12 2 STA T .4 1 8 4 PUBLIC LA W 11 0–3 8 9—O CT. 10 , 2008 ‘ ‘ §32 2 .Of f iceo f Nat io n a lV ete r an sSp orts P ro g ra m san d Spe - cial Ev ents ‘ ‘ (a)ESTABLI S HMEN T .—Ther e is i nt he D e p art m ent an Of fi c e o f N ationa lV eterans S ports P ro g rams an d Special E v ents. There is at the head of the Office a Director ,w ho shall report to an appropriate official of the Veterans B enefits A dministration, as determined by the Secretary, or to the Dep u ty Secretary or Sec - retary. ‘‘(b) R ES PO NSIBILITIES O F DI R E C TOR.—Sub j ect to the direction of the Secretary, the Director— ‘‘( 1 ) shall establish and carry out q ualifying 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 e x tent feasible, cooperate with the U nited States Paralympics, I nc., and its partners to promote the participation of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed F orces in sporting events sponsored by the United States Paralympics, Inc., and its partners; ‘‘( 5 ) shall see k 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 Sec- retary determines are appropriate. ‘‘(c) QU ALIF Y IN G PROGRAM OR E V ENT.—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) M ONTHLY ASSISTANCE ALLO W ANCE.—(1) Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary may provide a monthly assistance allowance to a veteran with a dis- ability invited by the United States Paralympics, Inc., 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 sanc- tioned by the United States Paralympics, Inc., or who is residing at a United States Paralympics, Inc., training center. ‘‘(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 authori z ed to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $ 2, 0 00,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013. ‘‘(e) L IMITATION ON STATUTORY C ONSTRUCTION.—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. ’ ’. (b) CLERICAL AMEN D MENT.—The table of sections at the begin- ning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item
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‘ 32 2 .Of f iceo f Nat io n a lV ete r an sSp orts P ro g ra m san d Special Ev ents. ’ ’. Ap p ro pr iat io n a u t h ori z ation .
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