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Mast Introduces Legislation Encouraging Congressional Offices at VA Facilities

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Mast Opened First-Ever Office Inside VA Facility

U.S. Congressman Brian Mast today introduced new legislation to streamline the opening of Congressional offices inside Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities across the nation. The introduction of the bill, called the Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act, follows Rep. Mast’s opening of the first-ever Congressional office inside a VA this past January.

“Serving veterans in our community is not only deeply personal to me, it’s also the most frequent request that I get as a Member of Congress,” Rep. Mast said. “Opening the first-ever Congressional office inside a VA hospital has allowed us to help veterans on the spot: when and where they’re having an issue. Every single Member of Congress should do the same at their local VA and this bill will pave the way to make that high level of service a reality for our veterans.”

Since the opening of the VA office in January, many other Members of Congress have asked Rep. Mast about the process to open his office so that they can replicate the service for veterans at their local VA facilities. Unfortunately, opening the office took more than a year of navigating bureaucratic red tape.

The Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act would cut down on this bureaucracy by requiring the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to permit a Member of Congress to use a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of meeting with constituents of the Member. Moreover, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop regulations regarding the use of VA office space by Members of Congress, mandating that the space be made available during normal business hours and in a location that is easily accessible to the Member’s constituents.

Read the text of the bill here.

BACKGROUND

Rep. Mast opened the first-ever Congressional office inside a VA facility in January.  Through this office, veterans from around the area have improved access for assistance with any VA-related issues.  The office is located in room 1A-366 of the West Palm Beach VA.

The office is staffed jointly by the West Palm Beach area Congressional delegation on the following schedule:

Rep. Brian Mast – Mondays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rep. Lois Frankel – Tuesdays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rep. Ted Deutch – First Wednesday of the Month: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings – Thursdays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Veterans may call ahead to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are taken on a first come, first serve basis. Veterans may also receive assistance at any of our other offices at any time.

Governor Scott to Sign Legislation Expanding PTSD Benefits for First Responders

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MEDIA ADVISORY

Tomorrow, March 27th, Governor Rick Scott will sign a bill expanding PTSD benefits for first responders at the Tampa Firefighter Museum. The Governor will be joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

WHAT: Bill Signing

WHEN: 2:00 PM

WHERE: Tampa Firefighter Museum
720 Zack Street
Tampa, FL 33602

Gov. Scott Signs Legislation Requiring Emergency Generators at All Florida Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

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Governor Rick Scott today signed SB 7028 and HB 7099, which makes permanent the emergency rules requiring every nursing home and ALF in Florida to have emergency generators to keep residents safe. Governor Scott directed the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DEA) to issue the emergency rules immediately following the tragedy at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills during Hurricane Irma last year. Florida is one of the first states in the nation to require emergency generators at nursing homes and ALFs.

Governor Scott said, “The tragedy at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills made it clear more needed to be done to ensure the protection of vulnerable Floridians during emergencies like Hurricane Irma. That is why I immediately ordered state agencies to issue emergency rules requiring each nursing home and ALF in Florida to have emergency generators on hand to keep residents safe. We fought aggressively to quickly implement this life-saving rule at facilities across the state and I am proud to sign legislation today that makes this rule permanent. Florida is one of the first states in the nation to require emergency generators at nursing homes and ALFs, and I appreciate the work of Senate President Joe Negron, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, and all the legislators who supported this important legislation. As we near the 2018 hurricane season, families can now know the facilities responsible for caring for their loved ones will have the resources needed to be fully prepared ahead of any potential storms.”

AHCA Secretary Justin Senior said, “Governor Scott has been clear since day one that the goal of this rule is to ensure a safe environment. With today’s bill signing, our Agency can move forward with implementing this emergency power plan rule to ensure that nursing homes and assisted living facilities are prepared for the start of the upcoming hurricane season. Florida faces an annual risk from Mother Nature, and these rules will help keep seniors safe during a possible devastating weather event or periods with prolonged power outage.”

Senate passes bill to crackdown on online sex trafficking

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A bill that would allow law enforcement and prosecutors to crackdown on websites that promote sex trafficking overwhelmingly passed the Senate on Wednesday.

The legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), now heads to the president for his signature. Prior to today’s vote, Nelson took to the Senate floor and asked for his colleagues’ support.

“An untold number of women and children in the U.S. are being sold into sexual slavery via the internet,” Nelson said. “It’s just unacceptable and it’s wrong. … We can’t sit by idly any longer.”

The legislation creates new accountability for websites hosting ads posted by sex traffickers, allows state attorneys general to prosecute websites that knowingly facilitate trafficking and enhances criminal penalties for traffickers.

According to the human trafficking hotline, Florida ranked third in the country for the highest number of sex trafficking cases reported in 2016 and 2017.

Following is a rush transcript of Nelson’s remarks before the vote:

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
Remarks on the Senate floor
March 21, 2018

Sen. Nelson: I thank the senator from Ohio for his gracious comments. And I just simply want to say my part as to why this is so important that we pass this legislation, because it’s very obvious that an untold number of women and children in the U.S. are being sold into sexual slavery via the internet.

And we now have an opportunity to do something about it by passing this legislation. And it’s so bad because with just a few clicks or a few punches on an iPhone, victims from all walks of life and parts of the country, all across, are being forced into brutal slavery and unspeakable crimes.

I want to repeat that. I want Americans to understand what is going on behind the scenes, that women and children are being forced into sex slavery in modern-day America, and could very well happen to someone that you know.

You know, we have continuing stories of our history of how slavery brought to the new world had happened. First to Arabia off the east coast of Africa, and then of course the European nations later in going down with ship captains, the Portuguese actually ended up having the most of slaves transported to the new world, primarily to South America.

But of course the English got into the act. Most of the European nations got into the act of these unspeakable crimes of slave ships going down to the west coast of Africa either enslaving themselves, Africans, or getting into agreement with a particular tribe that would then go out and capture members of an opposing tribe.

And of course, you’ve heard over and over the stories, untold stories of the inhumanity of stacking people body to body in the hulls of these slave ships. And it finally took a civil war to settle the issue. That was slavery. That was slavery that we opposed and now all of our laws try to protect against.

But here in modern-day America the same thing is happening, and it’s happening because of the advent, the advances of technology now using the internet. And if this is not a wake-up call, I simply don’t know what is.

According to human trafficking to the hotline, just my state of Florida has consistently ranked in the top five states in human trafficking cases. Florida was third in the country for the number of cases reported in 2016 and 2017, and that’s just what we know about.

And so, it’s just unacceptable and it’s wrong. Tens of thousands of Americans, predominantly women children, are subjected to this horrific reality. And you can imagine the pain and the suffering which they are subjected to. And nowhere in the country should have to endure this kind of forced slavery. No child or woman in Florida, in America should ever be trafficked for sex.

And to even contemplate that should offend any person’s sense of decency and humanity. And so the question before the Senate today, thanks with the leadership of a number of our colleagues, the question before the Senate today is, why aren’t we going to do everything that we can to stop this heinous practice?

And so, the bill that we are considering on the Senate floor would help us shut down despicable websites that enable this sex trafficking. Don’t kid yourself. These shady and highly profitable website operators know full well how their sites are being used. And what’s more, they’re hiding behind a decades’ old legal shield to immunize themselves from prosecution. And we’ve got to change that legal shield that was set up a decade ago for a different purpose.

And so, the bill by Senators Portman, Blumenthal, McCain, Heitkamp, and myself — and now many others — would eliminate the safe harbor in law for sex traffickers, and it would allow state attorneys general, other state and local prosecutors, and the victims themselves to go after the websites that knowingly provide a platform for sex trafficking. It would also make key changes to federal criminal law to enable law enforcement to better target the websites.

So, it’s simple. That’s the purpose of the legislation. Let’s get it passed out of here, get it signed into law, and let all of these various law enforcement entities be able to do their job. This legislation is an extensive product by our congressional colleagues on a bipartisan basis. It proves once again that what we ought to be doing around here on almost everything and yet we rarely do — it proves once again, if you cross partisan lines and put things together in a bipartisan way, that then you can tackle the important lifesaving issues such as this one. And we can get something done.

Let’s show today that we can get something done. Something that really makes a difference to Americans. And so, it’s a privilege for me to be involved in a bipartisan way with this legislation and to have worked with our commerce committee to get a unanimous vote out of the committee.

I hope that this legislation is going to serve as a wake-up call to the morally bankrupt website operators. We’re coming after you. And it seems like every day we hear of new ways that these bad actors are exploiting internet content and data to undermine society. Obviously, the internet has been magnificent for so many of us. But now when technology advances, you have to be on your guard about how new technology is used for the bad operators.

This bill is going to address that. We can’t sit by idly any longer. We’ve got to act today.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

Florida Society of Rheumatology Praises Lawmakers for Passing Prescription Drug Pricing Transparency Legislation

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Florida lawmakers today took a strong stand for the millions of Floridians who use prescription medications every year by passing legislation that will add transparency and accountability to the pricing process for prescription drugs. The Prescription Drug Pricing Transparency legislation, HB 351, will allow pharmacists to share whether the retail price of a drug is less than the amount a consumer would pay under their insurance, preventing Florida consumers from being overcharged when they purchase many prescription medicines. The legislation passed unanimously through both the Florida House and Senate, and the bill now heads to Governor Rick Scott for his signature.

“Floridians deserve the ability to know when they can pay less for a drug that they need, and this legislation is a major victory for patients by removing the gag order that prevented them from saving money on prescription medications to treat their health needs,” said Dr. Robert Levin, president of the Florida Society of Rheumatology, which strongly pushed for the change. “With this legislation, we are essentially lifting the curtain on a complex and costly process where pharmacy benefit managers were in the driver’s seat making treatment decisions and profiting at the expense of patients.”

This legislation addresses rising drug costs for both patients and insurers as a result of the current lack of regulation and transparency of the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Once HB 351 is signed into law, pharmacists will be able to inform customers of less expensive, generically equivalent drug alternatives for their prescriptions, and pharmacy benefit managers must register with the Office of Insurance Regulation.

Under existing law, pharmacists have often been prohibited from informing patients when generic alternatives might be available at a lower cost than the insurance copayment. However, this legislation puts the patient first by ensuring they can only be charged the lesser of the applicable cost sharing amount or the retail price of the drug in absence of prescription coverage.

PBMs are companies that act as intermediaries connecting drug manufacturers, insurers, pharmacies, and patients. PBMs were created with the goal of reducing drugs costs, but for the 266 million Americans who have PBMs managing their drug benefits, data shows that PBMs are actually responsible for raising drug costs.

“We thank the governor for being a long-time champion for Florida’s families and urge him to sign this good bill into law,” Dr. Levin added. “We will continue to advocate for policies that shift treatment decisions back to doctors – rather than third-party groups.”

Learn more about this issue at floridarheumatology.org/pbms.php.

Statement by Commissioner Adam Putnam on Senate’s Passage of Credit Report Freeze Fee Legislation

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Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam released the following statement today after the Senate passed the Credit Report Freeze Fee Bill, House Bill 953.

“Protecting consumers’ hard-earned money from criminals is a top priority, and this legislation that removes the fee to freeze credit reports makes it easier for consumers to protect themselves from fraud,” stated Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “I thank Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Senator Jeff Brandes and Representative Shawn Harrison for spearheading this consumer protection effort.”

The Credit Report Freeze Fee Bill seeks to remove the fee that credit reporting agencies charge Floridians to freeze their credit. The bill also removes the paperwork requirements for victims of identity theft to freeze their credit without a fee.

Senate Committee Advances Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act

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Senate Committee on Rules Passes Critical Public Safety Legislation

The Florida Senate Committee on Rules, chaired by Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Ft. Myers) today passed Senate Bill 7026, The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The legislation represents a comprehensive approach to addressing the issues presented by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, including firearm and school safety, and community mental health resources.

“Just 12 days ago 17 of our fellow citizens lost their lives and 14 more of our citizens were seriously injured. The victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School did nothing more than get up on an ordinary day and go to school and work the way they had done thousands of times before,” said Senator Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), who presented Senate Bill 7026 today. “This legislation provides law enforcement, the courts, and schools with the tools necessary to enhance public and school safety and will enhance coordination between education and law enforcement entities at the state and local levels to help prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.”

“Nothing we will do in the State Legislature will fill the void created in the families of the victims, their school, or their community. However, this comprehensive legislation will honor their memory by helping to ensure every community across the state has the resources needed to identify and treat those suffering from mental illness, to improve the safety and security of local schools, and to ensure those suffering from mental illness do not have access to firearms,” said Senate President Joe Negron (R-Stuart).

A summary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act as passed by the Senate Committee on Rules is below.

Mental Health:

  • Authorizes a law enforcement officer who is taking a person into custody for an involuntary examination under the Baker Act to seize and hold a firearm or ammunition from the person for at least 72 hours, or until the person appears at the agency to retrieve the firearm or ammunition.
  • Prohibits a person who has been adjudicated mentally defective or who has been committed to a mental institution from owning or possessing a firearm until a court orders otherwise.
  • Creates a process for a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency to petition a court for a risk protection order to temporarily prevent persons who are at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms when a person poses a significant danger to himself or herself or others, including significant danger as a result of a mental health crisis or violent behavior.
  • Provides a court can issue a risk protection order for up to 12 months.
  • Requires the surrender of all firearms and ammunition if a risk protection order is issued.
  • Provides a process for a risk protection order to be vacated or extended.
  • Codifies the Multiagency Service Network for Students with Severe Emotional Disturbance (SEDNET) as a function of the DOE in partnership with other state, regional, and local entities to facilitate collaboration and communication between the specified entities.
  • Creates the mental health assistance allocation to provide supplemental funding to assist school districts and charter schools in establishing or expanding comprehensive mental health programs, and to connect students and families with appropriate services.

Firearms Safety:

  • Requires a three-day waiting period for all firearms, not just handguns, or until the background check is completed, whichever is later. Provides exceptions for:
    • Concealed weapons permit holders, and
    • For firearms other than handguns, an exception for individuals who have completed a 16 hour hunter safety course.
  • Prohibits a person under 21 years of age from purchasing a firearm, and a licensed firearm dealers, importers, and manufacturers, from selling a firearm, except in the case of a member of the military, or a law enforcement or correctional officer.
  • Prohibits a bump-fire stock from being imported, transferred, distributed, transported, sold, keeping for sale, offering or exposing for sale, or giving away within the state.

School Safety:

  • Establishes the Commission on School Safety and Security within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate system failures in the Parkland school shooting and prior mass shooting events, and develop recommendations for system improvements.
  • Codifies the Office of Safe Schools (office) within the Florida Department of Education (DOE), and specifies purpose for the office is to serve as the state education agency’s primary coordinating division for promoting and supporting safe-learning environments.
  • Creates the Florida Sheriff’s Marshal Program within the DOE as a voluntary program to assist school districts and public schools in enhancing the safety and security of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to Florida’s public schools and campuses.
  • Establishes the Public School Emergency Response Learning System Program to assist school personnel in preparing for and responding to active emergency situations, and to implement local notification systems for all Florida public schools.
  • Requires each district school board and school district superintendent to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to assign one or more safe-school officers at each school facility, and:
    • Requires each district school board to designate a district school safety specialist to serve as the district’s primary point of public contact for public school safety functions.
    • Requires each school district to designate school safety specialists and a threat assessment team at each school, and requires the team to operate under the district school safety specialist’s direction.
  • Clarifies the applicability of public records exemptions for security systems and plans to give confidence that video footage that could reveal the location and capabilities of security cameras is exempt from public records.

CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis: Florida League of Cities Attempt to Derail Legislation for First Responders is Disgraceful

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Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis today provided an analysis of a report commissioned by the Florida League of Cities on legislation that would allow first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) access to mental health benefits to members of the Senate Appropriations and House Government Accountability Committees. Below please find a statement from CFO Patronis and a copy of the analysis memorandum.

“Florida League of Cities lobbyists have, at every step of the legislative committee process, vehemently opposed a measure that would allow Florida’s first responders to seek treatment for PTSD. Their opposition comes despite the fact that this measure has passed every House and Senate committee unanimously. Florida League of Cities lobbyists have now gone further to commission a report, wrought with flawed and erroneous data, to support why they don’t care about the first responders who make up the communities they represent.

“Our analysis revealed that not only does the report reflect a minimal impact, but there are outrageous and absurd assumptions made to skew opinion on this important issue. Knowingly peddling a deceptive report to defeat a measure that would allow first responders suffering from PTSD to get help is nothing short of disgraceful. Firefighters, for example, have a suicide attempt rate five times the general adult population. Suicide is not a solution.

“As we discuss increasing mental health resources in response to the Parkland tragedy, it would be shameful if an inaccurate report prevented our first responders, who struggle to deal with the immense psychological and emotional toll of their job, from getting the help they deserve.

“To combat the attempt by the Florida League of Cities lobbyists to derail this life or death issue, at my direction the Division of Workers’ Compensation analyzed their report and uncovered shocking flaws.”

MEMORANDUM

To: Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee and House Government Accountability Committee

From: Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis

Date: Monday, February 26, 2018

Subject: Analysis of Florida League of Cities’ Study on House Bill 227

Currently, Florida’s workers’ compensation system does not cover mental injuries for first responders unless accompanied by a physical injury. House Bill 227 and Senate Bill 376 aim to make post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a covered treatment for first responders under workers’ compensation without requiring a physical injury. Below please find CFO Patronis’ Division of Workers’ Compensation (“Division”) analysis of a report commissioned by the Florida League of Cities. The analysis was conducted on February 23, 2018 after a request for the report had been made.

Invented Worst-Case Scenarios. The Florida League of Cities’ report overestimates the amount of time a first responder could be out of work by nearly six times the Florida standard. The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) Florida CompScope report indicates the average duration for a typical Florida lost-time claim to be 11 to 13 weeks, while the Florida League of Cities’ report estimates 6 to 18 months. The Florida League of Cities report uses each and every “worst case scenario” possible to estimate the cost of lost wages (indemnity), and assumes first responders will always receive the highest disability amount available. The Florida League of Cities also ignores the effect of return-to-work programs on mitigating indemnity costs. First responders may return to work in another role while remaining at the same pay or are able to work in a different capacity at a reduced salary. In this situation, the first responder will receive temporary partial benefits, which will offset some of the differential in pre-and post-injury salary amounts.

Absurd Assumptions about Eligibility. The report assumes that 100 percent of first responderseligible to receive benefits will seek treatment and immediately begin “out of work” status. Testimony and first responder behavior demonstrate that this assumption is grossly overstated. By using this assumption, local governments would also have to expect to replace every single one of their first responder employees, which is absurd.

Assumes Costs are Immediate. The Florida League of Cities’ report seems to present that costs will all be immediately realized. The cost estimates presented in the report represent the total costs paid out over the life of the claim, which can take several years and often vary year to year.

Uncertainty. The Florida League of Cities’ report is unable to actually predict with certainty the fiscal impact of the bill because of the vast variations in the data for the possible total cost to local governments. By the Division’s calculations, there is a 587 percent difference between the central cost estimates and the lowest cost estimate, and a 195 percent difference between the central cost estimates and highest cost estimate.

Report Reflects Minimal Impact. Even if one were to believe the exaggerated assumptions and data choices, the impact to local governments still only represents .08 percent (low severity) to 1.58 percent (high severity) of the current budgets of the largest users of the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust.

Senate Committee Advances Legislation to Protect Privacy and Guard Against Unconstitutional Searches

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SB 1256 updates Florida law regarding the search of household communication devices

The Florida Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, chaired by Senator Randolph Bracy (D-Ocoee), today passed Senate Bill 1256, Search of the Content, Information, and Communications of Cellular Phones, Portable Electronic Communication Devices, and Microphone-enabled Household Devices, by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg). The legislation protects the constitutional rights of Floridians by addressing privacy issues related to the use of new communications technology.

“We need to make sure Florida laws keep pace with changes in technology,” said Senator Brandes. “With more and more families utilizing microphone-enabled communications tools to aid in daily household activities, this legislation makes sure our laws are clear with regard to when and how these devices can be subject to search.”

“Advancements in technology offer law enforcement new techniques for investigation and surveillance as they work to keep criminals off our streets. Likewise, the courts are facing new questions about the Fourth Amendment implications of this technology,” said Senate President Joe Negron (R-Stuart). “This legislation addresses current ambiguities and protects Floridians from unconstitutional searches of their property.”

Senate Bill 1256 prohibits the intentional, unlawful access, without authorization, to a cellular phone, portable electronic communication device, or microphone-enabled household device when a person obtains wire, oral, or electronic communications stored within the device.

The bill amends Florida law to add the term “electronic communications” to the current terminology of “wire and oral” communications in the legislative findings. Additionally, to provide clarity with regard to the application of this law, the bill also creates new legislative findings:

  • Recognizing a subjective and objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in precise location data. Finding that a warrant should be issued by a court for law enforcement to obtain the precise location of a person, a cellular phone, or a portable electronic communication device without the consent of the device owner.
  • Recognizing that portable electronic devices can store, and encourage the storage of, an almost limitless amount of personal and private information. Further recognizing that these devices are commonly used to access personal and business information, and other data stored in computers and servers that can be located anywhere in the world. Finding that a person who uses a portable electronic device has a reasonable and justifiable expectation of privacy in the information contained in the portable electronic device.
  • Recognizing that microphone-enabled household devices often contain microphones that listen for and respond to environmental triggers. Further recognizing that these devices are generally connected to and communicate through the Internet, resulting in the storage of and accessibility of daily household information in a device itself, or in a remote computing service. Finding that an individual should not have to choose between using household technological enhancements and conveniences, or preserving the right to privacy in one’s home.

Background

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. Further, the Fourth Amendment guarantees no warrants shall issue without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, a search occurs whenever the government intrudes upon an area in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. A warrantless search is generally unreasonable, unless an exception to the warrant requirement applies. The Florida Constitution similarly protects the people against unreasonable searches and seizures, and that right is construed in conformity with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Both the Florida and federal constitutions require a warrant to be supported by probable cause, as established by oath or affirmation, and to particularly describe the place to be searched, and items or people to be seized.

Congress passes legislation to protect Olympic athletes from sexual abuse

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Legislation sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson establishes independent
entity to investigate alleged abuses and protect victims

The U.S. Senate today approved legislation to require amateur athletics governing bodies – such as USA Gymnastics and USA Swimming – to immediately report sexual abuse allegations to local or federal law enforcement, or a child-welfare agency designated by the U.S. Justice Department.
The legislation – sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) – is designed to ensure that aspiring U.S. Olympic athletes can report allegations of abuse to an independent entity to investigate, and to make sure that all national governing bodies follow the strictest standards to prevent and detect child abuse.
“The system failed these young women horribly,” Nelson said today in reference to the hundreds of female gymnasts and other Olympic and collegiate athletes who have reported being victims of sexual abuse. “USA Gymnastics failed them. The USOC failed them. Michigan State failed them. By putting new safeguards into law to protect athletes from abuse we’re sending a message that this cannot and must not happen again.”
Nelson, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over federally-chartered sports-related organizations like the U.S. Olympic Committee, filed the legislation last year in the wake of recent allegations of sexual abuse against personnel involved with USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, USA Taekwondo, U.S. Speedskating, and USA Cycling.
Specifically, the bill amends the Ted Stevens Amateur and Olympic Sports Act to require Olympic amateur athletic governing bodies to establish rules and policies for their respective sports, including restricting one-on-one interactions between adults and children so that child predators, like Larry Nassar, can no longer exploit the system. The statute of limitations for such cases will also be extended under the bill to give victims of abuse more time to sue sex-crime perpetrators.
The bill, which was approved by the House earlier this week, now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
A copy of the bill is available here.