Ernst Applauds Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Young Athletes Signed into Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump signed into law the bipartisan Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, a cosponsor of the legislation, issued the following statement applauding the signing:

“We must do all we can to protect our young athletes and make clear that sexual assault and abuse will not be tolerated. This new law will strengthen mandatory reporting of sexual assault allegations within our amateur sports organizations and require these organizations to develop and enforce policies to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. I am glad to see this bipartisan legislation signed into law by the president, and I will continue my efforts to combat sexual assault, abuse, and harassment across our society.” 

Additionally, Senator Ernst joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) last week in unveiling a Senate Resolution to create a special committee in the Senate to investigate the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics regarding how team doctor Larry Nassar was given unsupervised access to female gymnasts, allowing him to sexually abuse them over decades.