Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered opening remarks at an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing titled “Examining Anti-Doping Measures in Advance of the 2024 Olympics.” The hearing, held just one month before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, focused on the enforcement of anti-doping policies by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“Thank you, Chair Griffith, and thank you to our highly decorated panel of witnesses whose Olympic careers have inspired an entire generation of Americans,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers highlighted concerns about WADA's failure to enforce its policies effectively. “We will be examining how the World Anti-Doping Agency’s policies—and their failure to enforce those policies—on the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs are undermining the integrity of the Olympic games.”
Rodgers criticized WADA President Witold Banka for not attending the hearing despite receiving significant U.S. taxpayer funding. “It is completely unacceptable that World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka, whose agency received over three million in U.S. taxpayer dollars this past year, declined to join us tonight,” she stated.
The issue extends beyond American athletes, according to Rodgers. She pointed out a recent doping scandal involving Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. “Recent reporting unveiled that just weeks before the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo, 23 members of the Chinese swimming team tested positive for a banned substance—Trimetazidine or TMZ,” she said.
Rodgers expressed skepticism over WADA's handling of this incident. “The Chinese authorities dismissed the positive tests... The World Anti-Doping Agency’s review somehow concluded this explanation was plausible and no further investigation was necessary.”
She emphasized that such failures undermine fair competition and transparency in sports. “How many more Olympic athletes have to lose out on winning medals and proudly singing their country’s national anthem before the World Anti-Doping Agency decides to enforce its rules uniformly?”
Rodgers concluded her remarks by underscoring her commitment to addressing these issues ahead of the upcoming Olympics. “Everyone watching the Olympics in Paris and in their homes next month should know that the system is not rigged against athletes who compete the right way.”
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