Irritated with WADA, Congress looks to give government authority to withhold payments

A bipartisan group of lawmakers looking for reforms at the World Anti-Doping Agency reintroduced a bill that would give the White House permanent authority to withhold money from the drug-fighting agency.

The “Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act” would make permanent an already temporary ability to hold back the money. It would put more teeth behind the government’s recent decision not to pay $3.6 million to WADA — a move WADA said would cost the U.S. its seat on one of its top policymaking boards.

The federal government has long been critical of WADA. The agency’s handling of a doping case involving Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete despite testing positive reignited tensions that have simmered since the Russian doping scandal erupted in 2014.

“My colleagues and I have a message for WADA, the IOC, and any other international organization who tries to strong-arm the United States: we are calling your bluff, and we won’t be silenced in our mission to promote fair play in sports,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.

Other sponsors are Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, and Reps. John Moolenar, R-Michigan, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois.

Late in President Trump’s first term, he signed a bill, the Rodchenkov Act, that passed through Congress without a dissenting vote, which gave the Department of Justice authority to prosecute people involved in international doping conspiracies.

WADA lobbied against key portions of that bill, and most recently, the International Olympic Committee awarded Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games with the caveat that organizers try to stamp out an investigation into the swimming saga being conducted under the auspices of the Rodchenkov Act.

That triggered the bill’s introduction last summer. Now that a new Congress is in session, Blackburn and Co., are bringing it back up.

“Passage of this legislation will be especially important since the U.S. is hosting many major events over the next decade,” said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Among the events coming to the U.S. are the 2026 World Cup and 2028 and 2034 Olympics.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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