Congressmen: Sluggers Don't Deserve Special Treatment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The war of words over next Thursday's steroids hearing before the House Government Reform Committee continues to heat up, with congressmen saying Major League Baseball players are not above the law and should heed to the subpoenas and appear to testify in the nation's capital.

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball's legal team, led by Stanley Brand, wrote a letter to Tom Davis, the Chairman of the Committee, and Henry Waxman, the Committee's ranking minority member. In the letter, Brand said the Committee lacked jurisdiction over the substance of the matter in that neither Major League Baseball nor the Players Association is a government entity subject to oversight by the Committee.

In their response letter on Thursday, Davis and Waxman said their Committee was just in issuing the subpoenas for a variety of reasons since they have "considerable legislative jurisdiction in the area of drug policy." Also, the letter indicated that the "Committee has jurisdiction over the laws authorizing the activities of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which 'establishes policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation's drug control program.' The allegations that illegal performance-enhancing drugs are used in baseball have implications for these federal policies."