Yet Congress has shown over the years a reluctance to legislate professional sports policy.

“Let everybody compete under the same rules and the same platforms and that’s what an across-the-board policy does,” Davis said after the hearing.

The NFL began testing in 1987, added suspensions in 1989, and instituted year-round random testing in 1990. Fifty-four players have been suspended, and Tagliabue said an additional 57 retired after testing positive. A first offense carries a four-game ban.

On the eve of the hearing, the NFL announced it is tripling from two to six the number of random offseason tests that players can face. The league is also adding to its list of banned performance-enhancers.

“We would be naive to not be aware that there are people out there who are trying to stay ahead of the curve,” Upshaw said. “As soon as we find out about something, we do something about it.”

Lawmakers generally praised the NFL for its cooperation. More than one committee member said the hearing was a “breath of fresh air” compared to the session with Major League Baseball.

Still, lawmakers asked 10 witnesses whether the size of today’s NFL players is evidence of steroid use. They criticized football’s penalties as too lenient and asked whether amphetamines should be banned and when growth hormone will be tested for.

And they asked about a CBS report that a South Carolina doctor wrote steroid prescriptions in 2003 for three Carolina Panthers who played in that season’s Super Bowl. Tagliabue said the league is investigating.

“The percentage of NFL players who test positive for steroids is very low,” Waxman said. “Is this because the policy is working or is this because players have figured out how to avoid detection?”

He never got a direct answer.

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