[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 89 (Wednesday, June 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7633-S7634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BUNNING (for himself and Mr. Stevens):
  S. 1334. A bill entitled ``The Professional Sports Integrity and 
Accountability Act''; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation and the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am pleased to support the efforts of my 
colleague Senator Bunning in holding professional sports leagues in the 
United States to a higher standard with respect to testing their 
athletes for performance-enhancing drugs. Senator Bunning's bill, ``The 
Professional Sports Integrity and Accountability Act,'' is another step 
toward holding professional sports leagues accountable as custodians of 
our Nation's pastimes. I have cosponsored a similar bill with Senator 
McCain, and I look forward to working with both of them in the effort 
to rid professional sports of performance-enhancing drugs and setting a 
positive example for our youth who are using these substances at an 
alarming rate.
  Over the past few years, the Commerce Committee has taken a series of 
actions to review the issue of performance-enhancing drug use at all 
levels of athletic competition, professional and amateur. The results 
of that review have been alarming. The evidence is clear that an 
increasing number of young amateur and U.S. Olympic athletes are using 
these substances for a multitude of reasons, but primarily to enhance 
athletic performance. Some experts suggest that many of these young 
athletes seek to emulate their professional sports heroes and are drawn 
to whatever it takes to achieve similar athletic greatness. For those 
skeptics who question this link and doubt the powerful effect that 
athletes have on the lives of kids, I remind them of the five-fold 
increase in the sales of the steroid-like substance androstenedione--
better known as ``andro''--that occurred after Mark McGwire admitted to 
using the substance in 1998 while chasing Major League Baseball's home 
run record.

[[Page S7634]]

Since then, the problem of harmful supplement use among children and 
teenagers has reached epidemic proportions.
  In 2004, more than 300,000 high school students used anabolic 
steroids, which are scheduled as a controlled substances in the United 
States. Evidence shows that teenagers are using these substances not 
only for athletic performance enhancement, but also for vanity. Recent 
news reports have indicated that when surveyed, an estimated 5 percent 
of high school girls and 7 percent of middle school girls admitted 
using anabolic steroids at some point in their lives. Steroid use has 
doubled among high school students since the early 1990s.
  The adverse health consequences associated with such use are 
indisputable. Medical experts warn that the effects on children and 
teenagers include stunted growth, scarring acne, hormonal imbalances, 
liver and kidney damage, as well as an increased risk of heart disease 
and stroke later in life. Psychologically, steroids have been 
associated with increased aggression, suicide, and a greater propensity 
to commit serious crimes.
  Notwithstanding the dire health effects of anabolic steroids or 
steroid-like substances, the use of any performance-enhancing substance 
for the sole purpose of gaining a competitive edge over an opponent is 
unfair. Professional sports leagues must be held to the highest 
standard and be held accountable to their players, American consumers 
who pay to see a fair competition on the playing field, and the young 
athletes who are led by the example of professional athletes.
                                 ______