Disabled Veterans Sports and Special Events Promotion Act of 2007

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.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I just want to associate myself with Mr. Filner's remarks. I think he said it very, very well. For many individuals, for many soldiers this is such an important thing and truly is part of the healing process. And, again, I just associate myself with his remarks. I also want to again reiterate how much I appreciate Mr. Filner working with Mr. Buyer to give us such a good bill.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4255) 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, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we must honor the sacrifice of our servicemembers by providing them with the resources needed to heal from the wounds of war and to help them live an active life after their service to our country.

While the VA has taken an active role in initiating programs for our most severely injured veterans, I strongly believe that Congress should provide the VA with the needed resources to help meet this growing demand for rehabilitative services. For this reason, H.R. 4255, the United States Paralympic Programs Act of 2008, is introduced, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

This bill would establish the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events; it would authorize the VA to provide grants to the United States Olympic Committee to implement the Paralympic Program; and, authorize a financial assistance program for veterans who participate in events leading to elite competition.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a decade since Congress last revisited this program that provides opportunities for participation in paralympic supports. Our Nation's current commitment in fighting the global war on terror has brought to light the need to reevaluate existing programs to see if they meet the needs of a new generation of disabled veterans and servicemembers.

As the number of disabled servicemembers has substantially increased over the years, it has become necessary to expand available rehabilitative services to ensure that these men and women are afforded the best possible care after their service to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the efforts of the VA for entering into a memorandum of agreement with the United States Olympic Committee to help take care of seriously injured veterans and allowing them to be part of the Paralympic Program. This program helps them to accept new physical limitations and to explore those limits. I, like some of my colleagues in the House, have had the pleasure of meeting some of these servicemembers and veterans who have benefited from programs such as the one being proposed today.

Earlier this year, the chairman had the pleasure of meeting Jose Ramos, a veteran of the Navy originally from El Paso, Texas. Jose testified before the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity about benefits that adaptive sports programs provide in teaching veterans that they can continue to live productive lives despite their injuries.

I would like to thank the ranking member of the committee, Representative Steve Buyer, for the bipartisan effort he demonstrated in working on this important piece of legislation. By working together, we were able to incorporate language from his bill and craft H.R. 4255. I ask all my colleagues to join me in showing their strong support for H.R. 4255 as amended, the United States Paralympic Program Act of 2008.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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 applaud the bipartisan manner in which this bill moved forward 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 Ranking Member John Boozman to incorporate into the amended version of the bill several provisions from my bill, H.R. 1370, The Disabled Veterans Sports and Special Events Promotion Act of 2007.

In 2005, the VA and the 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. I was privileged to participate in encouraging the USOC and VA to reach that agreement and by combining our two bills, we will give VA and the USOC Paralympics some of the resources they will need to meet that goal. I look forward to seeing the VA, USOC Paralympics and their partners ramp up their efforts and am excited that we will have at least 11 disabled veterans participating as members of the U.S. Paralympic Team in Beijing as a beginning of larger disabled veteran participation in the future games.

I am also pleased to see a renewed commitment to providing training opportunities for veterans that will be offered. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I believe you and I 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. Through the grant program, this bill uses the USOC and its partners to equip, train and support disabled veterans' sports and I urge my colleagues to support this bill as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 4255, as amended.

I thank Mr. Boozman for participating in this debate and for his leadership on the committee.

General Leave

I would ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4255, as amended.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, all of us have been to hospitals, we have been to homes where we have seen disabled veterans, whether from the current war or previous wars. We all know that a major factor in their recovery, especially mentally, is a sense of self- worth, a sense that they have a future, a sense that although they have problems physically, they can overcome that and be productive members of our society.

For many of those veterans who were athletes or who were participating in athletics, the opportunity to participate again competitively is one of the most meaningful things they can have in their recovery. And what this program will do, the Paralympic Program, is give both disabled active duty and veterans, the opportunity to compete, to train, and to have that comradeship with fellow athletes, and to show that they are indeed human beings who can participate in this society. That is a major, major part of the healing process.

I urge my colleagues to support this.

I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas.

I thank the gentleman.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as the Chairwoman of the Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4255, as amended, which the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee passed on June 26 and the full Committee approved on July 15.

I would like to congratulate Chairman Filner for introducing this bill to authorize the VA to make a grant to the United States Olympic Committee to provide and develop activities for servicemembers and veterans with physical disabilities. I also would like to thank full Committee Ranking Member Buyer for his leadership and willingness to work with the majority to combine provisions of his bill, H.R. 1370, with the Chairman's bill.

The United States Olympic Committee Paralympics Program Act will help increase the participation of disabled veterans in physical activities and sports to promote healthy-living, help elite-level athletes compete in sporting programs, and help our wounded servicemembers transition to the next stage in their lives.

Again, I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member Buyer for their leadership on this important issue. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 4255.