Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his kind remarks and support. And I thank Dr. Burgess, as well, for his…”

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his kind remarks and support. And I thank Dr. Burgess, as well, for his involvement and commitment to this legislation. I also thank the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee for really helping us move this bill very quickly. I thank the staffs of both the majority and the minority who have worked so very hard on moving this bill forward. And I acknowledge, in particular, the staff on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security for their particular help and leadership on this. {time} 1600 Mr. Speaker, I am glad that we are talking about healthy sports and the recognition and the acceptance, if you will, of those who worked so long and so hard, many from their earlier years, to be Olympians, to play baseball, basketball, football, track, and the many sports that come under the Olympic mandate. This bill, in particular, I wish to remind our colleagues, again, provides relief, but we really hope it is a deterrent and works to move other nations, the European Union, to be able to establish these kinds of responses to doping. This act establishes criminal penalties for participating in a scheme in commerce to influence a major international sports competition through prohibitive substances or methods. It also provides restitution to victims of such conspiracy, athletes in particular, many of whom have suffered great losses because of this fraud.…”