[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E829-E830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 6067 RODCHENKOV ANTI-DOPING ACT (RADA ACT)

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I introduced H.R. 6067, 
the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (``RADA'') because in the realm of 
international sports, it has become almost commonplace for too many 
athletes to yield to the temptation of bridging the gap between their 
own skill and the pinnacle of athletic achievement by resorting to 
performance enhancing drugs.
  And to conceal this fall from grace, cheaters are employing 
increasingly sophisticated modes of masking the use of any proscribed 
drugs.
  This practice, some of it state-sanctioned, undermines international 
athletic competition and is often connected to more nefarious actions 
by state actors.
  This is why it is necessary for Congress to enact H.R. 6067, the 
bipartisan Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (``RADA'' Act)
  The legislation I have introduced is bipartisan, and bears the name 
of courageous whistleblower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a valiant man who 
revealed the true extent of the

[[Page E830]]

complex state-run doping scheme which permitted Russia to excel in the 
2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and which resulted in its ban from the 2018 
Olympic Games.
  While he was complicit in Russia's state-run doping program, Dr. 
Rodchenkov regrets his role and seeks to atone for it by aiding the 
effort to clean up international sports and to curb the rampant 
corruption within Russia.
  The RADA Act is a serious step towards cracking down on the use of 
performance-enhancing drugs in major international competition because 
it establishes criminal penalties and civil remedies for doping fraud.
  A number of other nations, including Germany, Austria, Belgium, 
Denmark, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain, have embraced 
criminal sanctions for doping fraud violations and it is time for the 
United States to be added to this list.
  Doping fraud in major international competitions--like the Olympics, 
the World Cup and the Tour de France--is often linked with corruption, 
bribery and money laundering.
  It is not just victory that criminals engaged in doping fraud snatch 
away from clean athletes--athletes depend on prize money and 
sponsorships to sustain their livelihoods.
  The United States has a large role to play in ferreting out 
corruption in international sports.
  Not only do U.S. athletes lose out on millions in sponsorships, but 
when a U.S. company spends millions to create a marketing campaign 
around an athlete, only to have that athlete later implicated in a 
doping fraud scandal, the damage to that company's brand can cost tens 
of millions.
  This has been the story of Alysia Montano, a U.S. runner who competed 
in the 2012 Summer Olympics games in London and placed fifth place in 
the 800 meters behind two Russian women finishing first and third.
  These women were later found to have engaged in doping fraud by the 
World Anti-Doping Agency, meaning that Ms. Montano had rightfully 
finished third, which would have earned her a bronze medal.
  Ms. Montano estimates that doping fraud cost her `maybe half a 
million dollars, if you look at rollovers and bonuses, and that's 
without outside sponsorship maybe coming in.'
  She adds, `That's not why you're doing it, but you still deserve it.' 
She certainly does. Until now, defrauded U.S. athletes and companies 
have had little recourse against doping fraud.
  A recent article published by The New York Times titled ``U.S. 
Lawmakers Seek to Criminalize Doping in Global Competitions'' 
references the RADA as a step in the right direction toward 
criminalizing doping in international sports.
  The RADA is an important step to stemming the tide of Russian 
corruption in sport and restoring confidence in international 
competition.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the New York Times article 
published June 12, 2018 entitled ``U.S. Lawmakers Seek To Criminalize 
Doping in Global Competitions'', which cites RADA as a step in the 
right direction toward criminalizing doping in international sports.

                [From the New York Times, June 12, 2018]

    U.S. Lawmakers Seek To Criminalize Doping in Global Competitions

                          (By Rebecca R. Ruiz)

       United States lawmakers on Tuesday took a step toward 
     criminalizing doping in international sports, introducing a 
     bill in the House that would attach prison time to the use, 
     manufacturing or distribution of performance-enhancing drugs 
     in global competitions.
       The legislation, inspired by the Russian doping scandal, 
     would echo the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it 
     illegal to bribe foreign officials to gain a business 
     advantage. The statute would be the first of its kind with 
     global reach, empowering American prosecutors to act on 
     doping violations abroad, and to file fraud charges of a 
     different variety than those the Justice Department brought 
     against top international soccer officials in 2015.
       Although American leagues like Major League Baseball would 
     not be affected by the legislation, which would apply only to 
     competitions among countries, it could apply to a league's 
     athletes when participating in global events like the Ryder 
     Cup, the Davis Cup or the World Baseball Classic.
       The law would establish America's jurisdiction over 
     international sports events, even those outside of the United 
     States, if they include at least three other nations, with at 
     least four American athletes participating or two American 
     companies acting as sponsors. It would also enhance the 
     ability of cheated athletes and corporate sponsors to seek 
     damages, expanding the window of time during which civil 
     lawsuits could be filed.
       To justify the United States' broader jurisdiction over 
     global competitions, the House bill invokes the United 
     States' contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency, the 
     global regulator of drugs in sports. At $2.3 million, the 
     United States' annual contribution is the single largest of 
     any nation. ``Doping fraud in major international 
     competitions also effectively defrauds the United States,'' 
     the bill states.
       The lawmakers behind the bill were instrumental in the 
     creation of the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which gave the government 
     the right to freeze financial assets and impose visa 
     restrictions on Russian nationals accused of serious human 
     rights violations and corruption. On Tuesday, the lawmakers 
     framed their interest in sports fraud around international 
     relations and broader networks of crime that can accompany 
     cheating.
       ``Doping fraud is a crime in which big money, state assets 
     and transnational criminals gain advantage and honest 
     athletes and companies are defrauded,'' said Sheila Jackson 
     Lee, Democrat of Texas, who introduced the legislation on 
     Tuesday. ``This practice, some of it state-sanctioned, has 
     the ability to undermine international relations, and is 
     often connected to more nefarious actions by state actors.''
       Along with Ms. Jackson Lee, the bill was sponsored by two 
     other Congressional representatives, Michael Burgess, 
     Republican of Texas, and Gwen Moore, Democrat of Wisconsin.
       It was put forward just as Russia prepares to host soccer's 
     World Cup, which starts Thursday. That sporting event will be 
     the nation's biggest since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where one 
     of the most elaborate doping ploys in history took place.
       The bill, the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, takes its name 
     from Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the chemist who ran Russia's 
     antidoping laboratory for 10 years before he spoke out about 
     the state-sponsored cheating he had helped carry out--most 
     notoriously in Sochi. At those Games, Dr. Rodchenkov said, he 
     concealed widespread drug use among Russia's top Olympians by 
     tampering with more than 100 urine samples with the help of 
     Russia's Federal Security Service.
       Investigations commissioned by international sports 
     regulators confirmed his account and concluded that Russia 
     had cheated across competitions and years, tainting the 
     performance of more than 1,000 athletes. In early 2017, 
     American intelligence officials concluded that Russia's 
     meddling in the 2016 American election had been, in part, a 
     form of retribution for the Olympic doping scandal, whose 
     disclosures Russian officials blamed on the United States.
       Nations including Germany, France, Italy, Kenya and Spain 
     have established criminal penalties for sports doping 
     perpetrated within their borders. Russia, too, passed a law 
     in 2017 that made it a crime to assist or coerce doping, 
     though no known charges have been brought under that law to 
     date.
       Under the proposed American law, criminal penalties for 
     offenders would include a prison term of up to five years as 
     well as fines that could stretch to $250,000 for individuals 
     and $1 million for organizations.
       ``We could have real change if people think they could 
     actually go to jail for this,'' said Jim Walden, a lawyer for 
     Dr. Rodchenkov, who met with the lawmakers as they considered 
     the issue in recent months. ``I think it will have a 
     meaningful impact on coaches and athletes if they realize 
     they might not be able to travel outside of their country for 
     fear of being arrested.''
       The legislation also authorizes civil actions for doping 
     fraud, giving athletes who may have been cheated in 
     competitions--as well as corporations acting as sponsors--the 
     right to sue in federal court to recover damages from people 
     who may have defrauded competitions.
       Ms. Jackson Lee cited the American runner Alysia Montano, 
     who placed fifth in the 800 meters at the 2012 Summer 
     Olympics. Two Russian women who placed first and third in 
     that race were later disqualified for doping, elevating Ms. 
     Montano years later. ``She had rightfully finished third, 
     which would have earned her a bronze medal,'' Ms. Jackson Lee 
     said, noting the financial benefits and sponsorships Ms. 
     Montano could have captured.
       The bill would establish a window of seven years for 
     criminal actions and 10 years for civil lawsuits. It also 
     seeks to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation, making it 
     illegal to take ``adverse action'' against a person because 
     he or she has disclosed information about doping fraud.
       Dr. Rodchenkov, who has lived in the United States since 
     fall 2015, has been criminally charged in Russia after he 
     publicly deconstructed the cheating he said he carried out on 
     orders from a state minister.
       ``While he was complicit in Russia's past bad acts, Dr. 
     Rodchenkov regrets his past role in Russia's state-run doping 
     program and seeks to atone for it by aiding the effort to 
     clean up international sports and to curb the corruption 
     rampant in Russia,'' Ms. Jackson Lee said, calling Tuesday's 
     bill ``an important step to stemming the tide of Russian 
     corruption in sport and restoring confidence in international 
     competition.''