Opening Statement of Rep. Diana DeGette, Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Mr. Chairman, another major doping scandal has again shaken the sporting world. This time it involves a wide-ranging Russian scheme to circumvent doping controls relied upon by the global sports community to ensure clean sport.

After unfortunate delays in investigating serious claims made by courageous whistleblowers, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) eventually launched investigations into allegations that Russia was systematically involved in doping.

In July and December of last year, Professor Richard McLaren, the person commissioned by WADA as the independent expert tasked with looking into these allegations, released his findings.

What WADA's independent investigations reported was a systematic effort by Russia to help its athletes both dope and circumvent doping controls.

This doping was widespread, according to WADA's report, implicating the London Olympic Games, the Sochi Olympic Games, the IAAF World Championships, and other major international events.

Though we will probably never know the extent of the cheating, and who benefitted, as many as 1,000 Russian athletes across at least 30 sports might have benefitted from this effort according to WADA's investigation.

WADA's inquiry also found that the very agencies created to police sport from doping, including the Russian national anti-doping agency, were itself helping to cheat. Even Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, played a role.

Russia's behavior raises troubling questions about how the global sports community should sanction doping violators and whether they are committed to that task.

For example, because WADA's investigative findings were made weeks before the start of the Rio Games, confusion surfaced about whether Russia should collectively be banned from Rio.

WADA recommended to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it prohibit the entire Russian delegation from participating. Rather than implement that recommendation, the IOC punted that decision to the International Sports Federations were not all equipped to take on that sudden task.

In the end, what ensued was a muddled process some viewed as sending a very weak message to cheaters.

Even today, I am not sure whose job it is to hold Russia accountable for the events conveyed in WADA's investigation.

Just last month, for example, several National Anti-Doping Organizations met in Dublin and petitioned that Russia be banned from hosting existing and future international sporting events until the country comes back into compliance with WADA's requirements. But what if anything will happen to those recommendations?

I understand the IOC has created two commissions to explore the findings of WADA's independent investigation. While I support due process when it comes to athletes possibly implicated in those investigations, I believe that there is enough evidence reported in WADA's investigations to warrant a strong message from the IOC: If you cheat, you do not play.

Of course, WADA's findings also raise concerns about WADA itself. How did this cheating scheme persist for so long undetected, for example? Is WADA organized to catch cheating going forward? Does it have sufficient resources to police sport and prevent such a conspiracy from happening again?

Following the Russian revelations, a number of National Anti-Doping Organizations met in Copenhagen late last year and put forth recommendations that could enhance WADA's ability to keep sports clean. These recommendations include addressing certain conflicts of interest within WADA and clarifying the agency's authority to investigate doping and sanction violators.

It is unclear what has become of these recommendations, but I do believe they appear to be a possible blueprint moving forward. I hope that we will learn today whether these suggestions will receive further consideration from the IOC or WADA.

I believe we must also examine whether WADA has the resources to do the job to enforce the world anti-doping code, including overseeing the many agencies it relies upon for that effort. WADA's entire budget is a mere $30 million, and the U.S., the largest national contributor, provides a mere $2 million annually in funding. The McLaren investigation alone will exceed $2 million.

Mr. Chairman, let me conclude by acknowledging several of our witnesses today.

With us are two former Olympic champions from the U.S. team, Michael Phelps and Adam Nelson. We salute your previous accomplishments, and applaud your continued advocacy for clean sport.

I also believe we should thank WADA itself, including Richard Pound and Richard McLaren for their work they have been doing to unravel the recent failures that brought us here today.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the work of Mr. Tygart and USADA. He has worked tirelessly over the years to protect the sports community from doping, and we look forward to Mr. Tygart's testimony today.

Mr. Chairman, it is an unfortunate set of events that has forced us into this room today. However, something good can come out of what Russia did if we improve our system to prevent doping and effectively sanction it when it occurs. All of us here today owe it to all the clean athletes who train day in and day out with the desire to compete clean and have a fair chance in competition.

We also owe it to the brave whistleblowers, journalists, and WADA's independent investigators—some of who took great risks to bring this story forward.

I think this panel, this Congress and the international sports community needs to realize that when dealing with Russia and its approach to ensuring clean, international competitions, the honor system is simply not going to be enough.

And I yield back.