WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson praised the House Thursday for passing the Anabolic Steroid Control Act.
Calling it "an important piece of legislation," Thompson thanked House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Reps. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., and Tom Osborne, R-Neb., for "the integral role they played in getting this legislation passed in the House."
The bill makes a number of steroid precursors controlled substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
When metabolized in the body, steroid precursors produce testosterone. Under the proposal, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency would gain the right to regulate them as anabolic steroids.
Thompson urged the Senate to take up the legislation soon, "so we can put these important public health protections in place."
