Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) issued the following statement ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro:
“The Olympic Games bring together the best athletes across the world and I look forward to joining families across our district in rooting for Team USA,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “In our district, we have a very unique Olympic history, drawing the games here twice – in 1932 and then in 1980 when we watched Team USA’s famous “Miracle on Ice” win over the Soviet National Hockey Team.
“In these games, our district is proud to have one of our own representing the United States in the cycling competition. Glens Falls’ native Megan Guarnier enters these Olympic Games as the top rated female cyclist in the world and we know she will make our country proud.
“The dedication and sacrifice all of our athletes make to represent the United States in the Olympic Games is inspiring and deserving of our nation’s full support. This is why, in Congress, I will be cosponsoring legislation that will exempt our athletes from burdensome tax penalties they face when they win Olympic medals. After all of the sacrifice our athletes make for years to represent us on the world stage, we should not punish them for being victorious.”
Congresswoman Stefanik will be cosponsoring the Tax Exemptions for American Medalists (TEAM) Act. This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal or prize money received on account of competition in the Olympic Games.
Additionally, Congresswoman Stefanik helped lead the effort to keep USA Luge in Lake Placid. She visited the USA Luge facility in Lake Placid last summer and met with community leaders across the region to discuss ways to keep USA Luge here. Congresswoman Stefanik’s office also met and coordinated with ROOST to provide them with a letter of support for their efforts at the state level to keep USA Luge.
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