Congressman Elton Gallegly
Serving the 24th Congressional District encompasses most of Ventura County and inland Santa Barbara County.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties) on Tuesday introduced the “High School Sports Anti-Drug Act,” aimed at eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in high school sports.
“The recent Major League Baseball steroids scandal and our own Marion Jones being stripped of her Olympic medals shows how prevalent the use of performance-enhancing drugs are in amateur and professional sports,” Gallegly said. “Our high school athletes look up to these athletes and are under tremendous pressure to succeed. It’s important as parents and community leaders to give them the opportunity to resist the pressure to use steroids and other dangerous performance-enhancing drugs.”

According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003.

Gallegly’s bill has three main provisions:

Directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, to award competitive grants to states to develop and carry out statewide pilot programs that randomly test secondary school students for performance-enhancing drug use.
Requires a parent’s or guardian’s written consent before a student may be tested.
Directs grantees to: (1) provide recovery, counseling, and treatment programs for students who test positive for performance-enhancing drug use; and (2) spend at least 10% of grant funds on preventing such drug use.
Authorizes $10 million 2009 and $20 million for 2010 and 2011 for the program.