Senators say N.Y. bid will be fine

[VermontDem2004]

WASHINGTON -- New York's Olympic bid could be in jeopardy if Sen. John McCain's effort to restructure the U.S. Olympic Committee is adopted, according to an International Olympic Committee official.

Prospects of passage of the bill improved Wednesday, after Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., struck a deal with McCain, R-Ariz., that he says will keep the USOC headquarters in Colorado.

McCain's legislation, prompted by a spate of ethical lapses and scandals at the USOC, seeks to drastically scale back the USOC's governing bodies, provide more congressional oversight of the committee's functions and extend whistle-blower protection to Olympic employees.

But the reforms in the McCain bill would also mean that the USOC would not comply with the charter of the International Olympic Committee and would not be considered part of the Olympic movement, said Jim Easton, a U.S. delegate to the IOC.

"If the USOC were not recognized, it could not put forward a city as a bid city," Easton said. "That would really harm the athletes, because if the U.S. puts on the Olympic games it can raise a lot more revenue to support the athletes."

That would scuttle New York's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

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