterans. The agreements 

20 shall detail the scope of activities and funding provided 

21 by the United States Olympic Committee to the partner. 

22 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—(1) The United States Olym23 pic Committee, with the assistance and cooperation of the 

24 Secretary and the heads of other appropriate Federal and 

25 State departments and agencies and partnerships referred 


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1 to in subsection (c)(2), shall use a grant under this section 

2 to recruit, support, encourage, schedule, facilitate, super3 vise, and implement the activities described in paragraph 

4 (3) for disabled veterans and disabled members of the 

5 Armed Forces either directly or by supporting a program 

6 described in paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(2) A program described in this paragraph is a sport 

8 program that— 

9 ‘‘(A) promotes basic physical activity, games, 

10 recreation, training, and competition; 

11 ‘‘(B) is approved by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(C)(i) provides services and activities described 

13 in paragraph (3) for disabled veterans and disabled 

14 members of the Armed Forces; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may also provide services and activities de16 scribed in paragraph (3) for individuals with disabil17 ities who are not veterans or members of the Armed 

18 Forces, or both; except that funds made available to 

19 carry out this section may not be used to support 

20 those individuals with disabilities who are not vet21 erans or members of the Armed Forces. 

22 ‘‘(3) Activities described in this paragraph are— 

23 ‘‘(A) instruction, participation, and competition 

24 in Paralympic sports; 


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1 ‘‘(B) training and technical assistance to pro2 gram administrators, coaches, recreational thera3 pists, instructors, Department employees, and other 

4 appropriate individuals; and 

5 ‘‘(C) coordination, Paralympic classification of 

6 athletes, athlete assessment, sport-specific training 

7 techniques, program development (including pro8 grams at the local level), program-specific medical 

9 and personal care support, sports equipment, sup10 plies, program evaluation, and other activities re11 lated to the implementation and operation of the 

12 program. 

13 ‘‘(4) A grant made under this section may include, 

14 at the discretion of the Secretary, an amount for adminis15 trative expenses, but not to exceed ten percent of the 

16 amount of the grant. 

17 ‘‘(5) Funds made available by the United States 

18 Olympic Committee to a grantee under subsection (c) may 

19 include an amount for administrative expenses, but not 

20 to exceed ten percent of the amount of such funds. 

21 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

22 shall conduct an outreach campaign to inform all eligible 

23 veterans and separating members of the Armed Forces 

24 with physical disabilities about the existence of the 

25 Paralympic Program and shall provide for, facilitate, and 


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1 encourage participation of such veterans and separating 

2 servicemembers in programs under this section to the ex3 tent possible. 

4 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure ac5 cess to and use of appropriate Department facilities by 

6 disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed 

7 Forces participating in the Paralympic Program to the 

8 maximum extent possible and to the extent that such ac9 cess and use does not adversely affect any other assistance 

10 provided to veterans. 

11 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 annually to 

13 carry out this section. 

14 ‘‘(h) SEPARATE ACCOUNTING.—The Department 

15 shall have a separate line item in budget proposals of the 

16 Department for funds to be appropriated to carry out this 

17 section. Funds appropriated to carry out this section shall 

18 not be commingled with any other funds appropriated to 

19 the Department. 

20 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Except as pro21 vided in subsections (d)(4) and (d)(5), funds appropriated 

22 to carry out this section may not be used to support or 

23 provide services to individuals who are not disabled vet24 erans or disabled members of the Armed Forces.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 521 the following new 

4 item: 

‘‘521A. Assistance for United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program.’’. 

5 (c) DEADLINE FOR MEMORANDUM OF UNDER6 STANDING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not 

7 award a grant under section 521A of title 38, United 

8 States Code, as added by subsection (a), until the United 

9 States Olympic Committee has entered into a memo10 randum of understanding or cooperative agreement with 

11 the Secretary regarding implementation of the Paralympic 

12 Program. Such agreement shall be concluded not later 

13 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE OF 

15 NATIONAL VETERANS SPORTS PROGRAMS 

16 AND SPECIAL EVENTS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NATIONAL VET18 ERANS SPORTS PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.— 

19 Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 321. Office of National Veterans Sports Programs 

22 and Special Events 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Department 

24 an Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Spe25 cial Events. There is at the head of the Office a Director, 


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1 who shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for 

2 Public and Intergovernmental Affairs of the Department. 

3 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.—Subject to 

4 the direction of the Secretary, the Director— 

5 ‘‘(1) shall establish and carry out qualifying 

6 programs and events; 

7 ‘‘(2) may provide for sponsorship by the De8 partment of qualifying programs and events; 

9 ‘‘(3) may provide for, facilitate, and encourage 

10 participation by disabled veterans in qualifying pro11 grams and events; and 

12 ‘‘(4) shall cooperate with the United States 

13 Olympic Committee and its subsidiaries to promote 

14 the participation of disabled veterans and disabled 

15 members of the Armed Forces in sporting events 

16 sponsored by the United States Olympic Committee 

17 and its subsidiaries. 

18 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING PROGRAM OR EVENT.—For pur19 poses of this section, a qualifying program or event is a 

20 sports program or other event in which disabled veterans 

21 and disabled members of the Armed Forces participate 

22 and that is approved by the Secretary as being consistent 

23 with the goals and missions of the Department. 

24 ‘‘(d) MONTHLY ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE.—(1) The 

25 Director may provide a monthly assistance allowance to 


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1 a veteran with a disability invited by the United States 

2 Olympic Committee to compete for a slot on, or selected 

3 for, the Paralympic Team for any month in which the vet4 eran is training or competing in any event sanctioned by 

5 the United States Olympic Committee or who is residing 

6 at a United States Olympic Committee training center. 

7 ‘‘(2) The amount of the monthly assistance payable 

8 to a veteran under paragraph (1) shall be equal to the 

9 monthly amount of subsistence allowance that would be 

10 payable to the veteran under chapter 31 of this title if 

11 the veteran were eligible for and entitled to rehabilitation 

12 under such chapter. 

13 ‘‘(3) Any amount of assistance paid to a veteran 

14 under this subsection shall be in addition to any other as15 sistance available to the veteran under any other provision 

16 of law. 

17 ‘‘(4) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

18 out this subsection $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and 

19 thereafter. 

20 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

21 Nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation 

22 on current disabled sports and special events supported 

23 by the Department.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘321. Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events.’’. 

4 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR

5 HEALTH.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall direct 

6 the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs— 

8 (1) to make available, to the maximum extent 

9 possible, recreational therapists, physical therapists, 

10 and other medical staff to facilitate participation of 

11 veterans in sporting events conducted under the aus12 pices of the United States Olympic Committee; 

13 (2) to allow such personnel to participate in the 

14 United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Pro15 gram without requiring the use of personal leave; 

16 and 

17 (3) to support other similar activities or events 

18 as those described in this section and determined to 

19 be appropriate by the Secretary. 

Æ 


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