Bill would crack down on performance enhancing drugs

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (RThousand Oaks) recently introduced the "High School Sports Anti-Drug Act" in Congress. The bill is aimed at eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in high school sports.

According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. The main provisions of the bill:

•Directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, to award grants to states to develop and carry out statewide pilot programs that randomly test secondary school students for performance-enhancing drug use.

•Directs the schools receiving these grants to provide recovery, counseling, and treatment programs for students who test positive for performance-enhancing drug use, as well as spend at least 10 percent of grant funds on preventing such drug use.

•Requires a parent's or guardian's written consent before a student may be tested.

•Authorizes $10 million for 2009 and $20 million each for 2010 and 2011 for the program.