[Senate Hearing 109-212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 109-212
S. 529, TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 24, 2005
__________
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-
CONRAD BURNS, Montana Chairman
TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas Virginia
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts
GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada BARBARA BOXER, California
GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia BILL NELSON, Florida
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
JIM DeMint, South Carolina FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas
Lisa J. Sutherland, Republican Staff Director
Christine Drager Kurth, Republican Deputy Staff Director
David Russell, Republican Chief Counsel
Margaret L. Cummisky, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Samuel E. Whitehorn, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General
Counsel
Lila Harper Helms, Democratic Policy Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on May 24, 2005..................................... 1
Statement of Senator McCain...................................... 1
Statement of Senator Stevens..................................... 2
Witnesses
Blake, Roger, Assistant Executive Director, California
Interscholastic
Federation..................................................... 15
Prepared statement........................................... 16
Catlin, Don H., M.D., Professor of Molecular and Medical
Pharmacology, UCLA Medical School.............................. 18
Prepared statement........................................... 20
Madden, Terry, CEO, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).............. 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Scherr, Jim, Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Olympic Committee..... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
White, Kelli, Former U.S. Athlete................................ 10
Prepared statement........................................... 13
S. 529, TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY
----------
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m. in
room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John McCain,
presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator McCain. Good morning. I want to thank Chairman
Stevens for calling this hearing and for extending the courtesy
of the gavel to me this morning, and I appreciate it very much.
I would also like to thank the witnesses for being here to
discuss the authorization of the United States Anti-Doping
Agency, known as USADA, and the sports doping challenges our
country faces.
For 5 years USADA has served as the official anti-doping
agency for Olympic sports in the United States. In that role
USADA has shown a tremendous dedication to eliminating doping
in sports through research, education, testing, and
adjudication efforts. Most recently, USADA was instrumental in
the identification and adjudication of several Olympic athletes
implicated in the ongoing BALCO scandal. With the assistance of
documents subpoenaed by this Committee and released last year
to the agency by the unanimous consent of the Senate, USADA
helped ensure that the Olympic team the U.S. sent to the Athens
Olympics last summer was as clean as it could be.
Despite USADA's successes, the fact remains that we may be
falling behind in what is truly an arms race of doping. As soon
as a new doping substance is discovered, it seems that we know
that there is a new and undetectable substance that is being
used by athletes. I look forward to the witnesses' testimony on
USADA's and others' efforts to keep up with doping innovations.
In addition, I would appreciate the views of the witnesses
on the performance of USADA to date, as well as its role in the
ongoing effort to take doping out of sports. For example, I
would appreciate hearing whether USADA could help clean up
professional sports, which have been a major focus because of
the influence that professional athletes, like Olympic
athletes, have on our Nation's youth.
Ultimately, the anti-doping effort is one that I endorse
because I want to protect our youngest generations from the
dangers of steroids and other substances that may unfairly
enhance performance and that take a serious toll on the health
and safety of America's kids.
I want to thank Senator Stevens again for calling this
hearing and I thank the witnesses. I would also like to take
this opportunity to thank Senator Stevens for his efforts in
the coordination between the Greek Government and the U.S.
Government in ensuring a successful Olympics in Athens, thanks
in large part to the coordination of security forces of the
United States and Greece.
I thank you, Senator Stevens.
STATEMENT OF HON. TED STEVENS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator McCain. I too
welcome the witnesses, who traveled great distances to be here
today. I want to thank you, Senator McCain, for chairing this
hearing and for your continued commitment to the U.S. Olympic
movement and to drug-free sports in general.
The actions we took as a Committee last year ensured that
the United States did not send athletes who were not drug-free
to Athens. Those were unprecedented actions and I thank the
U.S. Olympic Committee and the people who are here, for this
unprecedented action.
As someone who worked for the creation of the U.S. Olympic
Committee and who has been involved now with Olympic issues in
the Senate for almost 37 years, I reflect back with great pride
on the tremendous accomplishments of our U.S. Olympic teams. I
have grown increasingly concerned about the dramatic increase
in doping at all levels of athletics, particularly among our
youth. Several years ago I traveled with Donna DeVerona to
Geneva to meet with the International Olympic Committee to
express our great concern over doping.
In 2003, in a survey of over 15,000 high school students,
the U.S. Center for Disease Control found that more than 6
percent of high school students admitted using non-prescription
illegal steroids at some point in their lives. To me that is
unacceptable. Doping is a stain at all levels of athletes that
taints the accomplishments of our elite athletes, creates
unattainable expectations for our young athletes, and threatens
their physical well-being.
I do commend the work of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. It is
doing great work on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee and
much more remains to be done. But I do look forward to working
with you, Senator McCain, and the rest of the Committee to
carry out your commitment, all of our commitment, to mitigate
the problem of doping.
I have another committee meeting this morning, so I hope
you will excuse me. Thank you all very much.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I
appreciate your continued involvement.
Our panel this morning is: Mr. Jim Scherr, who is the Chief
Executive Officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee; Mr. Terrence
Madden, Chief Executive Officer of USADA; Ms. Kelli White,
former U.S. Olympic athlete; Mr. Roger Blake, Assistant
Executive Director of the California Interscholastic
Federation; and Mr. Don Catlin, Professor of Molecular and
Medical Pharmacology at the UCLA Medical School.
Welcome. We will begin with you, Mr. Scherr, and move down
the line. It is good to see you again and thanks for being
here.
STATEMENT OF JIM SCHERR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, U.S. OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE
Mr. Scherr. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. My name,
as you know, is Jim Scherr and I am the Chief Executive Officer
of the United States Olympic Committee. I am here representing
the USOC and its entire board of directors. Our Chair, Peter
Ueberroth, is currently in Europe. He has been meeting with the
organization committee in China and the IOC. Otherwise he would
have been more than happy to be here himself.
On their behalf, I am presenting testimony in support of
the authorization for the United States Anti-Doping Agency,
known by the acronym ``USADA,'' an independent entity that the
USADA as well as this Committee had a hand in creating back in
2000 to lead the fight against doping in Olympic sport. Quite
simply, in the opinion of the USOC, USADA is doing the job it
was created to perform and in doing so has become the model
national anti-doping agency and organization for the world. It
can do more and should do more, but perhaps it should become a
resource for performance and college sports as well. For it to
do more, USADA would require additional resources from sources
other than the USOC, yet to be determined.
But before considering the future, let me briefly summarize
how the USOC and the Senate Commerce Committee brought USADA to
this point. On October 20, 1999, against the backdrop of
increasing public and media attention to the issue of
performance-enhancing drug use in sports, this Committee
conducted a hearing at which a number of experts, athletes,
academicians, and interested parties testified. Among the
witnesses were representatives of the USOC. In their testimony
and subsequent exchanges with Committee members, they described
the existing drug testing program for U.S. Olympic and
Paralympic athletes, noting that, with the exception of actual
Olympic and Paralympic competition and some world-level
competitions, the USOC was responsible for testing its
athletes. They observed that this practice would appear to
represent a conflict because the USOC is charged with the
responsibility of fielding a team whose objective is to win
medals and one might not have the greatest confidence that this
same organization would penalize a potential medal winner for a
drug infraction.
In addition, these athletes and their public personas
dictate in large part our television revenues and marketing
revenues. In addition but more important, with the development
of so-called ``designer drugs'' that avoided detection by
standard analytical means, it became apparent that a more
professional and sophisticated process for testing would have
to be developed and an organization created to conduct a
comprehensive ongoing program that would ensure that America's
Olympic and Paralympic athletes would be clean and competing on
a level playing field.
Describing the findings of the USOC task force that had
been formed to address this issue, key recommendations were
outlined, which included the creation of an external,
independent, transparent organization that would conduct a
comprehensive anti-doping program on behalf of the U.S. Olympic
Committee. Its responsibilities would include testing,
adjudication, education, and research, and it would operate
with a professional staff under the oversight of a board of
directors drawing from the sports, medical, and at-large
community--I might add, an independent board of directors.
Initial funding would come from the USOC, with the
expectation that for this entity to do the job expected of it
by the USOC and this Committee funding would have to come from
other sources, primarily the Federal Government.
This proposal, thankfully, was well received by this
Committee and partially on that basis, and with its implicit
support, this independent drug agency, soon to be named USADA,
was launched, taking complete responsibility for the testing of
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes, on October 1, 2000. With
initial funding provided jointly by the USOC and the Federal
Government, during its first 15 months USADA conducted nearly
7,000 in-competition athlete drug tests and approximately 3,700
unannounced out of competition tests of American athletes.
This was and is a remarkable accomplishment during what was
essentially a startup period for a new organization that had to
establish procedures, develop protocols, and attend to the most
basic tasks, such as securing office space and building a staff
that could attend to the many mechanical and administrative
details required to operate in the manner expected of it by the
USOC and by Congress.
Since that time, USADA has expanded its scope of activity,
increased its aggressiveness, and greatly improved its overall
effectiveness of operation, earning widespread respect both
domestically and internationally. In doing so, it has largely
dispelled what was previously a widespread international
impression that some American athletes were drug cheaters with
their behavior condoned by their respective sports federations.
This hearing today, as well as ones conducted recently by
other Congressional Committees on the issue of doping in
professional sports, suggests that Congressional leaders
believe that the Federal Government has a role to play in
addressing the issue of drug use in sports at all levels. We
also think that it does. The reality is that, while
professional as well as college and Olympic sports are private
activities, the actions of the athletes are in the public arena
and have far-reaching social and health consequences. We are in
agreement that performance-enhancing drug use has become a
national issue that must be attacked at the Federal level, with
the Federal Government serving as a major participant and
bringing with it the necessary financial resources to do the
job.
During the recent hearings on drug testing programs in
professional sports, it was suggested that perhaps USADA should
be expanded to perform the same function for the professional
leagues and perhaps the NCAA that it does for the American
Olympic movement. Without addressing the legal, structural, and
logistical challenge, as well as complicated collective
bargaining agreements and other concerns, we believe that that
proposal warrants serious consideration.
Our experience with USADA has been positive and has freed
us up to devote more attention and financial resources to the
development and support of American Olympic and Paralympic
athletes, and it has brought credibility, much needed
credibility, to our efforts to combat doping in sport as we
have led by example. We would expect that other sports bodies
would experience similar benefits and therefore we believe they
would welcome externalization of the whole drug testing program
and adjudication process, as we have done.
But regardless of whether USADA becomes the entity for use
by professional and other sports leagues, because the USOC is
reaching the limits of its ability to increase our funding to
USADA, USADA should receive all the support possible from the
Federal Government so that it can continue its aggressive
program that has been so effective in eliminating drug use in
Olympic and Paralympic sport and to expand its research
activities that are so important in staying ahead of those who
are constantly trying to develop substances intended to defy
detection.
We thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of
USADA today and for the ongoing support and partnership of this
Committee in our joint effort to address this very important
issue. We think the fruit of this partnership, USADA, has more
than fulfilled our early expectations when we first discussed
this concept nearly 6 years ago and believe that with increased
Federal support it will become an even more effective weapon to
be used to eradicate this growing national problem.
I would also conclude with again thanking you and Senator
Stevens for the very important support that we received to
field a team at Athens and the support that the Athens
organizing committee received from our government to support
their Olympic games and for the successful performance of the
U.S. team.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Scherr follows:]
Prepared Statement of Jim Scherr, Chief Executive Officer,
U.S. Olympic Committee
Good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. My name is
Jim Scherr and I am the Chief Executive Officer of the United States
Olympic Committee. I am here representing the USOC and its entire Board
of Directors, whose Chairman, Peter Ueberroth, is currently in Europe.
On their behalf I am presenting testimony in support of an
authorization for the United States Anti-Doping Agency, known by the
acronym ``USADA,'' an independent entity that the USOC as well as this
Committee had a hand in creating back in 2000 to lead the fight against
doping in Olympic Sport.
Quite simply, in the opinion of the USOC, USADA is doing the job it
was created to perform, and in so doing, has become the model national
anti-doping organization for the world. It can and should do more, and
perhaps it should become a resource for professional and college sports
as well, but for it to do more USADA will require additional resources
from sources other than the USOC yet to be determined.
But before considering the future let me briefly summarize how the
USOC and the Senate Commerce Committee brought USADA to this point.
On October 20, 1999, against the backdrop of increasing public and
media attention to the issue of performance-enhancing drug use in
sports, this Committee conducted a hearing at which a number of
experts, athletes, academicians and interested parties testified. Among
the witnesses were representatives of the United States Olympic
Committee. In their testimony and subsequent exchanges with Committee
Members, they described the existing drug testing program for U.S.
Olympic and Paralympic athletes, noting that with the exception of
actual Olympic and Paralympic competition, the USOC was responsible for
testing its athletes. They observed that this practice would appear to
represent a conflict because the USOC is charged with the
responsibility of fielding a team whose objective is to win medals, and
one might not have the greatest confidence that this same organization
would penalize a potential medal-winner for a drug infraction. But more
important, with the development of so-called ``designer drugs'' that
avoided detection by standard analytical means it became apparent that
a more professional and sophisticated process for testing would have to
be developed and an organization created to conduct a comprehensive
ongoing program that would ensure that America's Olympic and Paralympic
athletes would be competing on a level playing field.
Describing the findings of a USOC task force that had been formed
to address this issue, key recommendations were outlined which included
the creation of an external, independent, transparent organization that
would conduct a comprehensive anti-doping program on behalf of the
USOC. Its responsibilities would include testing, adjudication,
education, and research, and would operate with a professional staff
under the oversight of a board of directors drawn from the sports,
medical, and at-large community. Initial funding would come from the
USOC, with the expectation that for this entity to do the job expected
of it by the USOC and this Committee, funding would have to come from
other sources, primarily the Federal Government.
The proposal was well-received by the Committee, and partially on
that basis and with its implicit support, this independent drug agency,
soon to be named USADA, was launched, taking complete responsibility
for the testing of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes on October 1,
2000. With initial funding provided jointly by the USOC and the Federal
Government, during its first fifteen months USADA conducted nearly
7,000 in-competition athlete drug tests and approximately 3,700
unannounced, out-of-competition tests of American athletes. This was a
remarkable accomplishment during what was essentially a start-up period
for a new organization that had to establish procedures, develop
protocols, and attend to the most basic tasks such as securing office
space and building a support staff that could attend to the myriad
mechanical and administrative details required to operate in the manner
expected of it by the USOC and by Congress.
Since that time USADA has expanded its scope of activity, increased
its aggressiveness, and greatly improved its overall effectiveness of
operation, earning widespread respect both domestically and
internationally. In so doing it has largely dispelled what was
previously a widespread international impression that some American
Olympic athletes were drug cheaters, with their behavior condoned by
their respective sports federations.
This hearing today as well as ones conducted recently by other
Congressional Committees on the issue of doping in professional sports
suggests that Congressional leaders believe that the Federal Government
has a role to play in addressing the issue of drug use in sports at all
levels. We also think that it does. The reality is that while
professional as well as college and Olympic sports are private
activities, the actions of the athletes are in the public arena, and
have far-reaching social and health consequences. We are in agreement
that performance-enhancing drug use has become a national issue that
must be attacked at the federal level, with the Federal Government
serving as a major participant, and bringing with it the financial
resources to do the job.
During the recent hearings on drug testing programs in professional
sports it was suggested that perhaps USADA should be expanded to
perform the same function for the professional leagues and perhaps the
NCAA that it does for the American Olympic Movement. Without addressing
the legal, structural, and logistical challenges as well as complicated
collective bargaining and other concerns, we believe that the proposal
warrants serious consideration. Our experience with USADA has been
positive and has freed us up to devote more attention and financial
resources to the development and support of American Olympic and
Paralympic athletes, and it has brought credibility to our efforts to
combat doping in sport as we have led by example. We would expect that
other sports bodies would experience similar benefits and, therefore,
they would welcome externalizing the whole drug testing and
adjudication processes as we have done.
But regardless of whether USADA becomes the entity for use by
professional and other sports leagues, because the USOC is reaching the
limits of its ability to increase its funding of USADA, USADA should
receive all the support possible from the Federal Government so that it
can continue its aggressive program that has been so effective in
eliminating drug use in Olympic and Paralympic sport, and to expand its
research activities that are so important in staying ahead of those who
are constantly trying to develop substances intended to defy detection.
We thank you for the opportunity to speak in support of USADA today
and for the ongoing support and partnership of this Committee in our
joint effort to address this important issue. We think that the fruit
of this partnership--USADA--has more than fulfilled our early
expectations when we first discussed the concept nearly 6 years ago,
and believe that with increased federal support it will become an even
more effective weapon to be used to eradicate this growing national
problem.
Senator McCain. Thank you and congratulations.
Mr. Madden, welcome back.
STATEMENT OF TERRY MADDEN, CEO, U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY (USADA)
Mr. Madden. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate it. Since this
is my fourth appearance before this Committee and the eighth
appearance by USADA before some committee on Capitol Hill, I am
going to set aside my testimony and ask you to admit it into
the record and just talk for a few moments directly with you.
Senator McCain. Without objection.
Mr. Madden. When I accepted this position 5 years ago as
CEO of USADA, I made a few international trips abroad. We
wanted to steal the best ideas from other international drug
testing agencies. In my travels I quickly learned that the
international community, sporting community, viewed the United
States athletes, both professional and amateur, at any level as
the biggest cheaters in the world. In fact, some people wanted
to equate us with the East German system.
I did not believe that for a minute then and I do not now.
I think the large majority of our athletes are attempting to
compete clean. They want to do it the right way. But it pointed
up the fundamental reason why USADA was created and that was
that the testing had to be externalized from the USOC, an
independent agency had to be created, and the prosecution of
athletes who had tested positive needed to be removed from the
sporting federations, the national governing bodies of sport in
this country.
So USADA was created in 2000. We were given four mandates:
testing, adjudication, research, and education. Our bywords are
independence and transparency. By ``transparency'' I mean we
announce everything. Once the athlete has either admitted to
the drug testing positive or has gone through our protocols and
procedures and the hearing process, we announce it. Nothing is
covered up any more. There can be no more of those accusations
against United States athletes.
In the area of testing, that first year we did 4,000 tests.
This past year in 2004, we did about 8,150 tests, of which
about 58 percent were out of competition tests. As you know,
that is where we go and test at their home or at their place of
work or at their training site. We are most proud of our out of
competition testing program because it is totally no-notice and
it is a year-round program.
As Jim stated, most of our funding now comes from the
Federal Government. Sixty-five percent comes from the Federal
Government and 35 percent from the United States Olympic
Committee.
Getting to the basic facts here, though, sport has become
ingrained in our culture. It is part of our fabric, part of our
everyday life. Your children and grandchildren, my children,
everybody's children in this room, are participating in sport
at some level, whether it is stickball in the New York City
streets or a highly organized track and field meet at the high
school or collegiate level in California. It has become an
important part of our existence, an important part of American
lives.
Performance-enhancing drugs, though, have become a
significant issue within sport at every level. This junk or
crap, whatever you want to refer to it, is seeping down through
the professional ranks, to the collegiate level, to the high
school level. Unfortunately, now we are finding it in the
middle schools and the grade school level.
The latest survey I saw out last week, one that is rather
surprising and will address both issues that I want to bring
here today, is that 7 percent of middle school and pre-high
school girls are now taking performance-enhancing drugs, not
necessarily to compete as athletes, but to get the buff look
and look well among their friends.
What I am leading up to here is this Nation is facing not
only a crisis in sport by the use of performance-enhancing
drugs, but we are facing a health crisis. Dr. Catlin can go
into all the effects of steroids, and they are numerous, both
in men and women, and especially our children. But this stuff
is now seeping down into the grade school level and we, the
Congress, USADA, all sporting organizations, need to address
this as a health issue as well as a competitive issue.
Make no mistake about it. Taking performance-enhancing
substances to compete in athletics is cheating. You are a drug
cheat when you do that. There is no other way around it. And
you are also harming your personal health.
I just want to say, so many times the rights of the accused
are addressed, and the rights of the accused in the USADA
system are addressed by us. They have all the rights based upon
the United States Constitution and our judicial system. But the
rights of clean athletes are too long, too often ignored or not
mentioned in the media. Those are the rights we have to be
concerned with. Those are the rights that USADA wants to
address, the rights of clean athletes.
I will tell you, I bet if a poll is taken, a private poll
of professional athletes, amateur athletes, athletes at the
high school level, whatever level you want to address, I will
assure you that those athletes when they get in the starting
blocks, when they are at bat, when they are in the swimming
lane, whatever it is, they want to know that they are competing
on a level playing field. They want to know that all the other
people, all the other participants in that event, are clean.
Those are the rights of the clean athletes. Those are the
rights that need to be addressed, whether in competing on a
professional or amateur level. Those are the rights we are
concerned with.
I want to just bring up the BALCO situation for a minute.
USADA has addressed 15 cases so far. One of those includes
Duane Chambers, the British athlete who received a 2-year
suspension for THG. We have 2 more cases on line to come up in
June and July involving Tim Montgomery and Christie Gaines.
USADA has won all 13 cases. These cases--we are thankful for
the documents this Committee involved--excuse me--this
Committee delivered to us.
I will say to you now, once we saw the indictments for the
criminal defendants in BALCO last February, we requested from
the U.S. Attorney those documents. As you know, the Privacy Act
they believe precluded them from delivering those documents.
You, as your Committee of jurisdiction over the Olympic
movement, asked, subpoenaed those documents from the Department
of Justice. After a thorough review by your staff and the
Senators--and I want to bring up Senator Hollings here as
well--by unanimous consent it was passed and those over 9,000
documents were delivered to USADA.
They have been used in prosecutions to date. They will be
used in further prosecutions. I will tell you I do not think we
have seen the end of BALCO, nor will it end very soon.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Madden follows:]
Prepared Statement of Terry Madden, CEO, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
(USADA)
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, good morning. My name is
Terry Madden and I am the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency
(USADA). I want to thank this Committee for its long-standing interest
in clean sport and for the opportunity to testify this morning.
USADA has been recognized by Congress as the independent, national
anti-doping agency for Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United
States. Our mission is to protect and preserve the health of athletes,
the integrity of competition, and the well-being of sport through the
elimination of doping. Since it began operations on October 1, 2000,
USADA has been responsible for managing the testing and adjudication
process for Olympic and Paralympic athletes. USADA is also deeply
committed to education and research initiatives, which are fundamental
to our efforts to end doping in sports.
USADA welcomes the increased attention that has recently been
focused on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport. In this age
of dramatically increased awards for athletic success, doping has,
unfortunately, become an issue that affects every sport and threatens
to undermine the integrity of athletics as a whole. The true victims of
doping are today's clean athletes who want to compete in clean sport,
the young athletes of tomorrow who are being deceived into believing
that doping is an acceptable path to winning and the public who is
being defrauded by athletic performances that are dependent on the use
of drugs.
Since its inception in 2000, USADA has worked hard to protect the
rights of the overwhelming majority of the United States Olympic
movement athletes who compete clean, by instituting policies that
ensure that athletes who choose to cheat will be held accountable.
The USADA anti-doping program, which was developed with the
assistance and approval of athletes in the Olympic movement, begins
with a comprehensive sample collection plan that includes appropriately
timed, year-round, no-advance-notice testing. A drug testing program
will be ineffective if athletes know during what times of the year they
will be tested. In 2004 USADA collected 7,630 samples from Olympic
movement athletes. Over 4,400 of those samples were collected as part
of USADA's out-of-competition testing program.
One lesson reinforced by the ongoing BALCO investigation, is that
to be effective, an anti-doping program must incorporate sufficient
flexibility to deal with the creation and use of ``designer drugs.''
Accordingly, USADA's program is also based on a regularly updated,
comprehensive list of prohibited substances and methods.
An effective program must also combine clearly defined sanctions of
sufficient magnitude to deter drug use with a fair means of imposing
such sanctions. In the Olympic movement the sanction for a first
steroid offense is a 2-year suspension. A second steroid offense
results in a lifetime ban. Accordingly, USADA's adjudication system
includes numerous protections for athletes to ensure that only athletes
who commit a doping violation are sanctioned. Significantly, while
USADA believes the privacy rights of individuals accused of doping must
be respected, no individual's privacy right should outweigh the rights
of all athletes to compete in clean sport and to be assured that those
who break the rules are appropriately sanctioned. For these reasons, in
the USADA system, once an athlete has been found to have committed a
violation there is complete public disclosure of the athlete's name and
the nature of the offense.
Another important focus of USADA's program is the education of
athletes regarding the health risks associated with doping and the
inherent value that is found in choosing to compete clean. To date more
than 10,000 elite athletes and coaches have participated in education
presentations by USADA. The 100% Me program, targeting adolescent youth
will soon be expanded to focus on high school age youth. Also, USADA's
goal is to expand ``Crossroads'', the 5th grade in-school curriculum
which was developed with Scholastic Magazine. It is critical that both
the elite athletes of today and the aspiring athletes of tomorrow learn
that there are no shortcuts to true athletic achievement and that
success through doping is winning without honor.
Finally, USADA dedicates significant resources to research for the
detection of new doping substances and techniques and the pursuit of
scientific excellence in doping control. USADA is also strongly
committed to funding continued research regarding the long term health
risks associated with the use of prohibited substances. USADA's ongoing
commitment to research is demonstrated through the approximately 2
million dollars per year in grants that USADA awards to fund research
initiatives aimed at fighting doping in sport. To date, USADA has
awarded approximately $1,250,000 for the development of a
scientifically reliable test for human growth hormone, a substance
being used by dopers.
We believe that the USADA program contains all of the important
elements of a comprehensive and effective drug deterrence program and
we continue to work each day to improve our system and further protect
the rights of clean athletes. Specifically, we are focused on
increasing the number of no-advance-notice tests that we perform. We
are also seeking to improve our ability to systematically identify and
sanction those athletes and other individuals who are engaged in the
effort to create designer substances or otherwise gain an advantage
over athletes who are competing clean. To this end, we continue to work
with the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney for the
Northern District of California in the ongoing investigation into the
BALCO doping conspiracy.
The BALCO investigation has also highlighted the great lengths that
some athletes will go to in an effort to obtain an unfair advantage
through doping. The science of doping is constantly evolving and
complex issues, including genetic enhancement, must be addressed. If
USADA's efforts to uncover these sophisticated efforts to cheat,
through comprehensive testing, research and education programs is to be
successful then appropriate resources must continue to be allocated to
the fight against doping.
Since its inception in 2000, USADA has been funded through a
combination of contractual payments from the United States Olympic
Committee (USOC) and annual appropriations from Congress, ranging from
$3 million in 2000 to $7.4 million in 2004.
USADA appreciates the support of the USOC in this important
struggle against doping in the Olympic movement. USADA is also
extremely appreciative of the commitment that Congress has demonstrated
to USADA over the last 5 years. The funds designated for USADA in
Senate Bill 529 would provide much-needed fiscal stability for USADA
and would significantly advance USADA's mission.
As the Committee with jurisdiction over this important issue, I
thank you again on behalf of USADA and all of America's athletes for
your interest in and commitment to clean sport and ask that you approve
the funding for USADA set forth in Senate Bill 529.
Thank you for your time this morning.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much.
Ms. White, welcome.
STATEMENT OF KELLI WHITE, FORMER U.S. ATHLETE
Ms. White. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, esteemed
Members of the Committee. I would like to say thank you very
much for allowing me the opportunity to appear before you
today. My name is Kelli White and I appear here today having
made the regrettable mistake of using steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs during my athletic career.
With my experience and knowledge regarding use of
performance-enhancing drugs, I welcome the opportunity to
assist in efforts to remove doping from sport. By way of
background, I competed in track and field for most of my life,
having begun at the age of 10. In my early teen years I began
working with renowned coach Remy Korchemny, who would remain a
significant figure in my life over the next decade and a half.
Senator McCain. Out of curiosity, how did you--how were you
matched up with him?
Ms. White. He and I were training on the same track and he
asked my father if I could train with him, and my dad said that
was fine.
Senator McCain. I see.
Ms. White. I went on to compete collegiately and graduated
from the University of Tennessee before turning professional in
the year of 2000. In the year of 2000 I returned home to the
San Francisco Bay area and began training full-time with Mr.
Korchemny. Shortly thereafter, in December 2000, my coach
introduced me to BALCO founder Victor Conte.
Conte initially gave me a package containing both legal
supplements as well as the substance later known as designer
steroid THG. At the time I was unaware that anything I received
from Mr. Conte was a prohibited performance-enhancing
substance, as I was told by both my coach and Mr. Conte that
the vial they had given me contained flaxseed oil.
A few weeks later Mr. Conte admitted to me that the
substance he had given me was indeed not flaxseed oil, but
rather a prohibited substance that, if not taken properly,
could yield a positive drug test. I immediately ceased using
the liquid because at that time in my career I did not believe
it was necessary to take performance-enhancing drugs to be
competitive.
I competed over the next 2 years without the use of any
performance-enhancing substances, despite being constantly
urged to do so. I was continuously being told that the usage of
performance-enhancing substances was necessary to be
competitive because everybody else was doing so.
My 2002 season was very difficult. I struggled with
injuries most of the year. I had a great deal of uncertainty
regarding my status for the 2003 season and I did not want to
miss any part of that year. I failed to make the 2003 world
indoor team and was receiving more pressure to start a
performance-enhancing drug regimen. My advisers were pointing
to other performances of other athletes, saying that I needed
to do what they were doing in order to compete on that level.
In March of 2003, I made the choice that I will forever
regret. I visited Mr. Conte at his lab, which was near my home,
and we sat down and devised a program to utilize performance-
enhancing drugs in my training and competition. At that time I
began taking EPO, the clear, which is known as THG, the cream,
which is a testosterone, and stimulants. I remained on the
program over the course of 4 months and with the help of Mr.
Conte I was able to pass 17 drug tests, both in and out of
competition, while utilizing these prohibited performance-
enhancing substances.
In a relatively short time period, I had gone from being a
very competitive sprinter to being the fastest woman in the
world. In June of 2003, I captured both the 100 and 200 meter
United States championships, and followed that by winning the
same events in the world championships in August in Paris.
Although I crossed the finish line first in all those
events, I knew in my heart it was accomplished partially
because of the other line I had crossed. Instead of what should
have been the high point of my career and a tremendous
accomplishment in my life, I was ashamed of the choices I had
made. In addition to enhancing my performance on the track,
there were other physical effects I encountered while taking
this mix of substances. My blood pressure was elevated. I also
experienced an acne problem, increased menstrual cycle, and a
slight vocal cord problem.
The first and only failed drug test I experienced was
following the world championship meet in Paris, when a
stimulant known as modafinil was discovered in my urine sample.
But the penalty for that substance would not even have been a
suspension from track and field.
A few weeks after the world championships, the FBI and
other law enforcement agencies raided the BALCO laboratory. A
few months later I admitted to the United States Anti-Doping
Agency officials what I had done, as I outlined for you today.
I received a 2-year ban from competition for my actions as well
as a loss of results from my previous 4 years of competition. I
also agreed to assist USADA in its mission to clean up sport
and now offer to be of service to this Committee in any way you
see fit.
I believe athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs are
hurting themselves, cheating the public, and betraying our
youth. A performance-enhancing drug user trades his or her
overall health, wellbeing, and integrity for a shot at fame and
fortune. I believe it is important that you understand the
reasons I made the choice to in essence cheat. I strongly
believe that the use of steroids and other prohibited
performance-enhancing drugs are wrong and there is no place for
such use in sports.
However, athletes who have made that choice are not
necessarily bad people. In my own situation, there were many
factors contributing to the very poor decision I made, which
included the influence of a long-time trusted coach. But most
importantly, I began using these substances not to give me an
advantage, but because I had become convinced I needed them, I
needed to use them, to level the playing field with my
competitors.
It is a very troubling situation to have trained to compete
in a sport at the highest level, but feel those with which you
are competing have an unfair advantage. I make neither an
excuse nor justification for my horrible choice. I merely hope
to lend understanding to this Committee as to how someone who
loved her sport and trained cleanly for most of her life got
involved in this awful abuse.
My attorney Jerrold Colton and I have worked with assisting
USADA in its efforts and we believe this Committee should
further support USADA as the fight is a very difficult one.
Being mindful that my use of steroids and other performance-
enhancing drugs was not detected through the extensive testing
I received, USADA needs the resources to go further in its
fight to detect the people who are breaking the rules. The
BALCO scandal may not have been discovered without a
competitor's coach anonymously sending a syringe of THG to
USADA testers, which ultimately led to the discovery of this
previously unknown steroid.
Although I have been troubled by the disparity of the
penalties facing track athletes versus other sports, I am
mindful we are not protected by a players association. I
appreciate the many reasons why this Committee previously
subpoenaed the BALCO documents pertaining only to the track and
field athletes and turned them over to USADA, rather than the
other sports, but would like to see more equal treatment of all
sports.
I also believe the roles of some national governing bodies
involved in sports and the coaches which either assist in the
wrongdoing or turn their backs on what they see must have
responsibility, culpability, and penalty for their role in
making sport unclean.
The fight against drugs in sport is an extremely difficult
battle. I am sorry that I cheated myself, my competitors, my
sport, my family, and the public, and for the choices I made in
the past. As athletes, we know that we are role models and I
betrayed my responsibility as such. Please feel free to call on
me to play any role I can in assisting your Committee, USADA,
and anyone else you see fit in this very important matter. I
hope in doing so I help the sport I love more by what I do off
the track than anything I could have ever done on it.
Thank you very much for your attention and for allowing me
to appear here today.
[The prepared statement of Ms. White follows:]
Prepared Statement of Kelli White, Former U.S. Athlete
Mr. Chairman, esteemed Members of the Committee, thank you very
much for allowing me the opportunity to appear before this very
prestigious group. My name is Kelli White, and I appear here today
having made the regrettable mistake of using steroids and other
performance enhancing drugs during my athletic career as a sprinter.
With my experience and knowledge regarding use of performance enhancing
drugs, I welcome the opportunity to assist in the efforts to remove
doping from sport.
By way of background, I competed in track and field for most of my
life, having begun at the age of 10. In my early teen years, I began
working with renowned coach Remi Korchemny, who would remain a
significant figure in my life over the next decade and a half. I went
on to compete collegiately and graduate from the University of
Tennessee before turning professional in the year 2000. At that time, I
returned home to the Bay area of California and began training full
time with Mr. Korchemny.
Shortly thereafter, in December 2000, my coach introduced me to
BALCO founder Victor Conte. Conte initially gave me a package
containing both legal supplements, as well as a substance which later
became known as the clear or the designer steroid THG. At the time, I
was unaware that anything I received from Mr. Conte was a prohibited
performance enhancing substance as I was told by both my coach and Mr.
Conte that the vial they had given me contained flaxseed oil. A few
weeks later, Mr. Conte admitted to me that the substance he had given
me was indeed not flaxseed oil, but rather a prohibited substance that
if not taken properly, could yield a positive drug test. I immediately
ceased using the liquid because at that time in my career I did not
believe it was necessary to take performance enhancing drugs to be
competitive. I competed over the next 2 years without the use of any
performance enhancing substances despite being constantly urged to do
so. I was continuously being told that the usage of performance
enhancing substances were necessary to be competitive because everyone
else was doing so.
My 2002 season was very difficult, as I struggled with injuries for
most of the year. I had a great deal of uncertainty regarding my status
as I entered the 2003 season, and I did not want to miss it. I failed
to make the 2003 Indoor World Team, and was receiving more pressure to
start a performance enhancing drug regimen. My advisors were pointing
to other performances of athletes, and saying I needed to do what they
were doing in order to compete on that level.
In March of 2003, I made a choice that I will forever regret. I
visited Mr. Conte at his lab which was near my home, and we sat down
and devised a program to utilize performance enhancing drugs in my
training and competition. At that time, I began taking EPO, the clear
(or THG), the cream and stimulants. I remained on this program over the
course of 4 months, and with the help of Mr. Conte, I was able to pass
17 drug tests both in and out of competition while utilizing these
prohibited performance enhancing substances.
In a relatively short time period, I had gone from being a very
competitive sprinter to being the fastest woman in the world! In June
2003, I captured both the 100 and 200-meter United States
Championships, and followed that by winning the same events in the
World Championships in August in Paris. Although I crossed the finish
line first in all of those events, I knew in my heart it was
accomplished partially because of the other line I had crossed.
Instead of what should have been the high point of my career and a
tremendous accomplishment in my life, I was ashamed of the choices I
had made. In addition to enhancing my performance on the track, there
were other physical effects I encountered while taking this mix of
substances. My blood pressure was elevated, and I also experienced an
acne problem, increased menstrual cycle and slight vocal chord trouble.
The first and only failed drug test I experienced was following the
World Championship meet in Paris when a stimulant known as Modafinil
was discovered in my urine sample, but the penalty for that substance
would not have been even a suspension from track and field.
A few weeks after the World Championships, the FBI and other law
enforcement agencies raided the BALCO Laboratory. A few months later, I
admitted to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officials what
I had done as I have outlined for you today. I received a 2-year ban
from competition for my actions, as well as lost all of the results
from my previous 4 years of competition. I also agreed to assist USADA
in its mission to clean up sport, and now offer to be of service to
this Committee in any way you see fit. I believe athletes who use
performance-enhancing drugs are hurting themselves, cheating the public
and betraying our youth. A performance-enhancing drug user trades his
or her overall health, well-being and integrity for a shot at fame and
fortune.
I believe it is important that you understand the reasons I made
the choice to, in essence, cheat. I strongly believe that the use of
steroids and other prohibited performance enhancing drugs are wrong,
and that there is no place for such use in sports. However, athletes
whom have made that choice are not necessarily bad people. In my own
situation, there were many factors contributing to the very poor
decision I made which included the influence of a long-time trusted
coach. But most importantly, I began using these substances not to give
me an advantage, but because I had become convinced I needed to use
them to level the playing field with my competitors. It is a very
troubling situation when you have trained to compete in a sport at the
highest level, but feel those with which you are competing have an
unfair advantage. I make neither any excuse nor justification for my
horrible choice. I merely hope to lend some understanding to this
Committee as to how someone who loved her sport and trained cleanly for
most of her life got involved in this awful abuse.
My attorney, Jerrold Colton, and I have worked with assisting USADA
in its efforts, and we believe this Committee should further support
USADA as the fight is a very difficult one. Being mindful that my use
of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs was not detected
through the extensive testing I received, USADA needs the resources to
go further in its fight to detect the people who are breaking the
rules. The BALCO scandal may not have been discovered without a
competitor's coach anonymously sending a syringe of THG to the USADA
testers which ultimately led to the discovery of this heretofore
unknown steroid.
Although I have been troubled by the disparity of the penalties
facing track athletes versus other sports, I am mindful we are not
protected by a players' association. I appreciate the many reasons why
this Committee previously subpoenaed the BALCO documents pertaining
only to the track and field athletes and turned them over to USADA
rather than the other sports, but would like to see a more equal
treatment of all sports. I also believe the roles of some national
governing bodies involved in sports and the coaches which either assist
in the wrongdoing or turn their backs on what they see must have some
responsibility, culpability and penalty for their role in making sport
unclean. The fight against drugs in sports is an extremely difficult
battle. I am sorry that I cheated myself, my competitors, my sport, my
family and the public for the choices I made in the past. As athletes,
we know we are role models, and I betrayed my responsibility as such.
Please feel free to call on me to play any role I can in assisting your
Committee, USADA and anyone else you see fit in this very important
matter. I hope in doing so, I help the sport I love more by what I do
off the track, than anything I could have ever done on it. Thank you
very much for your kind attention and for allowing me to appear here
today.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, Ms. White, and we are
very appreciative that you would come and share your
experiences with us. We thank you.
Mr. Blake, welcome.
STATEMENT OF ROGER BLAKE, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
CALIFORNIA INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION
Mr. Blake. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the
opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Roger Blake and I
serve as the Assistant Executive Director of the California
Interscholastic Federation, the governing body of high school
sports in California. We are the largest state association in
the Nation, with 1,400 high schools and 1.7 million students. I
have also been a long-time high school teacher, coach, athletic
director, and school administrator.
In my role as the Assistant Executive Director of the CIF,
I have been given the responsibility of ensuring that our
schools and our governing bodies were given enough information
regarding steroids and performance-enhancing substances to make
an informed decision. Three weeks ago the CIF made national
headlines when the representatives of our schools voted
unanimously to pass three proposals that we believe are key
fundamentals to slowing down and ultimately eliminating the use
of these dangerous drugs in our schools.
But we would not be where we are today without the
assistance of USADA, particularly Dr. Catlin, Dr. Gary Green,
and Mr. Richard Young. Last fall the CIF in conjunction with
the demand reduction program of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, sponsored a steroid summit in Los Angeles.
Deputy Director Scott Burns of the ONDCP spoke and Dr. Catlin
was one of our key speakers. What we learned that day, that the
time has come that we too at the high school level are facing
the same issues and the same dilemmas that face professional
sports and our Olympic athletes, and that we needed to act
immediately.
We also came to realize that the science, the technology,
and most importantly the marketing of these products to the
user to get bigger, faster, and stronger just by taking this
pill or injecting this fluid is an explosive combination. At
the high school level, studies have shown that the No. 1 reason
that kids play sports is because it is fun. But unfortunately
in our society today, the winning at all costs mentality, more
and more young people are turning to steroids and performance-
enhancing drugs to help give them the edge.
Statistics tell us that just over 7 million high school
students participate in sports, but only 1 percent of those
athletes will receive that athletic scholarship to college. The
competition for those few athletic scholarships is fierce. If
we are truly going to make the difference, make a difference in
the lives of millions of kids and young adults, then we must
all get on the same page. We must speak a common language and
send a united message that the illegal use of steroids and
performance-enhancers is cheating and should not and will not
be tolerated.
We cannot afford to be naive about this subject. The
marketing of these products is targeting our kids. Recently a
California high school athletic director called me and she
directed me to her daughter's youth team basketball web page.
At the bottom of this web page were two ads, one for muscle-
building nutritional supplements and the other, HGH for
athletes. This was on a web page that is targeting young girls
grades 3 through 12.
We must educate our parents, students, and coaches to the
risks, dangers, and the warning signs. The CIF this spring
developed a CD-ROM that we sent out to our 1,400 member schools
with a PowerPoint presentation with the information so the
coaches and school officials could distribute that information
to parents and kids. But as the science and technology will
continue to advance, the CIF and state associations like us are
going to look to USADA for help so that we can continue to
inform our stakeholders.
At the high school and the youth level, we must demand that
coaches are qualified and trained. In the CIF we strongly
believe that coaches are teachers first. Just as we would want
in every classroom a qualified and certified teacher, we must
hold coaches to the same level. Without a doubt, a student
athlete probably spends more time in the presence of their
coach than with any other individual, with perhaps the
exception of their parents or a peer.
But these can only be the first steps. Testing at the high
school level will be venturing into the unknown frontier, as we
do not even know at the high school level what steroids or
performance-enhancers we should advise schools to be testing
for. The banned substance list from USADA and the NCAA, this is
a foreign language, one that we do not understand and we do not
read.
We have been quoted prices for testing kits for student
athletes that range from $350 to as little as $25. What is
reasonable? What do we tell our member schools? State
associations are going to need the help of USADA when our
schools move into the testing era.
The marketing of performance-enhancing substances is a
multibillion dollar industry and the high schools of the
Nation--and I can speak specifically for California--are going
to desperately need the help and guidance of USADA as we move
into this new era that has now reached down to the high school
and youth sports level.
In closing, I would like to thank you for allowing me the
opportunity to speak today, but also urge you to consider
increasing the scope of the educational mission of USADA and
the funding that increasing that scope will entail.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Blake follows:]
Prepared Statement of Roger Blake, Assistant Executive Director,
California Interscholastic Federation
Mr. Chairman and the distinguished Members of the Committee, thank
you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Roger Blake and I
serve as the Assistant Executive Director of the California
Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body for high school
sports for California. We are the largest state association in the
nation with almost 1,400 high schools and 1.7 million students. I have
also been a long time high school teacher, coach, athletic director,
and dean and district office administrator.
In my role as the Assistant Executive Director of the CIF, I have
been given the responsibility for ensuring our schools and governance
bodies were given enough information regarding steroids and performance
enhancing substances to make an informed decision. Three weeks ago, the
CIF made national headlines when the representatives of our schools
voted unanimously to pass three proposals that we believe are
fundamental keys to slowing down and ultimately eliminating the use of
these dangerous drugs in our schools, but we would not be where we are
today without the assistance and USADA, particularly Dr. Catlin, Dr.
Gary Green and Mr. Richard Young.
Last fall, the CIF in conjunction with the Demand Reduction Program
of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sponsored a ``Steroid
Summit'' in Los Angeles. Deputy Director Scott Burns of the ONDCP spoke
and Dr. Catlin was one of our key speakers. What we learned that day
was that the time has come that we, too, are facing the same issues and
dilemmas that face professional sports and our Olympic athletes and
that we needed to act immediately.
We also came to realize that as the science, the technology and
most importantly the marketing of these products that promise the user
to get bigger, faster and stronger just by taking this pill or
injecting fluid is an explosive combination. At the high school level,
studies have shown that the number one reason kids play sports is
because it is fun, but unfortunately in our society where the winning
at all cost mentality prevails, more and more young people are turning
to steroids and performance enhancing drugs to help ``give them the
edge.''
Statistics tell us that over 7 million students participate in high
school sports and that just over one percent of those athletes will
receive an athlete scholarship to college, yet the pressure and the
competition for those few athlete scholarships is fierce.
If we are truly going to make a difference in the lives of millions
of kids and young adults, then we must all get on the same page. We
must all speak a common language and send a united message that the
illegal use of steroids and performance enhancers is cheating and
should not and will not be tolerated.
We cannot not afford to be naive about this subject, the marketing
of these products is targeting our kids. A California high school
athletic director whose young daughter plays youth basketball recently
called and directed me to the teams' web site. At the bottom of their
web page were two advertisements, one for ``muscle building nutrition''
supplements and the other stating ``HGH for Athletes.'' And this on a
web page that is for young girls in grades 3 through 12 in the San
Francisco Bay Area.
We must educate our parents, students and coaches to the risks,
dangers and warning signs. The CIF has developed and sent to all of our
member schools this CD-Rom that contains a PowerPoint presentation so
that school officials and coaches could share this information with
their players and parents. But as the science and technology continues
to advance, we will look to groups such as USADA to help us so that we
can continue to inform our stakeholders.
At the high school and youth level, we must also demand that
coaches are qualified and trained. In the CIF we believe strongly that
coaches are teachers first and just as we would want in every classroom
a qualified and certified teacher--the same should hold true for
coaches. Without a doubt a student athlete probably spends more time in
the presence of their coach than any other individual with the
exception of their parents and peers.
But these can be only the first steps; Testing at the high school
level will be venturing into the unknown frontier as we do not even
know what steroids and performance enhancers we should advise schools
to test for and the banned substance lists by USADA and the NCAA are a
foreign language that high school coaches do not speak or recognize. We
have been quoted prices ranging from $25 dollars to hundreds of dollars
per test screening. What is reasonable? What do we tell our schools?
State Associations will need the help of USADA when and if schools
implement testing programs. The marketing of performance enhancing
substances is a multi-billion dollar industry, the high schools of the
nation, and I can speak specifically for California are going to
desperately need the help and guidance of the USADA as we move into
this new era that has now reached down to the high school and youth
sports level.
In closing, I would like to thank the Committee for this
opportunity to speak before you and to urge you to consider increasing
the scope of the mission of USADA and the funding that increasing that
scope would entail. Thank you.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, Mr. Blake.
Dr. Catlin, welcome back.
STATEMENT OF DON H. CATLIN, M.D., PROFESSOR OF
MOLECULAR AND MEDICAL PHARMACOLOGY, UCLA
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Dr. Catlin. Thank you very much, Senator McCain. It is a
pleasure to be here and an honor. I am Don Catlin. I am a
professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA and I
am Director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, the only
laboratory in the United States currently accredited for sports
doping control by WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency. I have an
M.D. degree from the University of Rochester and my specialty
is internal medicine. I founded the Olympic Laboratory in 1982
and have been on numerous international medical commissions.
My laboratory serves USADA as a primary client. It also
serves the NCAA, the Minor League program for baseball and the
National Football League, and several smaller clients.
You may think that testing is wonderful and great.
Unfortunately, it is far from being really perfect. Athletes
determined to cheat have little trouble beating the test and
there are many doctors ready and willing to tell them how to do
it.
Bill Llewellyn, a well-known underground chemist, stated in
ESPN Magazine, quote: ``There are more than 500 steroids in
this book''--and he waved the book--and he said, ``All the drug
tests in the world can maybe find 50.'' That remains true
today. That is why research plays such a vital role in the
anti-doping effort.
My lab has taken in several grants from USADA, including a
grant to improve EPO testing, a vital area, and a grant to
improve the testing for testosterone. These grants have
resulted in many publications and substantial advances in our
ability to detect these drugs. That type of research, however,
is inadequate if a serious effort at eliminating drug use from
sport is to be accomplished. The most difficult problems have
not yet been solved.
For example, there is no effective test for growth hormone
today, after 10 years of work. Athletes determined to beat the
system are still able to keep ahead. As the BALCO investigation
has brought to light, these athletes and their gurus are well
funded and they have resources. With the paltry amount of
funding currently available, anti-doping research really does
not stand a chance.
Several success stories will make this point. You are all
aware of THG. Well, in fact USADA had the wisdom to give us a
grant prior to the discovery of THG to do work on any project
that came along. It just happened that the first project that
came along was the syringe that the coach turned in to USADA.
We had $140,000 of direct costs and we were ready to go. We had
the staff and it took a few weeks before we were able to get
the structure of THG. We did not have to apply for a grant. We
were all ready and willing to go.
After we had identified it, it took another month to
develop a test. But it is important to recognize that THG came
to USADA and was given to us. We were not out there finding it
like we should be. We need to find these drugs before athletes
start using them.
Two models of success that most resemble the type of
research that should be going on all the time are darbepoetin
and norbolethone. Darbepoetin is an improved form of EPO. We
have known it was coming for years. We know it is going to
replace EPO, and late in 2000 it was actually approved by the
FDA, and it was launched just before the Salt Lake City games.
We read in the paper that people were kind of laughing at us
because we would not be able to detect it; it was too new.
Well, we had done some homework and we were prepared for
it, and in fact we caught three athletes who won a total of
eight medals at the Salt Lake City games.
There are countless other pharmaceuticals that come to the
market every year. Many of them do enhance performance and may
be undetectable by current methods. One of the cardinal rules
of drugs in sport is that if the drug might work it will be
used until its rightful place in the cheater's armamentarium is
known. The lesson learned from this is that an effective anti-
doping research program must be flexible enough to immediately
respond when such pharmaceuticals hit the market.
Another example is norbolethone, a steroid that was
actually in development 40 years ago, but it was abandoned
because it was too toxic. None of the labs were looking for it.
We did not know it existed. But then one day some very clever
scientists in my lab noticed something peculiar about a sample.
Eventually we narrowed it down and, sure enough, we found
norbolethone 40 years after it was put on the shelf.
Ultimately we learned quite a bit about norbolethone. We
called a positive and soon the underground e-mails were
explaining that we had already found it and that anybody who
was taking it ought to lay off. No other cases of norbolethone
have ever been found. We think it was placed in service around
the time of the Sydney games in 2000. This dramatic
illustration underlines the importance that we keep these
projects confidential as well as highly scientific.
These stories should make it clear to everyone exactly what
we are up against. Athletes that cheat have sophisticated
advisers and chemists. These underground chemists do not have
to meet any FDA regulations. They have extraordinary resources.
We cannot fight them effectively using the system and resources
that are in place.
What is needed is long-term substantial funding so that
teams of scientists with decades of experience in anti-doping
can work to develop new tests, keep up with the new drugs,
think like dopers, and have tests ready to go when they come
out.
In May of 2003, a bill was introduced in the Senate that
would have helped address these very issues, S. 1002, the
Athletic Performance-Enhancing Drug Research and Detection Act.
That bill would have provided the much-needed, long-term, well
funded research to the labs that have extensive experience in
anti-doping. Unfortunately, that bill never got off the ground.
It is also vital to keep the work private and secret. As
the cases of norbolethone and THG both teach us, as soon as
athletes know what designer drugs are detectable they stop
instantly and move on to something else. Remember the words of
Llewellyn waving the book: ``There are 500 steroids in here.''
As I mentioned at the beginning, the kind of research
currently funded by USADA is a necessary part of the anti-
doping effort. It keeps labs worldwide up to date on their
methods. It is, unfortunately, completely inadequate to keep up
with cheaters. If you want to seriously address drugs in sport,
then a long-term, well-funded, flexible and confidential
research program is what is needed.
To help this fight, I have recently established the Anti-
Doping Research Institute. Our efforts will focus on many of
these areas I have outlined for you. It is one small step.
Without adequate funding for USADA, independent anti-doping
efforts are doomed to always be behind the cheaters.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Catlin follows:]
Prepared Statement of Don H. Catlin, M.D., Professor of Molecular and
Medical Pharmacology, UCLA Medical School
My name is Don Catlin. I am a Professor of Molecular and Medical
Pharmacology at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical
School and the Director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, the
only lab in the U.S. accredited for sports doping control by WADA, the
World Anti-Doping Agency. I have an M.D. degree from the University of
Rochester and my specialty is Internal Medicine. I founded the UCLA
Olympic Lab in 1982 and have been on the International Olympic
Committee Medical Commission for many years, contributing expertise on
scientific policy, medical issues, and laboratory methods. I have
served on numerous national and international committees concerned with
drugs in sports.
You may think testing is great, but it is far from perfect.
Athletes determined to cheat have little trouble beating the test . . .
and there are legions of doctors telling them how to do it. Bill
Llewellyn, a well-known underground chemist, stated in ESPN magazine
``There are more than 500 steroids in here'' he says, flipping [a
private book he keeps] to make his point. ``All the drug tests in the
world can maybe find 50.'' That remains true today. This is why
research plays such a vital role in the anti-doping effort. My lab has
taken in several grants from USADA, including a grant to dramatically
improve urine testing for EPO, a blood booster, and a grant to improve
carbon isotope ratio, or CIR, analysis. The grants resulted in
substantial advances in our ability to detect prohibited drugs.
That type of research, however, is inadequate if a serious effort
at eliminating drug use in sports is to be accomplished. The most
difficult problems have still not been solved. For example, there is no
effective test for growth hormone today. Athletes determined to beat
the system are still able to keep ahead of the game. As the BALCO
investigation has brought to light, these athletes have sophisticated
resources and are well funded. With the paltry amount of funding
currently available, anti-doping research does not stand a chance.
Several success stories will help illustrate this point.
All of you are aware of designer steroid THG. USADA provided my lab
with approximately $140,000 in direct costs to defray the costs of
identifying an unknown substance in a used syringe. This money was only
available because USADA had given my lab a small unrestricted grant to
provide us some flexibility--only a few weeks before the syringe was
turned over to USADA. Thus we did not have to apply for a grant to
determine the contents of the syringe--a process that takes months--we
were ready to go. It took our team of scientists--a team that
represents over a century of total years of experience in anti-doping--
one month to identify it and another six weeks to develop a test. It's
important to remember this research was done on a substance brought to
us. In other words we were not out looking for designer steroids--it
just came to us. If it were not for the unidentified coach bringing
USADA the syringe, it is possible that THG would still be in wide use
today. We need to find these drugs before athletes start using them.
Two models of success that most resemble the type of research that
should be going on all the time are darbepoetin and norbolethone.
Darbepoetin is an improved form of EPO. Late in 2001 just before the
Salt Lake Olympic Games opened, it was approved for medical use by the
FDA. The product was launched approximately three months prior to the
Games. Media publications before the Games had warned of its likely use
because it was ``undetectable.'' Our lab, however, had done the
necessary work to obtain reference standards required to report
potential positive cases. Our insight was correct; it was in use and
because we came prepared, three athletes who had won a total of eight
medals were all caught as darbepoetin users. There are countless other
pharmaceuticals that come to the market every year. Many of them are
performance enhancing drugs that may be undetectable by the methods
currently employed world wide in anti-doping. One of the cardinal rules
of drugs in sport is that if the drug might work it will be used until
its place in the cheater's armamentarium is known. The lesson learned
from this is that an effective anti-doping research program must be
flexible enough to immediately respond when such pharmaceuticals hit
the market.
Another example is norbolethone--a steroid that was abandoned by
the pharmaceutical industry before it ever made it to market over 40
years ago. It was not looked for in the normal steroid test used by all
anti-doping labs world-wide. In this way it was essentially like THG--
an unknown and undetectable steroid. Some very clever scientists at my
lab noticed something peculiar about a sample. After review by our
team, we all agreed something was there and we set out to determine
what it was. Ultimately we determined its structure and began
monitoring it in our routine screen. Although this was not known at the
time, it did not take long after we reported a norbolethone positive
for e-mails to circulate among the underground chemists informing
cheating athletes that my lab was on to them. Just as with THG, it is
now part of the testing process world wide, but no other case of
norbolethone use has ever been found. This dramatic illustration
underlines the importance of confidentiality.
These stories should make clear to everyone exactly what we are up
against. The athletes that cheat have sophisticated advisors and
chemists. These underground chemists do not have to meet FDA
regulations. They also have extraordinary resources. We cannot fight
them effectively using the system and resources that are in place. What
is needed is long-term, substantial funding so that teams of scientists
with decades of experience in anti-doping (1) can work, sometimes with
drug companies, to develop tests for new pharmaceuticals before they
are even available to the public; and (2) can spend the time thinking
like the dopers and develop tests for these designer drugs before
athletes start using them. In May of 2003 a bill was introduced in the
Senate that would have helped address these very issues, S. 1002--the
``Athletic Performance-Enhancing Drugs Research and Detection Act.''
That bill would have provided the much-needed long term, well-funded
research to the labs that have extensive experience in anti-doping.
Unfortunately that bill never got off the ground.
It is also vital to keep the work secret. As the cases of
norbolethone and THG both teach us, as soon as the athletes know that
the designer drug they are using is detectable they stop using that
particular drug and move on to something else. ( Remember the words of
Llewellyn--``there are more than 500 steroids in here.'' )
As I mentioned at the beginning, the kind of research currently
funded by USADA is a necessary part of the anti-doping effort. It keeps
labs world wide up to date on their testing methods. It is,
unfortunately, completely inadequate to keep up with the cheaters. If
you want to seriously address drugs in sport then long term, well-
funded, flexible and confidential research is what is needed.
To help this fight, I have recently established the Anti-Doping
Research Institute (ADR). Our efforts will focus on many of these areas
I have outlined for you today. But it is just one small step. Without
adequate funding and independence, anti-doping efforts are doomed to
always be behind the cheaters.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, and I want to thank
the witnesses for being here.
I guess one of the simple questions is, how do you keep up?
Every witness just about talks about the fact that there are
many substances that are being developed all the time to
enhance performance. How do you keep up, Mr. Madden?
Mr. Madden. Senator, I would agree with Dr. Catlin. We have
got a monstrous job here. We are contributing $2 million a year
to research on average. The World Anti-Doping Agency I believe
in the last few years has been in the $2 to $3 million range.
Around the world there is not much beyond that, a little in
Australia, a little here and there.
I would guess, the experts have told me--I do not know,
Don--we need a good $15 million out there per year to do the
research. I will tell you that since the BALCO investigation
began--and the U.S. Attorney's investigation was some 10 months
ahead of anything we found out about with the syringe--that we
have received a constant stream of information from athletes,
coaches, and athletes' support personnel directing us in the
right direction to followup leads and investigate cases. So the
good news is the clean athletes want to participate in our
program and they are participating two ways: one, by testing;
but the other is by providing us with information we can act
on.
But I am sure we need a minimum of $15 to $20 million in
the research area to get ahead of the game.
Senator McCain. Dr. Catlin, do you have anything to add to
that?
Dr. Catlin. Part of the issue is to be able to recruit
really good scientists and maintain them and keep them. Small
grants that last for a couple years will not do that. A top-
level scientist is looking for a job in perpetuity and they
take about $250,000 a year just to maintain them and to pay
them and to get them with supplies. So we need to have people
like that who are working and will come. We need to attract
them. They are out there. They are just not working for us. We
need to pull them in and get them really tuned in to this.
I think--I know this can be done. We get really good people
from time to time, but we cannot keep them because I only have
funding for a year or two.
Second, we need to be able to purchase really high-end
equipment, equipment that costs $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year.
That is expensive, but this is the kind of thing you need if
you want to detect growth hormone and other things that are out
there.
Senator McCain. Thank you.
Mr. Madden, several NFL players have been involved with
BALCO and only an average of six players per season over the
past three seasons have been suspended by the NFL for drug use.
Do you believe that the NFL's testing program is rigid or
adequate?
Mr. Madden. I would say, Senator, it is the best program in
the professional leagues by far. I would say that no drug
program is perfect. I am sure USADA's could be improved in many
ways. We are working together with the NFL and the new
laboratory at Utah that we hope will open late this year or
early next year. But it is the best the pro sports are
offering, but we all need to improve our drug testing systems.
Senator McCain. Marion Jones called USADA ``a secret
kangaroo court.'' How do you respond to that?
Mr. Madden. Well, we do not comment on athletes that--
whether we are investigating them or not, until we bring forth
a case. Our procedures in regard to the legal aspects are
foolproof. We have an A test, we have a B test, we have an
independent review board that tells us to go forward, acting as
a grand jury. The athletes then have a right to a hearing, a
right to an appeal, a right to counsel, a right to cross-
examination. They have all the inherent rights within the
United States justice system.
We are very proud of the way we act. We are very proud of
everything we do.
Senator McCain. Ms. White, I want to thank you again for
being here today. In your statement you say you were able to
pass 17 drug tests both in and out of competition while
utilizing prohibited performance-enhancing substances. Is it
just that they were not testing for the substances you were
using?
Ms. White. Correct. At the time they did not have THG in
their possession. And we also had different substances that
were covering up the steroids that we were using also.
Senator McCain. In your written testimony you made a very
interesting statement. It was interesting to me. You say: ``But
most importantly, I began using these substances, not to give
me an advantage, but because I had become convinced I needed to
use them to level the playing field with my competitors.''
I infer from that that you believe your competitors were
also using performance-enhancing substances. Is that correct?
Ms. White. It is very sad. I can look at quite a few people
and say that they are, they were doing the exact same thing
that I was doing.
Senator McCain. So basically, if you wanted to stay in the
top level you had to do what at least you believed that your
competitors were doing; is that correct?
Ms. White. Correct.
Senator McCain. That is kind of a sad commentary and I am
sorry that you--that that may have been the case.
You also say: ``I believe the roles of some national
governing bodies involved in sports and the coaches which
either assist in the wrongdoing or turn their backs on what
they see must have some responsibility, culpability, and
penalty for their role in making the sport unclean.'' Would you
care to elaborate a little on that?
Ms. White. I look at myself and for my actions I have been
suspended from my sport for 2 years. But my coach continues to
coach. Although he has been indicted in the BALCO case, he is
still coaching at this time, which there is no effect to him.
He still makes money.
I believe that USA Track and Field has not helped the fight
with USADA and the communication there I think is broken and
they need to help also in this fight.
Senator McCain. Mr. Scherr, it does not seem fair, as Ms.
White pointed out, that the individual athlete tests positive,
but the coach who bears some responsibility continues to coach
and to receive money. Do you have a comment on that?
Mr. Scherr. I believe that her position is absolutely
correct. I think there are mechanisms, but we have not bridged
that gap into pursuing those opportunities to penalize coaches,
doctors, trainers, or others who surround the athletes who
might encourage the cheating, and I think those penalties need
to be looked at, they need to be imposed, and they need to be
harsh.
Senator McCain. Well, I hope that we would--that
particularly the Olympics, because of the relationship between
coaches and athletes, that they would look at the
responsibility that coaches have as well as the athletes. I
hope you would have a look at that, Mr. Scherr.
Mr. Blake, you testified that 7 percent of pre-high school
young women in America are using performance-enhancing drugs;
is that correct?
Mr. Blake. I believe that was his testimony [indicating].
Senator McCain. Why would they be doing that?
Mr. Blake. Well, there are two types. At the high school
and youth sports level, surveys are showing two types of users
of performance enhancers. One is the athlete looking to get
that scholarship, to move to the next level, to get the edge.
The other is the vanity user that we are starting to see now in
society, of kids taking performance enhancers, not because they
are athletes and in competition, but they want to look perfect.
They want to have the perfect cut muscles, that model look that
you see in a magazine.
Senator McCain. Dr. Catlin, it seems to me that the
overwhelming testimony here means that the lesson we should
draw is not only that we need rigorous and enforced testing but
also that it really matters who does the testing.
Dr. Catlin. It does. We are up against it. We are the only
lab today in the United States, and have been for 23 years.
There is a reason for that. But our work is really not widely
understood outside of the lab, unfortunately, the kinds of
things we have to do, the kinds of tests. The documents that we
have to pile up are huge.
So when a Terry Madden and his group of attorneys go into
court against an athlete, they have got a stack of papers like
that [indicating] and we prepare all of that. But we are facing
people out there who do not follow any rules. They do not have
to go to the FDA and get THG approved. They just mix, mix up a
batch of it, and they have figured out a way to do it so that
we cannot detect it, at least at first.
Once we finally get hold of the steroid and get our grip on
it, then we can detect it, and then they stop and they go to
something else. This goes on and on. I know how to do testing.
I have been doing it for 23 years. I do not want to wake up in
5 years with another THG. I want to put an end to it now and I
think I know how to do it, and it can be done and it should be
done.
This is not a situation where you need 25 laboratories. You
need very few labs, but ones who can focus more and more
research on the problems.
Senator McCain. Mr. Scherr, you mentioned that you
supported increased funding for USADA in order to help have
meaningful enforcement. Would you submit for the record a
statement about how much money and what those uses would go to
for us, please?
Mr. Scherr. Yes, we can. We will submit that.
Senator McCain. Ms. White, again, I noticed in your
testimony that you said you began competitive track at the age
of 10. How old were you when you started feeling these
pressures? Were you in high school when you became aware that
people were--that this use of performance-enhancing drugs was
taking place?
Ms. White. No, I was out of college by then, that is when I
started really seeing the people around me, when I was
professional.
Senator McCain. I see. Well, again we thank you for being
here today.
I thank the witnesses. We will be introducing legislation
with our friends on the House side today to hopefully address
some of this issue. We thank you for being here and thank you
for all you do.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:57 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]