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McCain heads push to revitalize US Olympic Committee

With the Athens Olympics a year away, US Senator John McCain is pushing to have legislation reforming the scandal-plagued US Olympic Committee signed into law by Congress' August recess.

Lawmakers should quickly enact the sweeping reforms to restore the faith of athletes and the public in the USOC, the Arizona Republican said on Tuesday.

"We need to have a new organization in place to prepare for the upcoming Olympics," said McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which reviewed the suggestions of a Senate-appointed task force during a hearing on Tuesday.

As McCain pushed for quick action, Jim Scherr, a former Olympic wrestler who has been the committee's acting CEO, urged senators to proceed "deliberately and with caution."

"I think this is our last chance, at least in the foreseeable future, to get it right," Scherr said.

Over the past three years, the committee has had four chief executives and three presidents, and endured a bribery scandal involving Salt Lake City's efforts to land last year's Winter Olympics.

Last winter, long-running political feuds culminated in the ouster of president Marty Mankamyer, accused of working to drive out the committee's chief executive, Lloyd Ward. Ward resigned in March amid accusations he tried to steer business to his brother's company, and reports of lavish spending on parties and travel by USOC leaders.

Frustrated with the scandals, McCain and Senator Ben Night-horse Campbell, and Ted Stevens, appointed a five-member task force to craft ways to solve the myriad problems.
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