McCain Tells IOC to Adopt Reforms Before Congress Acts

LAUSANNE, Switzerland —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has urged the International Olympic Committee to move quickly in adopting reforms or “the demand for Congress to act will be irrepressible.”

McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that has scheduled hearings for next month into the IOC, expressed his concerns in a letter to the senior IOC member from the United States, Anita DeFrantz of Los Angeles.

McCain’s letter, faxed by his staff in Washington to reporters here for the IOC’s extraordinary session on the Salt Lake City bribery scandal, wrote that it is “critical for the IOC to understand the gravity of this situation.”

In the hearings scheduled to open April 14, the Commerce Committee will study proposed legislation by Sen. Ted Stevens (R.-Alaska) that could severely hinder the IOC’s ability to generate revenues from U.S. sponsors and networks.

The legislation would eliminate the IOC’s tax-exempt status in the United States, limit the percentage of IOC sponsorship dollars U.S. companies can deduct from taxes and channel U.S. television rights fees for the Olympics through the U.S. Olympic Committee instead of the IOC.

DeFrantz said that she did not view McCain’s letter as a threat.

“I took it as an expression of concern,” she said. “He wanted to make sure the Olympic movement was strong because the athletes of the world deserve a strong Olympic movement.”