Mr. Chairman, thank you for continuing the investigation into the unfortunate consequences of the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act. Last summer this investigation exposed the statutory limitations and regulatory failures in dealing with ephedra, the herbal form of a stimulant drug that caused death and a number of serious health problems. As a direct result of pressure from this Committee, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally decided that enough damage had been done to the public health and banned that so-called dietary supplement.

I am also pleased with another positive achievement of this investigation. Our inquiries to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FDA regarding the sale of dangerous steroid precursors as dietary supplements ultimately helped produce Administration support for H.R. 3866, the "Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004." The bill passed the House with almost unanimous support and is currently pending Senate action.

Today, we look at another category of products that may potentially cause not only physical harm to the public but also make a serious dent in the wallets of American consumers desperate to find an "easy way" to treat their overweight children. Again we will see how unscrupulous operators ignore public health consequences as they bend, break, and otherwise abuse a weak law to sell products that could seriously injure the uninformed user. Further, their advertising claims attract the most vulnerable: parents and children who hope to lose pounds easily without undergoing important lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise.

Given current judicial interpretations, weak statutory language, clever uncovering of legal loopholes, and shoddy enforcement, the current law cannot adequately protect the public from these modern-day patent medicine peddlers. I therefore joined Rep. Susan Davis and Rep. Henry Waxman, in introducing H.R. 3377, the "Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act of 2004." Passage of this bill would be the first step toward undoing the harm to the public health and the personal pocketbooks of millions of Americans who, because of the fraudulent claims which dominate this industry, have endangered their health and squandered billions of dollars on products that have not the slightest scientific evidence to support manufacturers' claims.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this Subcommittee's focus on the public health threats posed by certain dietary supplements. I look forward to the testimony presented today.