Congressional Probe Into Steroid Use

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Spurred on by last week's release of baseball's Mitchell Report, congressional lawmakers plan to review the use of performance-enhancing drugs. They've scheduled star-studded

Tuesday, December 18th 2007, 8:00 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Spurred on by last week's release of baseball's Mitchell Report, congressional lawmakers plan to review the use of performance-enhancing drugs. They've scheduled star-studded hearings for next month and are introducing legislation to limit access to steroids and growth hormones.

Two House panels are planning mid-January hearings featuring former Senator George Mitchell. He's the author of a bombshell report that links numerous players to the illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. It implicates seven former
MVPs and more than 80 players in all, and some of those named could be invited to testify.

Meanwhile, a Senate Republican and Democrat have announced legislation to limit access to those substances. The bill also calls for stiffer criminal penalties for abuse and distribution.

Central to that effort is cracking down on the abuse of human growth hormone. HGH is a drug for which there is no reliable test, according to one of its sponsors.