A House committee approved legislation creating a...

A House committee approved legislation creating a federal agency to oversee boxing and establish uniform safety standards in the United States.

The Education and Labor Committee passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Pat Williams (D-Mont.), without opposition, which would set up the American Boxing Corp., to be modeled after the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The corporation would set up a computer registry of U.S. boxers that would include a medical biography and official won-loss records. It also would study the use of safety measures such as headgear and thumbless gloves.

It would be up to individual state athletic commissions to agree to voluntary compliance with the minimum health and safety standards, however.