United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2008

UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PARALYMPIC PROGRAM ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 29, 2008)

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4255 as amended, 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.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the bipartisan manner in which this bill moved through the committee. I want to especially acknowledge Chairman Filner for introducing H.R. 4255, the United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Act of 2008, and working with Subcommittee Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and myself to incorporate several provisions from Ranking Member Steve Buyer's bill, H.R. 1370, Disabled Veterans Sports and Special Events Promotion Act of 2007, into the amended version of the bill.

In 2005, the VA and USOC concluded an agreement to increase efforts to increase participation by disabled veterans in sports at all levels as part of their rehabilitation from their injuries. Ranking Member Buyer was proud to play a role in encouraging the USOC and VA to reach that agreement. By combining those two bills, we will give VA and USOC Paralympics some of the resources they will need to meet that goal.

Through the grant program, this bill uses the USOC and its partners to equip, train, and support disabled veterans' sports, and I look forward to seeing the VA, USOC Paralympics, and their partners to ramp up their efforts.

Most importantly, I am excited that we will have at least 11 disabled veterans participating as members of the U.S. Paralympic team in Beijing. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize these dedicated Americans who are the beginning of a larger disabled veteran participation in future games.

Disabled veterans on this year's Paralympic Team are:

Chuck Lear from Jacksonville, Illinois, archery;

Carlos Leon from North Lauderdale, Florida, track and field;

Kari Miller from Washington, D.C., sitting volleyball;

T.J. Pemberton from Guthrie, Oklahoma, archery;

Oscar Sanchez from Los Angeles, California, cycling;

Jennifer Schuble from Houston, Texas, cycling;

Melissa Stockwell from Minneapolis, Minnesota, swimming;

Kevin Stone from Kodak, Tennessee, archery;

Casey Tibbs from San Diego, California, track and field;

Scott Winkler from Grovetown, Georgia, track and field; and,

Russell Wolfe from Williamsburg, Virginia, archery.

I am also pleased to see a renewed commitment to providing training opportunities for disabled veterans at all levels of participation.

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I believe Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer have created a bill that will encourage more disabled veterans to participate in sports from the local level up through elite competition such as the Paralympic Games beginning with games in Beijing. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4255, as amended.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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