In recent years the importance of being physically fit has become more and more prominent in the news. As we learn more about the causes of health problems, it is becoming clear that living a healthy lifestyle throughout your life is crucial. It seems as though being unhealthy at any age can negatively affect your health in the future. Since May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, I thought I would take some time to talk about the importance of being physically fit.

Now, I am not a Doctor and I don't claim to be, but as a legislator in the United States Congress I am doing the best I can to help raise awareness of health issues in our Nation and I am working with my colleagues to help create the tools to counteract possible health problems. Most recently, I joined a bipartisan group of Congressional colleagues in asking for funding for the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) in next year's budget. I will continue to support programs like this which aim to give our children a more active lifestyle.

NYSP provides a five week summer program that teaches children to live more active lifestyles through sports programs. The children have the opportunity to learn and play a wide variety of sports. According to the NYSP, "Participation determines winners, not the final score." Instruction in each sport is given by NCAA student-athletes and coaching staff members. NYSP is a great way to get more people involved in physical fitness and work to ensure more of our children live a healthy lifestyle.

In southern West Virginia, both Marshall University and Bluefield State College have NYSP programs in place. These programs have been very successful over the years and it would be a shame if they were unable to continue. For some kids, summers without school sometimes means days without breakfast or lunch. The National Youth Sports Program allows kids facing this possibility to eat better, while enjoying the numerous benefits that organized sports can bring. It provides opportunities for disadvantaged youth to benefit from skill instruction, engage in sports competition and improve their overall physical fitness, as well as receiving a free medical examination and USDA approved breakfast and lunch on a daily basis thus helping them live a healthy lifestyle.

Bluefield State College runs a NYSP that helps students from McDowell County improve not only their overall health but their lives as well. The program emphasizes sports instruction and substance abuse prevention for 200 boys and girls age 10-16, from low-income families on an annual basis. NYSP and programs like it are crucial to our area and I urge all Members of Congress and the Administration to help us ensure the survival of NYSP.

The NYSP has put together a strong program to help children become more active, learn about sports, and be prepared for the future. Not only will our children become more fit through sports, but they also have the opportunity to learn many valuable life lessons. I am happy to lend my support to the National Youth Sports Program.

One of the many Members of Congress I joined in this effort is college football coaching legend Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE). With his experience as head coach at the University of Nebraska, he knows all about the important lessons one can learn by playing sports and the fitness that goes hand in hand with playing sports. We are calling for $20 million for NYSP in the Fiscal Year 2006 budget. Osborne and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), began the push for funding NYSP in the Congress and I was delighted to help them in this fight.

With the growing trend of obese children across the country, it is certainly a positive to have our children living more active lives. By participating in NYSP, these children may be able to change the future of their fitness at an early age and become more active for the rest of their lives.