I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5131 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 

Mr. BLUNT (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CANTOR, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

LATHAM, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. REGULA, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WELDON of Florida, and Mr. EHLERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on International Relations and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Empowerment Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

3 (1) Special Olympics celebrates the possibilities 

4 of a world where everybody matters, everybody 

5 counts, every person has value, and every person has 

6 worth. 

7 (2) The Government and the people of the 

8 United States recognize the dignity and value the 

9 giftedness of children and adults with an intellectual 

10 disability. 

11 (3) The Government and the people of the 

12 United States are determined to end the isolation 

13 and stigmatization of people with an intellectual dis14 ability. 

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

16 has encouraged skill, sharing, courage, and joy 

17 through year-round sports training and athletic com18 petition for children and adults with intellectual dis19 abilities. 

20 (5) Special Olympics provides year-round sports 

21 training and competitive opportunities to 1,500,000 

22 athletes with intellectual disabilities in 26 sports and 

23 plans to expand the joy of participation through 

24 sport to hundreds of thousands of people with intel25 lectual disabilities within the United States and 

26 worldwide over the next 5 years. 
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1 (6) Special Olympics has demonstrated its abil2 ity to provide a major positive effect on the quality 

3 of life of people with intellectual disabilities, improv4 ing their health and physical well-being, building 

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

6 voice to become active and productive members of 

7 their communities. 

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

9 become a vehicle and platform for breaking down ar10 tificial barriers, improving public health, changing 

11 negative attitudes in education, and helping athletes 

12 overcome the prejudice that people with intellectual 

13 disabilities face in too many places. 

14 (8) The Government of the United States en15 thusiastically supports Special Olympics, recognizes 

16 its importance in improving the lives of people with 

17 intellectual disabilities, and recognizes Special Olym18 pics as a valued and important component of the 

19 global community. 

20 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

21 (1) provide support to Special Olympics to in22 crease athlete participation in and public awareness 

23 about the Special Olympics movement; 

24 (2) dispel negative stereotypes about people 

25 with intellectual disabilities; 
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1 (3) build athletic and family involvement 

2 through sport; and 

3 (4) promote the extraordinary gifts of people 

4 with intellectual disabilities. 

5 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS. 

6 (a) EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Edu7 cation may award grants to, or enter into contracts or co8 operative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out 

9 the following: 

10 (1) Activities to promote the expansion of Spe11 cial Olympics, including activities to increase the 

12 participation of individuals with intellectual disabil13 ities within the United States. 

14 (2) The design and implementation of Special 

15 Olympics education programs, including character 

16 education and volunteer programs that support the 

17 purposes of this Act, that can be integrated into 

18 classroom instruction and are consistent with aca19 demic content standards. 

20 (b) INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of 

21 State may award grants to, or enter into contracts or co22 operative agreements with, Special Olympics to carry out 

23 the following: 
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1 (1) Activities to increase the participation of in2 dividuals with intellectual disabilities in Special 

3 Olympics outside of the United States. 

4 (2) Activities to improve the awareness outside 

5 of the United States of the abilities and unique con6 tributions that individuals with intellectual disabil7 ities can make to society. 

8 (c) HEALTHY ATHLETES.— 

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

10 Human Services may award grants to, or enter into 

11 contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special 

12 Olympics for the implementation of on-site health 

13 assessments, screening for health problems, health 

14 education, data collection, and referrals to direct 

15 health care services. 

16 (2) COORDINATION.—Activities under para17 graph (1) shall be coordinated with private health 

18 providers, existing authorized programs of State and 

19 local jurisdictions, or the Department of Health and 

20 Human Services, as applicable. 

21 (d) LIMITATION.—Amounts appropriated to carry 

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

23 diseases, medical conditions, or mental health conditions. 

24 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to 

25 limit the use of non-Federal funds by Special Olympics. 
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1 SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 (a) APPLICATION.— 

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

4 contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 

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

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

7 and containing such information as the Secretary of 

8 Education, Secretary of State, or Secretary of 

9 Health and Human Services, as applicable, may re10 quire. 

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

12 under this subsection shall contain the following: 

13 (A) ACTIVITIES.—A description of activi14 ties to be carried out with the grant, contract, 

15 or cooperative agreement. 

16 (B) MEASURABLE GOALS.—Information on 

17 specific measurable goals and objectives to be 

18 achieved through activities carried out with the 

19 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 

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

23 3, Special Olympics shall agree to submit an annual 

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

25 such information as the Secretary of Education, Sec-
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1 retary of State, or Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services, as applicable, may require. 

3 (2) CONTENT.—At a minimum, each annual re4 port under this subsection shall describe the degree 

5 to which progress has been made toward meeting the 

6 goals and objectives described in the applications 

7 submitted under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

10 (1) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree11 ments under section 3(a), $5,500,000 for fiscal year 

12 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 

13 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; 

14 (2) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree15 ments under section 3(b), $3,500,000 for fiscal year 

16 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 

17 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; and 

18 (3) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree19 ments under section 3(c), $6,000,000 for each of fis20 cal years 2005 through 2009. 

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