January 21, 2004    The President  The White House  Washington, D.C. 20500    Dear Mr. President:    On behalf of America's Olympic and Paralympic athletes I want to commend you and thank you for addressing in your State of the Union address last night the issue of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. Certainly it is a major health problem, with potentially disastrous health consequences that may seriously impair an individual's quality of life, indeed, the individual's life itself, at a later stage. But perhaps even more important is the aspect of drug use that you correctly identified, which is that it is a moral and ethical problem, that taking a drug to improve athletic performance is a shortcut and is nothing short of cheating.    The United States Olympic Committee ("USOC") has long been engaged in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in order to protect our athletes as well as the integrity of the Olympic Games. To that end in 2000 the USOC created, provided initial funding, and continues to provide significant ongoing financial support for an independent anti-doping organization, "The United States Anti-Doping Agency" ("USADA") whose primary mission is to eliminate the practice of doping in sport. As the independent anti-doping agency for Olympic and Paralympic sports in the United States it is responsible for managing the testing and adjudication process for athletes, and is dedicated to preserving the well-being of sport, the integrity of competition, and ensuring the health of athletes through research initiatives and education programs.    The USOC and USADA enjoy an excellent working relationship and share common goals with your Office of National Drug Control Policy. Indeed, the partnership that has developed promises to advance significantly your goal of eradicating the abusive practice of using drugs rather than individual effort as a means of achieving athletic success. We are grateful for having them as a partner, and to you and your Administration for giving such priority attention to this challenging and odious issue, and we stand ready to assist you in all aspects of your proposed program, including drug testing and drug education in schools.    We thank you for addressing this matter and for your ongoing leadership in seeking its resolution.     Sincerely,    William C. Martin  Acting President    James E. Scherr  Chief of Sport Performance    c.c. The Honorable Condoleezza Rice  Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs    The Honorable John P. Walters  Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy