[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1033-H1034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STEROIDS IN SPORTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is recognized 
during morning-hour debate for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I'm a big 
sports fan. I have had the opportunity to play sports in high school 
and in an industrial league. I played it in the Boys Club back in 90-
pound football. And I think, like most of us, we understand that the 
vast majority of stars today were a testament to true hard work. They 
were determined to succeed and often times under difficult situations. 
Their performances, victories, records and careers seemed to capture 
the straightforwardness of honesty, hard work and integrity that is 
based upon the heart of sports today, at least in the past, the ideal 
that sports allow success based upon merit, whether it be on the court, 
the field or the track.
  Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, the scourge of steroids and 
performance-enhancing drugs is not simply a footnote in the history of 
sports in America. Steroid use goes much deeper, to the basic integrity 
of sports and all of athletics. At the most fundamental level, steroid 
use is just plain cheating. And furthermore, it is illegal.
  Steroids are classified as a Schedule III controlled substance under 
the Controlled Substance Act. Those caught in illegal possession of 
steroids without a

[[Page H1034]]

prescription face arrest and prosecution. Dealers face a Federal felony 
charge and up to 5 years in prison.
  Furthermore, steroid use involves significant health risks for all 
athletes who use them. Studies suggest that use of steroids can lead to 
stunted growth in adolescents, increased risk of heart and liver 
disease, as well as cancer and hormonal problems for both men and 
women. And that is why these and other factors demand that our elite 
athletic organizations, both professional and amateur, establish 
uniform, world-class drug testing standards that are consistent and 
robust, just as our criminal laws are today.
  However, the most worrisome development is that steroids are not only 
infiltrating their professional and elite amateur leagues, they are 
finding their way into middle schools and high school sports programs. 
In fact, according to the most recent Monitoring for the Future survey, 
funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 3\1/2\ percent of high 
school seniors have used steroids with similar percentages for grades 
8-10.
  These are alarming numbers that represent just a part of the 
susceptible youth population that is out there. These estimates suggest 
that the high school steroid problem is just as great, if not greater, 
than it is in the professional leagues.
  As any parent knows, high school is a trying time for many kids, let 
alone student athletes. These exceptional kids now face yet another 
hazard all the way to adulthood, that is trying to claim the safe haven 
of sports as its next growth market.
  We must take an aggressive stand against this plague before these 
pressures lead young student athletes to use steroids, its destructive 
effects on honesty and fair play and ultimately, their very health and 
well-being.
  And here and before the Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection 
Subcommittee last year, which I chaired in the last Congress, we heard 
testimony from a parent of a young man who tragically took his own life 
when that pressure to succeed, coupled with steroids, became too much. 
Unfortunately, these tragic stories are all too common.
  Richard Pound, the founder and chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency 
says, ``Do we want our children to be forced to become drug addicts in 
order to be successful in sports? Like it or not, sports stars are 
heroes and idols to our kids. Our kids copy their heroes' behavior. 
That's why we have to encourage the stars to be good role models both 
on and off the field.'' Congress must continue to look into the use of 
illegal steroid and performance enhancing drug use.
  Professional leagues have an obligation to be the gold standard with 
regard to education, detection and sanctions for the illicit use of 
steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. The recent scandals in 
baseball, the Olympics, professional wrestling and in other 
professional amateur sports have served to highlight the significance 
of the steroids problem.
  Now, sometimes I'm asked back in the district why I care about drugs 
in sports. Shouldn't the athletes perhaps do whatever they want? They 
are only hurting themselves, is the reply. The use of steroids and 
performance-enhancing drugs by athletes today goes beyond just the 
integrity of the sport. By using illegal drugs, athletes are, in 
effect, telling our children that the only way to be successful and 
compete at the highest level is to cheat. That is not the message I 
want our children to hear.

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