IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 481
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that professional sports
leagues and the International Olympic Committee should help reinforce
the unacceptability and harmfulness of illegal drug use by establishing
clear guidelines and penalties, and that athletes using illegal drugs who
do not identify the person who provided the illegal drugs and successfully
complete a drug treatment program should be suspended from play
for a minimum of one year without pay.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 19, 1998
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma (for himself, Mr. BUNNING, and Mr. RYUN) submit-
ted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
professional sports leagues and the International Olympic
Committee should help reinforce the unacceptability and
harmfulness of illegal drug use by establishing clear
guidelines and penalties, and that athletes using illegal
drugs who do not identify the person who provided the
illegal drugs and successfully complete a drug treatment
program should be suspended from play for a minimum
of one year without pay.
•HRES 481 IH
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Drug-Free Pro-
fessional and Olympic Athlete Responsibility Resolution’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The House of Representatives finds as follows:
(1) There has been an increase in the number
of reports over the last year about athletes who have
used illegal drugs, have failed to get effective treat-
ment, and have not received appropriate sanctions.
(2) Illegal drug use among our Nation’s youth
has doubled in the 6 years preceding 1997, with sig-
nificant increases in the use of marijuana, inhalants,
cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, and heroin.
(3) The most dramatic increases in teenage
drug use have been among children between the ages
of 13 and 14.
(4) Professional and Olympic athletes are role
models for our Nation’s youth, particularly young
teenagers.
(5) Increases in substance abuse among youth
are due in large part to an erosion of understanding
by youth of the high risks associated with substance
use, and to the softening of peer norms against use.
•HRES 481 IH
SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) all professional sports leagues and the
International Olympic Committee should help rein-
force the unacceptability and harmfulness of sub-
stance abuse by establishing clear guidelines and
penalties regarding drug abuse, including a written
policy, treatment assistance programs, and minimum
penalties that are consistently enforced; and
(2) athletes who are using illegal drugs who do
not identify the person who provided the illegal
drugs and successfully complete a drug treatment
program should be suspended from play for a mini-
mum of one year without pay.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
In this resolution, the term ‘‘illegal drug’’ means a
substance listed as a controlled substance under schedules
I through V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 U.S.C. 812).
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