{"id":611999,"date":"2025-05-16T08:36:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=611999"},"modified":"2025-05-16T08:45:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:45:33","slug":"anti-doping-back-on-capitol-hill-with-senate-hearing-on-may-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/anti-doping-back-on-capitol-hill-with-senate-hearing-on-may-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Doping Back on Capitol Hill with Senate Hearing on May 22"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anti-Doping Back on Capitol Hill with Senate Hearing on May 22<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn<\/strong> (R-Tenn.) is convening a Senate subcommittee hearing on May 22 over anti-doping enforcement in swimming.<\/p>\n

The hearing of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy, which Blackburn chairs, is titled<\/a> \u201cWADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping.\u201d It seeks to examine the World Anti-Doping Agency and its effectiveness in, \u201censuring international events are free from doping and other performance enhancements, which put U.S. athletes at risk.\u201d The hearing is in part tied to the implications for upcoming Olympics on American soil, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n

Among the scheduled witnesses are Olympic swimmer Katie McLaughlin,<\/strong> a silver medalist in the 800 freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart<\/strong> and Dr. Rahul Gupta,<\/strong> president of GATC Health Corp.<\/p>\n

Tygart has been a vocal critic of WADA\u2019s handling of the 2021 determination of environmental contamination affecting 23 Chinese swimmers at a training camp before the Tokyo Olympics that year.<\/p>\n

Gupta served as the head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Biden Administration. He had been the Americas representative on WADA\u2019s executive committee, a seat that is currently empty<\/a>, and had been the subject of a since-dropped WADA ethics complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From Sen. Blackburn\u2019s office:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Anti-Doping Agency has allowed Communist China and Russia to lie, cheat, and steal, putting American athletes at risk. When Congress used its oversight authority to investigate WADA\u2019s blatant corruption, they acted like they were above the law. When the federal government investigated WADA\u2019s inaction, they tried to strongarm the United States and threaten our hosting of the Salt Lake City Games. As one of the largest financial contributors to WADA, the United Sates deserves answers. My colleagues and I refuse to be silenced in our mission to make certain WADA does not turn a blind eye to corruption. There must be real oversight and accountability at WADA, and this hearing will move us one step closer to ensuring fair competition for all athletes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Congressional committees have held hearings on this issue before. Michael Phelps<\/strong> and Allison Schmitt<\/strong> were among the witnesses last summer<\/a> before the House of Representatives\u2019 Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Among the levers that Congress can use is the threat of withholding the U.S.\u2019s annual dues contribution<\/a> of $3.6 million to WADA, payment of which was suspended by the Biden Administration. Blackburn is a sponsor of a Senate bill<\/a>, with a matching one in the House, to suspend payment until WADA submits to an audit.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n