Ernst Applauds Congressional Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Force U.S. Amateur Athletic Organization Report Sexual Abuse

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) applauded Congress’ passage of S.534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. Ernst, a co-sponsor of the legislation, issued the following statement:

“There can be no tolerance when it comes to sexual assault; we must do all we can to ensure young athletes are safe and protected.

“This bipartisan bill would strengthen mandatory reporting of sexual assault allegations and require amateur sports organizations to develop and enforce policies to prevent these horrendous crimes from happening in the first place. I’m so pleased that Congress has come together to pass this important legislation, and it’s my hope the president will sign it as soon as possible.

“We must also look into the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics’ role in the case of Larry Nassar, which is imperative to holding the appropriate parties accountable and working to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Last week, Senator Ernst joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in calling for a Senate investigation of 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.