2010 EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER ACT
U.S. House, Senate File Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act On April 29, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate filed identical versions of the 2010 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act, a renewal of the 2004 Sport and Empowerment Act which authorized five years of funding for numerous Special Olympics programs.
The new bill also includes authorization for grants for Best Buddies International. The bill will now need to be passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Obama.
“Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a tireless advocate for millions of people worldwide with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), one of the bill’s sponsors. “This legislation honors Mrs. Shriver’s legacy and reaffirms Congress’s commitment to ensuring that everyone – including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities – has an opportunity to live full, successful lives. I want to thank Rep. Roy Blunt for his hard work on this legislation, and my colleagues in the House and Senate for their unwavering commitment to this cause.”
Read the complete press release issued jointly from a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Special Olympics is an international organization that changes lives by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect worldwide. Best Buddies International is dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The introduction of this legislation is the culmination of months of work by multiple members of Congress and supporters of both Special Olympics and Best Buddies. In January, Special Olympics athletes and Best Buddies participants, along with coaches, program leaders and family members from 43 states participated in Capitol Hill Day 2010 to ask leaders to support the legislation. More than 275 meetings were held in one day with Members of Congress and their staff. See photos from Capitol Hill Day.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act authorizes critical funding for Special Olympics sports, education and health programs through the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and State. Special Olympics relies on this funding to provide vital services to athletes and families, including the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program and several educational programs. Healthy Athletes was launched in 1997 to provide health screenings for athletes at the local, national and international level who otherwise may go without any medical care.
Already, authorized funds have made possible:
- More than 1,000,000 free health screenings for Special Olympics athletes
- Training for more than 90,000 health care professionals on treating people with intellectual disabilities
- Exposure to 667,000 young people to programs organized by Project Unify
- Participation of 1,700 schools across the U.S. in Project Unify
Special Olympics also hosts a number of educational programs that are supported through funds from the Sport and Empowerment Act. These programs reach more than 3 million young people with and without intellectual disability and include the newest Special Olympics educational initiative, Project UNIFY. Project UNIFY, launched in June 2008, is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Its goal is to activate young people across the United States in an effort to develop school communities where all young people are agents of change - fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities by utilizing the programs and initiatives of Special Olympics.