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SportsOneSource.com - Sporting Goods Business UPDATEPhysical Fitness Bill Introduced in Congress
SportsOneSource Media Posted: 4/29/2009
According to the SGMA, Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) has introduced the Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2009 (PHIT) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Zach Wamp (R-TN) joined Kind in sponsoring the PHIT Bill.
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The PHIT Act would change current federal tax law to allow for the deduction or use of pre-tax dollars to cover expenses related to sports, fitness and other physical activities. Americans could invest up to $2,000 annually to pay for physical activities by investing money in existing pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) and/or medical reimbursement arrangements. PHIT would only expand the expenses eligible for reimbursement to include physical activity costs as a form of prevention; PHIT would not increase contribution limits to these accounts. Once an individual or family spends 7.5% of their income on qualified medical expenses, they could deduct physical activity expenses directly.
“SGMA has been supporting this bill in recent years and we are delighted to see that Representative Ron Kind is leading the effort on this legislation,” said Bill Sells, SGMA VP of government relations. “For the consumer, it reduces expenses associated with exercise, fitness and sports participation through the use of funds in pre-tax accounts. By encouraging more physical activity via financial incentives, we will improve health, reduce medical costs and lower absenteeism at school and in the workplace. PHIT has the potential to make a big difference in people’s lives, the economy and health care spending.”
“Regular physical activity is the best preventive medicine we can prescribe,” said Kind, a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. “This bill will give people the incentive they need to get active – to participate in that exercise class, join an intramural sports team, or sign up for a gym membership.”
With Kind, Blumenauer and Brady all serving on the tax-writing Ways & Means Committee, the prospects for PHIT are improved. Health care reform is a top priority in Washington and PHIT is consistent with reducing health costs – a primary objective of reform efforts.
One of the main reasons PHIT is getting attention on Capitol Hill is due to the Congressional support generated by physical activity advocates last month during SGMA’s National Health Through Fitness Day (NHTF). On NHTF Day, a delegation of well known athletes, sporting goods and fitness manufacturers, sports retailers, concerned citizens, physical educators and association leaders met with Members of the U.S. House and Senate to encourage passage of two legislative initiatives that will help Americans (of all ages) become more physically active and healthy. In addition to PHIT, the sports industry also promoted higher funding for quality physical education through the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP). PEP provides grants to school districts and community based organizations for innovative physical education and activity methods. Since 2001, PEP has provided close to $600 million for equipment purchases and P.E. training.
“Both pieces of legislation are important,” said Sells. “Basically, PEP provides support to school-age children while PHIT will provide financial incentives for all Americans to lead more active and healthy lives.”
SportsOneSource.com - Sporting Goods Business UPDATERECALL: Under Amour Protective Cups
SportsOneSource Media Posted: 4/29/2009
Under Armour, Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Safety Commission, has issued a recall for 211,00 protective athletic cups, which the company said can break if hit-thus posing an injurt threat to the wearer.
The company has received five reports of the cups breaking, including an injury that involved cuts and bruising. The recall involves all cups with that have the Under Armour logo, including adult, teen and youth sizes. The cups in question were sold individually and as part of a set with compression, slider or jock shorts. Consumers should immediately stop using the cup and contact Under Armour for a $20 voucher for use online or at any Under Armour specialty or outlet store.
Boulder sheriff decries 'bicycle safety' bill approval : Cycling : Boulder Daily CameraBOULDER, Colo. — A bill that clarifies cyclists' rights and seeks to better protect them from aggressive drivers has been approved by the Colorado Legislature and is headed to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for a final decision.
But Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle says the bill "goes too far" and warns that there could be trouble if Ritter gives the bill the go-ahead.
Senate Bill 148, also known as the Bicycle Safety Bill, would make major changes to how drivers and cyclists share the road. It passed both the state House and Senate on Monday, tallying final votes of 57-7 and 29-6, respectively.
Provisions of the bill would require drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing, allow vehicles to cross double-yellow lines to pass riders safely and allow cyclists to ride two abreast as long as they don't impede the normal flow of traffic.
But while bicycle advocates are celebrating the victory and anticipating a final approval by the governor, the Boulder County sheriff said Tuesday that the law would make cyclists virtually immune to prosecution.
"It will be very difficult or impossible to enforce anything against the cyclists," Pelle said.
He said language that allows cyclists to ride in the middle of mountain roads or two-abreast, for example, could lead to increased conflict between riders and drivers.
"There's really nothing now that requires them (cyclists) to yield or move over," Pelle said. "This bill gives them full access to the road."
On the county's open highways, he said, cyclists would not be required to use the special shoulders added specifically to separate riders from traffic.
"Under the old statutes, if a bicycle lane or bicycle path was provided, cyclists were required to use it -- and now they're not" if the bill passes, Pelle said. "Boulder County spent million to build bike lanes."
He said he hopes that most riders will continue to use the designated lanes as a matter of safety.
"There has to be accountability and common sense on both the drivers' and the cyclists' part," he said.
While cyclists should be given a three-foot-wide berth while passing, as the bill would require, the rest of the proposed law gives cyclists "carte blanche," he said.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said Pelle's concerns are unfounded.
"You can ride two-abreast as long as you're not impeding the normal flow of traffic," Brophy said. "It goes to show we need to educate law-enforcement officers along the lines of what the cycling statues say and don't say."
Donald Cicchillo, president of the Boulder Cycling Club, said he thinks most riders will use common sense and not take advantage of the law.
"The reality is that it's safer to be over on the right in the bike lane," Cicchillo said. "I don't think it's going to cause people to be less courteous."
Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, called the statehouse approval "a victory for everyone who wants safer roads in Colorado."
"It's been a long time coming," Grunig said. "It gives real clear guidance" about how drivers are to treat cyclists on the roads.
Grunig said the governor, himself an avid cyclist, is expected to sign off on the bill. If he does, the law would likely be signed during a June 7 ceremony and would go into effect Aug. 4.
A spokesperson for the governor's office did not return a phone call Tuesday.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie about this story at (303) 473-1328 or urieh@dailycamera.com.
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