Several members of Congress "threatened swift
retribution" against the IOC "should measures to reform the
embattled organization be rejected" during the next IOC
session in December, according to Amy Shipley of the
WASHINGTON POST. IOC officials at yesterday's House
Commerce subcommittee hearings "maintained" that the IOC
"has been on course for substantive reform" for months.
During the hearing, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said, "I
am convinced that if the IOC does not adopt those [proposed]
reforms in December, the Congress is not going to have the
patience any longer to leave the IOC to reform itself."
Former Secretary of State and IOC reform panel member Henry
Kissinger, said, "I am quite optimistic we will succeed."
Former White House Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein, who has
been "highly critical" of the IOC, said that he was
"impressed" with its "recent efforts at reform."
Duberstein: "I think the thrust is very much in the right
direction" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/15). USA TODAY's Sharon
Raboin reports that Congress' message to the IOC was "reform
or face sanctions" (USA TODAY, 10/15). In Salt Lake City,
Linda Fantin writes that Congress said that it "will take
legislative action to limit" the IOC's "fund-raising power"
if reforms aren't made (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 10/15). In N.Y.,
Irvin Molotsky writes that members of Congress "subjected
representatives" of the IOC to "sharp questioning" and "gave
an indication of how the questioning is likely to go" when
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch "appears before the
panel" on December 15 (N.Y. TIMES, 10/15). While former
ACOG CEO Billy Payne said that the IOC "should ban all gifts
and pay members' travel expenses rather than billing cities"
bidding to host the Games, IOC members Anita DeFrantz and
Jim Easton denied that the selection of host cities was a
"culture of corruption" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/15).
