WASHINGTON - US lawmakers threatened to impose stricter anti-doping measures and revoke Major League Baseball's anti-trust exemption unless the sport's leaders take tougher measures to combat steroids.
A House Government Reform Committee hearing began here Thursday with Congressmen saying baseball and union leaders and star players have betrayed America's trust by ignoring or abusing steroids in the national pastime.
"Baseball needs to know we are watching," said US Senator Jim Bunning, a major league player for 17 years. "They owe it to all of us to prove they are fixing this terrible problem. If not, we will have to do it for them."
Lawmakers examination of the topic comes as the Centers for Disease Control said 500,000 American teens take steroids, banned by World Anti-Doping Agency rules, trying to become bigger and stronger to emulate sports heroes.
"Kids aren't just talking about their favorite teams' chances in the pennant race. They are talking about which pro players are on the juice," committee chairman Tom Davis said.
Bunning warned baseball leaders that "you are about at the end of your trust" and committee ranking minority member Henry Waxman said Major League Baseball has abused fan loyalty and put young fans who idolize stars at risk.
"We're long past the point where we can count on Major League Baseball to fix its own problems," Waxman said.
"For 30 years, baseball has said, 'Trust us'. The league hasn't honored that trust and it hasn't acted responsibly to protect ballplayers. Baseball had a responsibility to do the right thing and it didn't do it."
"As baseball did nothing over the years, the use of steroids by kids increased. Now America is asking baseball for integrity - an unequivocal policy against cheating."
Davis hinted that lawmakers could consider revoking Major League Baseball's anti-trust exemption.
"There's a cloud over the game," Davis said. "Maybe we're partly to blame in implicitly and wrongly sending the message that baseball's anti-trust exemption is also a public accountability exemption."
Former star slugger Jose Canseco, the author of a tell-all steroid book, was set to be in the same hearing room later with retired star Mark McGwire, who denies Canseco's claims that he took steroids.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and players union chief Don Fehr, whose new anti-doping policy was deemed shamefully inadequate by lawmakers Wednesday, also were set to testify later.
"Ultimately it is Major League Baseball and the union that can remove the cloud over baseball and maybe save some lives in the process," Davis said.
Parents of two young baseball players who committed suicide after abusing steroids were among those who testified.
Canseco's lawyer said that his client planned to answer few questions, instead citing rights against self-incrimination rather than add credibility to his accusations by making them under oath and risk of perjury.
Active players subpoenaed to testify included steroid critics Curt Schilling of Boston and Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore teammates Sammy Sosa and Palmeiro, who have faced steroid accusations.
In "Juiced", Canseco claims to have injected McGwire with steroids while they were Oakland A's teammates and to have injected Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez with steroids while all were playing on the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers' managing owner at the time was current US President George W. Bush, who jokes about trading Sosa before the Dominican became a star.
Selig and Fehr were criticized Wednesday by lawmakers for loopholes in their new doping plan, including possible wrist-slap fines rather than bans for steroid users and World Anti-Doping Agency-banned substances being allowed.
"MLB's policy on steroids needs to be one of zero tolerance and it needs to have teeth," committee member Elijah Cummings said.
Bunning wants tougher penalties than a 10-day ban for steroid first offenders, but even he stops shy of the two-year global ban for such cheats.
"The penalties are really puny," Bunning said. "I would like to see much stronger ones, one-month suspension for a first offense, a year for a second and then three strikes, you are out, out of the game."
Owners and players both profitted from the now-suspect homer feats of the past decade, which helped revive fan interest in baseball after the 1994 World Series was cancelled in a labor feud.
"For over a decade, (owners) turned their heads when it came to steroids. They helped put the game at risk," Bunning said. "Not only did they turn a blind eye, they built smaller parks making it easier to hit home runs."
Steroids were not banned in Major League Baseball until 2004 even though they were illegal since 1991.
"Baseball cannot simply turn its back on recent history, pronounce the new testing policy will solve everything and move on," Davis said. "You can't look forward without looking back."

03/17/2005 16:50 GMT