Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4771) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to more effectively regulate anabolic steroids, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Health Subcommittee ranking member, Frank Pallone, and I introduced H.R. 4771, the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act, DASCA, to end a loophole that allows designer anabolic steroids to easily be found online, in gyms, and even in retail stores.

When taken by consumers, designer steroids, which are class III controlled substances, can cause serious medical harm, including liver injury, increased risk of heart attack, and stroke. They may also lead to aggression, hostility, and addiction.

Designer steroids are produced by reverse engineering existing illegal steroids and then slightly modifying their chemical composition so the resulting product is not on the DEA's list of controlled substances.

DASCA will help protect consumers from these harmful products by giving the DEA the tools and authority to properly classify designer steroids as controlled substances and increase criminal penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing them under false labels.

DASCA would:

Immediately place a number of known designer anabolic steroids on the list of controlled substances;

Grant the DEA authority to temporarily schedule new designer steroids on the controlled substances list for 24 months, with the possibility of a 6-month extension so that if bad actors develop new variations, these products can be removed from the market immediately;

Create new penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing anabolic steroids under false labels; and

Authorize the Attorney General to publish a list of products containing an anabolic steroid that are not properly labeled.

DASCA is supported by the American Herbal Products Association, AHPA; the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, CHPA; the Council for Responsible Nutrition, CRN; the Natural Products Association, NPA; and the United Natural Products Alliance, UNPA.

I would urge all Members to support this critical piece of legislation. It is bipartisan. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4771, the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014.

H.R. 4771 would amend the Controlled Substances Act to expand the definition of ``anabolic steroids'' to include 25 additional chemicals, thereby facilitating their control by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The CSA contains a list of chemicals defined as anabolic steroids. However, chemists, as you have heard, are able to design around the list, creating new anabolic steroids that are not on the CSA list. The DEA, therefore, has a more difficult time making enforcement actions against people using them.

The bill will also make it easier for the Drug Enforcement Agency to add subsequent designer chemicals to the list of anabolic steroids and increases civil and criminal penalties for offenses pertaining to anabolic steroids.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic variants of the male sex hormone testosterone. They have a number of therapeutic uses but are also used by muscle builders and athletes to improve performance. Long-term or high-dosage use can cause adverse health effects, including damage to the liver and heart, and testicular atrophy.

H.R. 4771 will go a long way toward removing dangerous steroids from the market. We have seen the harm these drugs have caused, particularly in our youth and in professional sports, particularly baseball. The bill will give DEA an important tool to fight the use of hard-to-detect designer steroids.

I want to commend Chairman Joe Pitts and Ranking Member Frank Pallone for their sponsorship of this bipartisan legislation.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting today's legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support passage of the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014.

This legislation will amend the Controlled Substances Act, the CSA, to include 25 additional chemicals as anabolic steroids It also will make it easier for the Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, to add additional chemicals to the CSA list of anabolic steroids. And it increases civil and criminal penalties for offenses pertaining to anabolic steroids.

Anabolic steroids have legitimate therapeutic uses, but they also can cause severe adverse effects when used inappropriately. I have been concerned for many years about the harms they have caused in young people and professional athletes, who take them to improve athletic and body building performance.

One challenge our nation has faced in stopping steroid abuse is that chemists are continually finding ways to design new versions of these drugs that can escape detection or evade the law. This bill helps address this problem. It will give DEA new tools to control the abuse of designer steroids and will help get them off the market.

I commend Chairman Joe Pitts and Ranking Member Frank Pallone for their sponsorship of this bipartisan legislation.

I urge all members to support it.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4771, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.