SILVER SPRING, MD (January 19, 2016) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) and PHIT America have achieved an unprecedented level of bipartisan support for the PHIT Act with 51 co-sponsors (27D-24R) from the House of Representatives and was introduced in the Senate for the first time ever.
The PHIT Act (H.R.1218 & S.2218) is legislation pending in Congress that would expand the IRS definition of a “medical expense” to include physical activity as a form of prevention. By 2020, 50 million Americans will invest up to $120 billion in Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAa). Passage of the PHIT Act would allow consumers to use these funds to pay their physical activity expenses.
To rally additional support for the PHIT Act, the SFIA, PHIT America, celebrity athletes, industry executives, P.E. teachers, medical professionals, youth sports organizations, the fitness community and other physical activity advocates will unite March 15-16, 2016 in Washington, D.C. for National Health Through Fitness (NHTF) Day. In its 16th year, NHTF Day serves as a chief platform to garner support for key legislative initiatives that promote active lifestyles. Participation in NHTF Day is open to SFIA members and nonmembers.
SFIA plans to announce the athletes slated to participate in NHTFD in the coming weeks. In addition to connecting with members of Congress during the event, participating athletes will play a significant role in generating a groundswell of grassroots support for the PHIT Act across the country through the existing #PassthePHITAct social media campaign.
“Over the last three months, SFIA, PHIT America, and our partners have harnessed Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to generate grassroots awareness of the inactivity pandemic,” said SFIA’s vice president of government and public affairs, Bills Sells. “Having the ability to leverage the star-power of participating athletes throughout the halls of Congress and with their respective fan bases through social media will provide a tremendous opportunity to stimulate Americans’ awareness and support of the PHIT Act,” added Sells.
To learn about NHTF Day and to register, please visit https://www.sfia.org/nhtf. To voice your support for the PHIT Act, please visit PassThePHITAct.org.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs, and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
CONTACT:
Corey Bockhaus
cbockhaus@sfia.org
301.495.6321
