Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act.

The Olympics are meant to be a celebration. A coming together of our Nation's finest, who have given their all to represent us on the world's stage.

And yet, over the past several years, abuse allegations have filtered into every corner of the Olympic sports.

USOP--the very body that was created to care for our athletes--became more concerned about protecting its brand than the athletes themselves. We know now that USOPC and USA Gymnastics officials knew about the horrific sexual assault allegations brought against Larry Nassar, and still chose to ignore them.

It is long past time for a change.

Our Olympic athletes devote their entire lives to representing the United States of America. Today, Congress is making good on our promise to represent them.

This legislation includes my bill to form an independent, blue-ribbon commission to study and reform the Nation's top sport's governing body.

The 16-member independent commission would be made up of, at least, eight Olympic or Paralympic athletes and will be tasked with studying how the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee operates, and provide Congress a list of recommendations to better protect the nation's top athletes.

A gold medal is not worth the lives that have been torn apart because of this.

I'm thrilled that we're passing this bill, but today's victory is only the first step towards much needed reform of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

I look forward to continuing to work with the USOPC, National Governing Bodies, and athletes across the nation so that we may strive towards a more resilient Team USA.

We must continue to find ways to give our athletes a voice in the process--and to ensure that it's putting their well-being above all else.

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