“We are tremendously grateful to U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and all the Members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee who today took meaningful action to protect clean athletes and the integrity of sport by passing the Restoring Confidence in World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Act. This critical legislation received unanimous, bi-partisan approval following the recent Commerce subcommittee hearing on the Chinese swimming scandal that potentially impacted 96 medals from the last two summer Olympic Games since WADA failed to hold 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive accountable to the mandatory rules.
We are more optimistic than ever that WADA will be fixed, and U.S. taxpayer funding will not be wasted by continuing to fund an organization lacking independence, transparency, and accountability. There can be no double standards when it comes to fairness in Olympic and Paralympic sport, and while we all want a strong, independent WADA, it has a long way to go to regain the confidence of all stakeholders, including the U.S. government, as evidenced by the approval of this act. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 and 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games soon to be held in the U.S., now is the time to make sure that we’re investing in truly fair sport and giving clean athletes a chance to win the right way.”
For more information or media inquiries, click here.