II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5131 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2004 

Received 

AN ACT 

To provide assistance to Special Olympics to support expansion of Special Olympics and development of education 

programs and a Healthy Athletes Program, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Olympics Sport 

3 and Empowerment Act of 2004’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Special Olympics celebrates the possibilities 

7 of a world where everybody matters, everybody 

8 counts, every person has value, and every person has 

9 worth. 

10 (2) The Government and the people of the 

11 United States recognize the dignity and value the 

12 giftedness of children and adults with an intellectual 

13 disability. 

14 (3) The Government and the people of the 

15 United States are determined to end the isolation 

16 and stigmatization of people with an intellectual dis17 ability. 

18 (4) For more than 36 years, Special Olympics 

19 has encouraged skill, sharing, courage, and joy 

20 through year-round sports training and athletic com21 petition for children and adults with intellectual dis22 abilities. 

23 (5) Special Olympics provides year-round sports 

24 training and competitive opportunities to 1,500,000 

25 athletes with intellectual disabilities in 26 sports and 

26 plans to expand the joy of participation through 
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1 sport to hundreds of thousands of people with intel2 lectual disabilities within the United States and 

3 worldwide over the next 5 years. 

4 (6) Special Olympics has demonstrated its abil5 ity to provide a major positive effect on the quality 

6 of life of people with intellectual disabilities, improv7 ing their health and physical well-being, building 

8 their confidence and self-esteem, and giving them a 

9 voice to become active and productive members of 

10 their communities. 

11 (7) In society as a whole, Special Olympics has 

12 become a vehicle and platform for breaking down ar13 tificial barriers, improving public health, changing 

14 negative attitudes in education, and helping athletes 

15 overcome the prejudice that people with intellectual 

16 disabilities face in too many places. 

17 (8) The Government of the United States en18 thusiastically supports Special Olympics, recognizes 

19 its importance in improving the lives of people with 

20 intellectual disabilities, and recognizes Special Olym21 pics as a valued and important component of the 

22 global community. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
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1 (1) provide support to Special Olympics to in2 crease athlete participation in and public awareness 

3 about the Special Olympics movement; 

4 (2) dispel negative stereotypes about people 

5 with intellectual disabilities; 

6 (3) build athletic and family involvement 

7 through sport; and 

8 (4) promote the extraordinary gifts of people 

9 with intellectual disabilities. 

10 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS. 

11 (a) EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Edu12 cation may award grants to, or enter into contracts or co13 operative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out 

14 the following: 

15 (1) Activities to promote the expansion of Spe16 cial Olympics, including activities to increase the 

17 participation of individuals with intellectual disabil18 ities within the United States. 

19 (2) The design and implementation of Special 

20 Olympics education programs, including character 

21 education and volunteer programs that support the 

22 purposes of this Act, that can be integrated into 

23 classroom instruction and are consistent with aca24 demic content standards. 
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1 (b) INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of 

2 State may award grants to, or enter into contracts or co3 operative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out 

4 the following: 

5 (1) Activities to increase the participation of in6 dividuals with intellectual disabilities in Special 

7 Olympics outside of the United States. 

8 (2) Activities to improve the awareness outside 

9 of the United States of the abilities and unique con10 tributions that individuals with intellectual disabil11 ities can make to society. 

12 (c) HEALTHY ATHLETES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services may award grants to, or enter into 

15 contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special 

16 Olympics for the implementation of on-site health 

17 assessments, screening for health problems, health 

18 education, data collection, and referrals to direct 

19 health care services. 

20 (2) COORDINATION.—Activities under para21 graph (1) shall be coordinated with private health 

22 providers, existing authorized programs of State and 

23 local jurisdictions, or the Department of Health and 

24 Human Services, as applicable. 
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1 (d) LIMITATION.—Amounts appropriated to carry 

2 out this section shall not be used for direct treatment of 

3 diseases, medical conditions, or mental health conditions. 

4 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to 

5 limit the use of non-Federal funds by Special Olympics. 

6 SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT. 

7 (a) APPLICATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant, 

9 contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 

10 (a), (b), or (c) of section 3, Special Olympics shall 

11 submit an application at such time, in such manner, 

12 and containing such information as the Secretary of 

13 Education, Secretary of State, or Secretary of 

14 Health and Human Services, as applicable, may re15 quire. 

16 (2) CONTENT.—At a minimum, an application 

17 under this subsection shall contain the following: 

18 (A) ACTIVITIES.—A description of activi19 ties to be carried out with the grant, contract, 

20 or cooperative agreement. 

21 (B) MEASURABLE GOALS.—Information on 

22 specific measurable goals and objectives to be 

23 achieved through activities carried out with the 

24 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 

25 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 

2 any funds under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 

3 3, Special Olympics shall agree to submit an annual 

4 report at such time, in such manner, and containing 

5 such information as the Secretary of Education, Sec6 retary of State, or Secretary of Health and Human 

7 Services, as applicable, may require. 

8 (2) CONTENT.—At a minimum, each annual re9 port under this subsection shall describe the degree 

10 to which progress has been made toward meeting the 

11 goals and objectives described in the applications 

12 submitted under subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

15 (1) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree16 ments under section 3(a), $5,500,000 for fiscal year 

17 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 

18 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; 

19 (2) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree20 ments under section 3(b), $3,500,000 for fiscal year 

21 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 

22 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; and 
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1 (3) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree2 ments under section 3(c), $6,000,000 for each of fis3 cal years 2005 through 2009. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 6, 

2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.