[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19669]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            LANCE ARMSTRONG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the news reports: 80-year-old woman gives birth 
to 300-pound baby; bat child found in Utah cave; Lance Armstrong used 
performance-enhancing drugs.
  Mr. Speaker, these are a few tabloid headlines that have been 
released recently. They seem a bit outrageous to normal people, 
especially the last one. As a fellow Texan and great admirer of Lance 
Armstrong, I stand with him in the face of this mindless, babbling 
slander.
  Using unknown procedures and almost none of the standards outlined by 
the World Anti-Doping Agency, a newspaper pretends to have proof that 
in 1999, six years ago no less, Lance Armstrong used a performance-
enhancing drug. What a shock, the newspaper is a French one.
  This most recent saga is a continuation of an ongoing struggle 
between Lance Armstrong and the French press. Since 1999 when Lance won 
the first of his seven consecutive Tour de France races, the French 
press has accused him of using drugs. The French would line the streets 
as Lance raced by. They would spit on him and curse and chant, ``Dope, 
dope.''
  Lance Armstrong's past is fairly well-known. In 1996, Lance Armstrong 
was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and the condition spread to his 
abdomen, his lungs and his brain. He was given about a 33 percent 
chance of living. With the help of modern medicine, the good Lord and 
an iron will, Lance Armstrong beat cancer, went on to race again, and 
became arguably the best cyclist in history.
  But, Mr. Speaker, the anti-American French press cannot handle this 
truth so they attack the victor. Once again, they try and project their 
arrogance and obsessed outlandish sentiment against one of cycling's 
best.

                              {time}  1815

  Cycling in France is like baseball or football is in the United 
States, and they cannot comprehend how an American, a Texan no less, 
could dominate their sport.
  The most important aspect of Armstrong's success is his ability to 
train longer and harder than any other man alive. In the words of one 
racing expert, ``Lance pushed physical preparations to new limits.'' In 
his book, Lance attributes his training abilities to the fact that he 
learned how to endure pain during his battle with cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, the idea of a perfect athlete is similar to the idea of 
a perfect storm. You take the most gifted athlete, his ability to 
combine that with the most dedicated work ethic, and what you have is 
Lance Armstrong. You see, Lance wants it more than anyone else.
  Seven Tour de France crowns and a million dumbfounded French 
reporters later what you get is this situation today. We have a 
tremendous athlete falling victim to the accusations of reporters with 
an obvious case of sour grapes and elitist European snobbery.
  Mr. Speaker, I was a felony court judge in Texas for 20 years and a 
prosecutor for 8. I never lost a jury trial as a prosecutor, so I know 
what it takes to convict someone. I know about the chain of evidence 
and due process. And nothing about the most recent of the French 
allegations against Lance Armstrong is credible. Not a court in the 
United States or even France would convict him of these atrocious and 
appalling allegations.
  There have been many drug tests done on Lance Armstrong over the 
years, and all of a sudden, years later, as if out of some obscure 
cave, a French newspaper reports some old samples from a French lab 
came back positive. Mr. Speaker, that dog just won't hunt.
  Essentially, there is no proof that these mysterious samples used in 
this test were even Lance Armstrong's. There is no proof they were 
stored properly and there is no proof the test is even reliable. The 
chain of evidence is so horrible that nobody can prove that the samples 
were not switched.
  Mr. Speaker, what we have here is simply the latest bombardment of 
the 7-year smear campaign by the French media. They cannot defeat Lance 
Armstrong in their race, so they are attempting to bring him down with 
allegations and junk tabloid journalism. If this latest so-called proof 
is the best the French can do, I suggest they do what they do best: 
throw up their hands and surrender. The burden of proof is on the 
accuser, not the accused, and I would encourage this tabloid to put out 
the campfire and call in the dogs, because the hunt is over.
  Mr. Speaker, what the French need to remember is that Lance 
Armstrong's life stands for much more than his amazing cycling 
abilities and winning seven races. He knows there is more to life than 
the 15,205 miles he cycled in those seven races. Although the Tour de 
France is known as the world's most grueling test of human endurance, 
fighting cancer and going on to win the test of life is more 
remarkable.
  As a superior athlete, he has succeeded in inspiring cancer patients 
around the globe and will continue his fight for years to come, despite 
absurd accusations as this one. Perhaps Lance Armstrong has the best 
answer to these absolute absurd allegations. In a 2000 Nike commercial 
that he produced he made the statement, ``Everybody wants to know what 
I'm on. What I'm on: I'm on a bike busting my butt 6 hours a day. What 
are you on?''

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