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) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Inter-
national Relations and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse-
quently 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 expan-
sion of Special Olympics and development of education 
programs and a Healthy Athletes Program, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Olympics Sport 
and Empowerment Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Special Olympics celebrates the possibilities 
of a world where everybody matters, everybody 
counts, every person has value, and every person has 
worth. 
(2) The Government and the people of the 
United States recognize the dignity and value the 
giftedness of children and adults with an intellectual 
disability. 
(3) The Government and the people of the 
United States are determined to end the isolation 
and stigmatization of people with an intellectual dis-
ability. 
(4) For more than 36 years, Special Olympics 
has encouraged skill, sharing, courage, and joy 
through year-round sports training and athletic com-
petition for children and adults with intellectual dis-
abilities. 
(5) Special Olympics provides year-round sports 
training and competitive opportunities to 1,500,000 
athletes with intellectual disabilities in 26 sports and 
plans to expand the joy of participation through 
sport to hundreds of thousands of people with intel-
lectual disabilities within the United States and 
worldwide over the next 5 years.
(6) Special Olympics has demonstrated its abil-
ity to provide a major positive effect on the quality 
of life of people with intellectual disabilities, improv-
ing their health and physical well-being, building 
their confidence and self-esteem, and giving them a 
voice to become active and productive members of 
their communities. 
(7) In society as a whole, Special Olympics has 
become a vehicle and platform for breaking down ar-
tificial barriers, improving public health, changing 
negative attitudes in education, and helping athletes 
overcome the prejudice that people with intellectual 
disabilities face in too many places. 
(8) The Government of the United States en-
thusiastically supports Special Olympics, recognizes 
its importance in improving the lives of people with 
intellectual disabilities, and recognizes Special Olym-
pics as a valued and important component of the 
global community. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) provide support to Special Olympics to in-
crease athlete participation in and public awareness 
about the Special Olympics movement; 
(2) dispel negative stereotypes about people 
with intellectual disabilities;
(1) Activities to increase the participation of in-
dividuals with intellectual disabilities in Special 
Olympics outside of the United States. 
(2) Activities to improve the awareness outside 
of the United States of the abilities and unique con-
tributions that individuals with intellectual disabil-
ities can make to society. 
(c) HEALTHY ATHLETES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services may award grants to, or enter into 
contracts or cooperative agreements with, Special 
Olympics for the implementation of on-site health 
assessments, screening for health problems, health 
education, data collection, and referrals to direct 
health care services. 
(2) COORDINATION.—Activities under para-
graph (1) shall be coordinated with private health 
providers, existing authorized programs of State and 
local jurisdictions, or the Department of Health and 
Human Services, as applicable. 
(d) LIMITATION.—Amounts appropriated to carry 
out this section shall not be used for direct treatment of 
diseases, medical conditions, or mental health conditions. 
Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to 
limit the use of non-Federal funds by Special Olympics.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant, 
contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 
(a), (b), or (c) of section 3, Special Olympics shall 
submit an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary of 
Education, Secretary of State, or Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, as applicable, may re-
quire. 
(2) CONTENT.—At a minimum, an application 
under this subsection shall contain the following: 
(A) ACTIVITIES.—A description of activi-
ties to be carried out with the grant, contract, 
or cooperative agreement. 
(B) MEASURABLE GOALS.—Information on 
specific measurable goals and objectives to be 
achieved through activities carried out with the 
grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 
(b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 
any funds under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 
3, Special Olympics shall agree to submit an annual 
report at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary of Education, Sec-
retary of State, or Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, as applicable, may require. 
(2) CONTENT.—At a minimum, each annual re-
port under this subsection shall describe the degree 
to which progress has been made toward meeting the 
goals and objectives described in the applications 
submitted under subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated— 
(1) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree-
ments under section 3(a), $5,500,000 for fiscal year 
2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; 
(2) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree-
ments under section 3(b), $3,500,000 for fiscal year 
2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; and 
(3) for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree-
ments under section 3(c), $6,000,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2005 through 2009. 
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