No Co-Sponsors Showed Up at CSUSOP Hearing
Deaflympian Matt Klotz's disability gave him a harder road on the ‘Big Brother’ show..
In the early morning of September 6, I exited from the Capitol South Metro Station. Then, I started walking toward the Rayburn House Office Building (15 minutes away at the older American pace), where the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP) hearing was held.
Nostalgia visit! For 15 years (1970-85), I worked for four employers at Capitol Hill: the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Republican National Committee (RNC), the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress, and back to the RNC.
Flashbacks: I played softball for Congressman Clarence “Bud” Brown of Ohio and secured the championship of Capitol Hill in 1971—also, the RNC co-ed team under the watchful of RNC Chairman George H. W. Bush in 1973. My next-door office neighbor was the Office of College Republicans, where Executive Director Karl Rove worked. I rode on the Capitol subway with ASA Sponsor Ted Stevens [R-AK] and his Senate buddy, Ted Kennedy [D-MA], from the Capitol to the Hart Senate Office Building. I stayed in the hideaway office of Sen. Ted Stevens with NCAA Attorney Mike Scott and a few others on the very, very early morning of October 14, 1978, while waiting for the Senate to agree to approve the House-passed Amateur Sports Act (ASA) bill with changes. So on.
Today’s Longworth Cafeteria is much different from my old time. I was greatly disappointed that they did not serve the famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup. (Shhh, here is the recipe.) I ate a different soup on the dining table and chatted with two CSUSOP Commissioners (Paralympians Karin Korb and Patty Cisneros Prevo) and one speaker, Paralympian Candace Cable.
After the lunch break, I realized that no Co-Sponsors (and their congressional aides) of the ‘Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020’ came to the hearing room to greet or talk with the CSUSOP Commissioners, unlike the former Speaker Carl Albert surprisingly showed up at my wine-tasting fundraising in 1973.
Senate Side:
Sen. Jerry Moran [R-KS]
Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]
Sen. Joni Ernst [R-IA]
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH] - COPC
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto [D-NV]
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito [R-WV]
Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA]
Sen. Martha McSally [R-AZ]
Sen. Kysten Sinema [D-AZ]
Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]
Sen. Jacky Rosen [D-NV]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R-AK] - COPC
Sen. Gary Peters [D-MI]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren [D-MA]
Sen. Mitt Romney [R-UT]
House Side:
Rep. Ted Lieu [D-CA]
Rep. John Curtis [R-UT] - COPC
Rep. Diana DeGette [D-CO] - COPC
Rep. Ann Kuster [D-NH] - COPC
Rep. Michael Burgess [R-TX]
Rep. Paul Tonko [D-NY]
Rep. Jimmy Panetta [D-CA]
Rep. Sylvia Garcia [D-TX]
Rep. Jamie Raskin D-MD]
COPC: Members of the Congressional Olympic and Paralympic Caucus.
Naturally, I hated the three H's- heat, haze, and humidity- there!
However, I shall return to Capitol Hill to witness these Co-Sponsors, especially my Maryland legislative friend, Jamie Raskins [D-MD], pass an amendment to insert the Deaflympics into the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. It could be my best 80th birthday gift if it signs into law.
Update on Deaflympian Matt Klotz
Swimmer Matt Klotz has faced challenges due to his deafness on Big Brother, relying on reading lips to communicate.