Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/4203

 12 2 STA T .4 1 80PUBLIC LA W 110 –3 8 9—O CT. 10 , 2008 (3)inthe thi rds enten c e ,by insertin g‘ ‘re a s o nab l e ’ ’a f ter ‘‘i mp ose a’’ .TI T LEV II —AS SISTA NC ET OU NITE D STATES P A R AL YM PIC INTE G RATED ADAPTIVE SPORTS PROGRAM SEC.701 . FIND IN G S A ND PUR P O SE. (a) FIND IN GS . —C ongress ma k es the follo w ing findings

( 1 ) I n1 9 9 8, Congress enacted the O lympic and A mate u r S ports Act Amendments of 1998 (33 U .S.C. 1 0 1 note), which amended chapter 2 20 5 of title 3 6, United States Code, and included a statement that the purpose of the Act was ‘‘to encourage and pro v ide assistance to amateur athletic programs and competition for amateur athletes with disabilities, including, where feasible, the e x pansion of opportunities for meaningful participation by such amateur athletes in programs of athletic competition for able - bodied amateur athletes’’. (2) T he United States Olympic Committee manages and administers the P aralympic Program for physically disabled athletes. (3) The D epartment of V eterans Affairs provides health care to veterans and administers recreational activities for patients including the G olden Age Games, the N ational Vet- erans W heelchair Games, and the Winter Sports Clinic. ( 4 ) In 2005, the United States Olympic Committee entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase interest in and access to Paralympic sports programs for veterans with physical disabil- ities by coordinating the activities of the United States Olympic Committee with the Department of Veterans Affairs. (5) The Paralympic Program has a significant positive effect on the q uality of life of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces who participate in the program, including helping to improve the mobility, vitality, and physical, psycho- logical, and social well-being of such participants and reducing the incidence of secondary medical conditions in those partici- pants. (6) B ecause of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation E nduring Freedom, the number of disabled veterans and dis- abled members of the Armed Forces has increased substantially and it is therefore desirable to supplement the rehabilitation and recreation programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs through sports for disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces. (b) P URPO S E .—The purposes of this title are as follows: (1) To promote the lifelong health of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces through regular participation in physical activity and sports. (2) To enhance the recreation activities provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs by promoting disabled sports from the local level through elite levels and by creating partner- ships among organi z ations specializing in supporting, training, and promoting programs for disabled veterans. 38USC 3 2 2 note.

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