By Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN)

As I returned to East Tennessee for the traditional Easter district work period, I was approached by many people I represent on two issues that have dominated the news over the last two weeks – no, not Iraq and Social Security. Last week, professional baseball players and executives testified under oath before Congress on the use of steroids by players. A host of people asked about the sad case of Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old Florida woman whose feeding tube was removed, causing the President and Congress to return to Washington and intercede on behalf of her parents, her brother and her sister.

People are rightly concerned about both of these issues. It seems most folks would love to see steroids removed from all professional sports. And most folks support Terri’s parents’ desire to allow her to live. However, where the consensus breaks down on both of these issues is the level of Congress’s involvement in a professional sport (albeit “America’s Pastime”) and a very deep and personal family decision.

What a number of people said to me over the weekend before I was called back to D.C. is that baseball’s anti-trust exemption should be used as a “wedge” to force Major League Baseball to impose a strict “zero tolerance” policy on steroid use so that the first infraction results in a heavy six-figure fine and suspension; but if it happens a second time, a player would be banned from baseball. Period. No congressional hearings. No debate. Just rules that players know upfront and everyone understands.

The case of Terri Schiavo is more complicated but also speaks to one of the moral and ethical questions of our generation – in the absence of a living will, who determines when a person’s quality of life has deteriorated beyond enough hope to keep a feeding tube in her throat and keep her alive? From cloning and stem cell research to euthanasia, every case like the Schiavo case, seems to bring our society a little closer to dramatic conflicts between technological advancement and medical ethics.

However, the purpose of this column is not to convince the people of East Tennessee that their view is either misplaced or not (although my votes on these issues will declare my own view) but simply to show that the Congress of the United States is still basically made up of good and decent people who - just like the people they represent - are wrestling with these dilemmas in good faith. Congress is trying to protect the innocent and establish a just set of laws in a very complex society and now global economy. We continue to struggle with where Congressional jurisdiction meets the jurisdiction of the courts under the Separation of Powers and the authority of the States as defined by the 10th Amendment.

America continues to struggle with issues that come with each generation. It reminds me again of Winston Churchill’s reference to a freely-elected and democratic government when he said (and I paraphrase) “it’s the worst form of government imaginable, except for every other.” We must do our best in listening to each other and use reason as we work to protect and defend our constitutional freedoms.