Ted Poe: “the news reports: 80-year-old woman gives birth to 300-pound baby; bat child found in Utah cave; Lance Armstrong used…”

“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.…”