On the recordMay 19, 2010
I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank he and Congresswoman Fudge for bringing this bill to the floor. I'm honored to be here on the floor with my good friend, Mr. Hoyer. We first brought this concept of healthy athletes to the floor 6 years ago, when, for the first time, the Federal Government said we can add something to Special Olympics that doesn't change Special Olympics but just simply adds to it. It doesn't change the character of volunteers. It doesn't change the character of charitable contribution. It doesn't change the character of competition. It adds a component to Special Olympics that helps athletes who have many challenges discover some challenges in health that maybe no one has discovered yet. Today, this bill would simply authorize that program, which I will talk about in some detail, for another 5 years. I hope that we continue to see the kind of things that Mr. Hoyer and I have been able to watch as a result of this decision by the Congress 6 years ago. As has already been said, it also passes a bill again that this Congress has already passed--a bill that Mr. Hoyer and I sponsored last year, that would provide a new level of assistance to Best Buddies, a program where adults who work with other adults who have mental challenges become the friend, the mentor, the person who brings that person more deeply into society than they otherwise would be.
