USOC UNDER FIRE BY U.S. SENATE

     Critics "assailed" the USOC for its "emphasis on elite-level
athletes at the expense of grass-roots programs" during a Senate
subcommittee hearing yesterday that reviewed the Amateur Sports
Act of '78.  The act mandates the USOC's responsibility to be to
develop and support athletes at all levels.  But a recent ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION report noted the USOC spends 1/5 of 1% of its budget
on grass-roots sports and programs run by community-based
organizations (Mike Spence, COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE TELEGRAPH,
10/19).  Sen. John McCain "questioned the efficiency of the
organization" and said he will push for an audit by the General
Accounting Office (Joe Drape, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/19).