1. Paralympic Sport, which is sport for physically-disabled individuals, began as a rehabilitative tool for injured World War II service personnel.

2. In 1998 Congress mandated that the USOC should serve as the National Paralympic Committee for the U.S.

3. Since that time the USOC has grown its Paralympic division and today spends more than $12 million on Paralympic programs.

4. In recognition of a need coupled with the USOC’s expertise, U.S. Paralympics has launched programs that introduce Paralympic sport to injured active duty and veteran service men and women as a tool for their rehabilitation and a vehicle for a return to an active lifestyle.

5. While the USOC is pleased that some of these programs have so far produced five individuals who will represent the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Beijing this summer, the principal purpose of these programs is to bring the USOC’s experience and expertise to bear in this area in order to serve a deserving population.

6. The USOC intends to partner with a number of community-based and veterans service organizations to create Paralympic programs in communities across the nation.

7. The bill under consideration, “the United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2007,” (HR 4255) will serve to expedite the creation of these programs and, therefore, enable the USOC to serve more members of this deserving population more effectively.

Good afternoon Madam Chairwoman and members of the subcommittee. My name is Charles Huebner and I am the Chief of Paralympics, for the United States Olympic Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to testify on HR 4255, the “United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2007,” that would create an opportunity for the U.S. Olympic Committee, in collaboration with Veterans, Paralympic, and community-based organizations, to serve as an extension to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in providing programs and mentors to disabled Veterans in communities throughout the United States.

By way of a brief background, the USOC is an organization chartered by Congress through what was is formally known as the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. In amendments to the Act in 1998 the USOC was given the additional responsibility of serving as the National Paralympic Committee for the United States, a function that in most other countries is governed by a separate organization. Paralympic activity is sports for physically disabled athletes, and the Paralympic Games are held approximately two weeks after the Olympic Games and at the same Olympic venues.

The Paralympic Movement began shortly after World War II, utilizing sports as a means of rehabilitation for injured military personnel returning from combat. The Paralympic Games have become the second largest global sporting event behind the Olympic Games, with more than 180 Countries and 4,000 physically disabled athletes expected to participate in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The USOC today spends more than $12 million dollars annually on Paralympic programs, all of these funds, of course, from private sources. And Paralympic organizations throughout the U.S. spend an additional $30 million dollars at the local level to provide sports and physical activity programs for persons with physical disabilities.

The Paralympic movement today exists because of the needs of injured veterans. And when I speak of the Paralympic movement, I am not talking about a small number of persons that will make future Paralympic teams, I am speaking of a movement and individuals with physical disabilities that are using the simple platform of sports to re-enter life. I’m talking about a population that is educated, employed, is active in their communities, promotes excellence and inspires Americans to achieve and overcome obstacles. Let me give you a few examples.

Veteran Kortney Clemons, who currently resides in Chula Vista, California, was injured in Iraq in 2003. In 2004 Kortney participated in a Paralympic Military Sport Camp conducted at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Last month he graduated from Penn State University. Last week he started an internship at San Diego Adaptive Sports and is pursuing his career interest of being a Therapuetic Recreation Specialist in the Paralympic movement.

Veteran Scott Winkler of Augusta, Georgia, was injured in Iraq. Last Saturday in Tempe, Arizona, Scott earned the honor of representing his country again, this time at the Paralympic Games. More importantly, Scott founded a local program in Augusta to provide physical activity for injured military personnel and persons with physical disabilities.

In the past two weeks, the USOC and our partners accomplished the following:

• 20 Veterans participated in a Paralympic Veterans program in Alabama led by Marine Veteran and Paralympic mentor Carlos Leon;
• More than 18 veterans participated in a Paralympic veterans program in Oklahoma led by Army Veteran, Paralympic mentor and University of Arkansas graduate John Register, and;
• The USOC launched a pilot program at Ft. Lewis, Washington, focused on providing program support and mentors for the more than 700 individuals currently in the Warrior Transition Unit at that base.

In 2008, the USOC and our partners will provide ongoing programming at the community-level for more than 2,000 Veterans. We expect to increase this number significantly in 2009.

In 2008 we will also celebrate as five former members of the United States military who were injured in defense of their country again don a uniform, but this time the uniform of Team USA, to represent their country at the 2008 Paralympic Games. This is a great story for America, and the American people.

By utilizing our experience, expertise and understanding of the impact of sport on the physical and mental and emotional rehabilitation process for young men and women that are newly disabled, the USOC Paralympic Military and Veterans Program that introduced Paralympic sport to these men and women is serving as an effective vehicle for their return to an active lifestyle. Components of the Paralympic Military and Veterans Program include national training of community leaders to implement Paralympic sport; clinics and mentor visits at military and VA installations; development of local community-based programs in targeted markets that have military or VA installations; and “Paralympic Military Sports Camps,” conducted at our Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs and Chula Vista, California. These Military Sports Camps provide an introduction to Paralympic Sport, and also the introduction of Paralympians that serve as mentors to injured military personnel and veterans. We would like to invite members of this committee to attend our sport camp scheduled for Oct. 27-Novemeber 2, 2008 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.

Despite the success of this and similar programs directed at injured and disabled active duty and veteran military personnel, we recognize that there is much more that we can and should do. As successful as the Paralympic Military and Veterans Program has been, we have only scratched the surface and intend to do more. Currently there is a significant lack of Paralympic community-based programs throughout the United States. We have been most fortunate in developing a very positive and productive working relationship with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since then we have collaborated on certain activities but have been limited financially and programmatically. We believe that this legislative proposal, accompanied by supportive funding, would serve as a vehicle for the VA and USOC and our partners like the Paralyzed Veterans of America and National Recreation and Parks Association which has programs in 6,000 U.S. communities, to cost efficiently serve a significantly larger universe of veterans for whom Paralympic sport would serve as a valuable rehabilitation activity to reintegrate into communities with family members and friends. We would envision an expansion of Paralympic Community-Based programs to target a larger number of veterans and their families, and create similar programs at community facilities of some of our Paralympic partners such as the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama, and in the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the home of Fort Carson, where a Paralympic Community-based program does not exist today. These programs would be community extensions of VA programs that are identified in collaboration with our partners at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This legislation, and the interest of this subcommittee that is giving this proposal a hearing, is testimony to the need of veterans for activities and programs that enable them to return to a full and active life. The United States Olympic Committee, through its Paralympic Division, wants to be an active participant in serving a most deserving segment of our population. We have learned that these various Paralympic sport programs, whether they be the USOC’s, the Department of Veterans Affairs’, or those of Paralympic organizations, make a positive difference in the lives of those who are being served. We are confident that the expertise that we have developed in Paralympic programs, and in collaboration with numerous agencies like DSUSA, PVA, DAV, and the American Legion, can and will have a significant impact on veterans that are newly-disabled to re-enter their communities as active members.

Thank you for your consideration of this important piece of legislation and for your ongoing concern for and support of our nation’s veterans.