§ 322. Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events

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(a)Establishment.— There is in the Department an Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events. There is at the head of the Office a Director, who shall report to an appropriate official of the Veterans Health Administration, as determined by the Secretary, or to the Deputy Secretary or Secretary.

(b)Responsibilities of Director.— Subject to the direction of the Secretary, the Director—

(1)shall establish and carry out qualifying programs and events;

(2)may provide for sponsorship by the Department of qualifying programs and events;

(3)may provide for, facilitate, and encourage participation by disabled veterans in qualifying programs and events;

(4)shall, to the extent feasible, cooperate with entities with significant experience in managing large-scale adaptive sports programs;

(5)shall seek sponsorships and donations from the private sector to defray costs of carrying out the responsibilities of the Director to the maximum extent feasible; and

(6)may carry out such other responsibilities as the Secretary determines are appropriate.

(c)Qualifying Program or Event.— For purposes of this section, a qualifying program or event is a sports program or other event in which disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces participate and that is approved by the Secretary as being consistent with the goals and missions of the Department.

(d)Monthly Assistance Allowance.—

(1)Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary may provide a monthly assistance allowance to—

(A)a veteran with a disability invited by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to compete for a slot on, or selected for, the Paralympic Team for any month in which the veteran is training or competing in any event sanctioned by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee or who is residing at a United States Olympic Committee training center; and

(B)a veteran with a VA service-connected disability rated as 30 percent or greater by the Department of Veterans Affairs who is selected by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee for the United States Olympic Team for any month in which the veteran is competing in any event sanctioned by the National Governing Bodies of the United States Olympic Sports.

(2)The amount of the monthly assistance payable to a veteran under paragraph

(1)shall be equal to the monthly amount of subsistence allowance that would be payable to the veteran under chapter 31 of this title if the veteran were eligible for and entitled to rehabilitation under such chapter.

(3)In providing assistance under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to veterans with service-connected disabilities.

(4)There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection the following:

(A)For each of fiscal years 2010 through 2023, $2,000,000.

(B)For each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027, $2,500,000.

(e)Applicability to Commonwealths and Territories of the United States.— The provisions of this subsection shall apply in the same manner and to the same degree as to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to the Paralympic sport entities the Secretary considers appropriate to represent the interests of each of the following:

(1)American Samoa.

(2)Guam.

(3)Puerto Rico.

(4)The Northern Mariana Islands.

(5)The United States Virgin Islands.

(f)Limitation on Statutory Construction.— Nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation on disabled sports and special events supported by the Department as of the date of the enactment of this section.