Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 05, 2007)

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By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. DURBIN):

S. 762. A bill to include dehydroepiandrosterone as an anabolic steroid; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President. I rise today to introduce a bill that would further expand the definition of anabolic steroids under the Controlled Substances Act to include DHEA. I am pleased to be joined in this bi-partisan effort by my colleagues Senator MCCAIN and Senator DURBIN.

Eight years ago, baseball fans everywhere were witness to history as Roger Maris' 37 year old single season record of 61 home-runs was finally broken. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivated the public as their chase for the home-run record unfolded in living rooms everywhere. Three years later, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set a new record when he hit an unthinkable 73 home-runs in just one season. Now, with another Major League Baseball season just around the corner, the 42 year old Barry Bonds is on the brink of breaking the all time home-run record held by the great Hank Aaron.

A lot has changed since that historic 1998 season though. We now know that Mark McGwire had been taking an over the counter testosterone boosting supplement known as ``Andro' at the time he broke the home-run record. A few years later, an anonymous phone call sparked what has since become the largest doping scandal in professional sports history. The BALCO scandal as it is famously known today, has exposed numerous top athletes across a wide range of sports and continues to this day. In fact, just this week, we learned that investigators found evidence that testosterone and other performance enhancing drugs may have been illegally purchased over the internet by current and former Major League Baseball and NFL players, college athletes, high school coaches, a former Mr. Olympia champion, and another top contender in the body building competition.

The publicity generated from these doping scandals even spurred Congress into action. In 2004, we passed legislation expanding the list from 23 to 59 anabolic steroids that are now regulated by the DEA, including ``Andro'. Legislation has also been introduced that would force Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues, to strengthen their testing procedures and set new minimum penalties for any violations of the policy.

While all this publicity has helped to raise public awareness about the dangers of illegal performance enhancing drugs, much work remains to be done. Some recent studies appear to indicate that the use of illegal steroids among adolescents is beginning to decline. While this is good news, an alarming number of young people are still turning to these dangerous drugs to improve performance, appearance, or their self image.

Even more widespread however, is the use of over the counter supplements. Many young people turn to these ``supplements' as an alternative to already illegal steroids, mistakenly believing that because they are sold over the counter, they must be safe. Yet, many of these over the counter ``supplements' actually produce the same dangerous effects on the body as illegal steroids, some even become steroids in the blood stream.

In the year following Mark McGwire's record breaking 70 home-run season, sales of andro surged by more than 1000 percent. In 2004, we took action to control sales of these dangerous drugs and protect the unsuspecting public. Yet as I speak today, one anabolic steroid remains on the shelves of health stores around the country. This potentially harmful steroid can be bought by anyone, at any age and without consulting a physician first.

DHEA, is a steroid hormone that when ingested in the body, is converted into other more powerful steroid hormones including Andro and Testosterone. Both Andro and Testosterone are already controlled by the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act.

DHEA like all other steroids, may cause a number of long-term physical and psychological effects. Women could experience facial hair growth, scalp hair loss, deepening of the voice, and increased girth. Men could experience increased blood pressure or breast enlargement. Unfortunately, side effects associated with hormones don't always appear right away. While these effects may be mild at low doses, according to many experts high levels of DHEA might promote liver damage and cancer of the breast or prostate over time. The truth is we know very little about DHEA's long term effects.

In addition, because DHEA is marketed as a dietary supplement rather than a medicine, companies distributing DHEA products are not required to prove their safety and effectiveness to the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, it is impossible to tell if these products are 100 percent pure or whether you are getting the same amount of DHEA the label claims. In fact, in 2000, the Good Housekeeping Research Group examined 8 popular DHEA products with ``antiaging' claims and found that 5 of the 8 brands sent to an independent lab for testing, failed to accurately state the level of DHEA labeled on their product.

While often cited as an anti-aging pill, some advertisements do specifically target athletes. Take for example this advertisement on www.bodybuilding.com:

DHEA is HOT, and you will see why. As a pre-cursor hormone, it leads to the production of other hormones. When this compound is supplemented, it has shown to have awesome effects.

Here is another advertisement found on AST Sports Sciences,

If you're a bodybuilder, and want to increase lean body mass at the expense of body fat, actual studies show this supplement may significantly alter body composition, favoring lean mass accrual.

DHEA is already banned by the Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and minor league baseball, yet under current Federal law it enjoys special protections.

In 2005, as Major League Baseball and their steroid policy were coming under increasingly heavy fire, the top medical advisor to the League turned the tables on us as lawmakers, referring to DHEA and accusing us of failing to write a zero tolerance steroids policy into Federal law.

With that in mind, I am pleased to introduce this legislation today, which would put these potentially dangerous steroids behind the counter where they belong. We must make every effort to keep ALL steroids out of the hands of children and protect unsuspecting consumers. DHEA is not a food supplement, and should be treated as every other testosterone boosting substance in the steroid family.

I encourage my colleagues to join in support of this legislation.

I send the draft of this legislation to the desk and ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

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