Priorities

After their month-long recess during which major combat operations in Iraq were definitely not "over;" during which the worst natural disaster in a century hit the country; during which FEMA's response to that disaster has been a disaster in and of itself...Congress sets its sights on...Rafael Palmeiro.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee plans to unveil a new proposal this week to crack down on steroid use in sports, another sign of the growing determination by Congress to impose tougher testing standards and penalties on pro sports.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told USA TODAY he's co-authoring the bill with Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record), the top Judiciary Committee Democrat from Michigan. It would put the Justice Department in charge of developing "minimum standards" for testing and penalties. Participation in the program would be voluntary, but Sensenbrenner says there will be "incentives" to encourage pro sports leagues to sign up.

Hmmm. "Incentives." As in baseball's anti-trust exemption?

Seems they're feeling a little burned by Raffy Palmeiro's finger-wagging performance last April. And by the "slap on the wrist" of a ten-game suspension for failing a test for the first time. Perhaps they should talk to Raffy's old buddy, and ask him what he'd do about it.

Anyway. Seems like there's a slight hitch, though. The likelihood of a bill getting passed is none too promising, since Congressmen keep tripping each other in the race to get credit for the bill. That and their other great priority in the next session of Congress: getting rid of the Estate Tax for the 2 percent of Americans still subject to it.

But there are obstacles to passage of a federal steroids testing bill, including Congress' busy fall agenda and internal fights over who should get credit for legislation.

I have never been a great fan of Palmeiro. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer, but I get no great satisfaction in knowing that this "slap on the wrist" will probably make him ineligible, at least for the first several years after he's on the ballot. And about that "slap on the wrist;" that ten-day suspension has turned into a season-ending event.

Palmeiro's season unraveled soon after he collected his 3,000th career hit July 15. He received a 10-day suspension Aug. 1 for failing a drug test, and upon his return was booed in Baltimore and on the road.

He is 2-for-26 with one RBI since coming back, and he has been bothered the last two weeks by injuries to his left ankle and right knee.

"It is in his and the Orioles' best interests for Palmeiro to stay off the knee as much as possible to allow it to heal completely," the team said in statement. "At the same time, remaining with the team while unable to play has created an unnecessary distraction for both Palmeiro and the ballclub."

Things can't get much worse for Palmeiro, who's experiencing a one-of-a-kind season for all the wrong reasons.

"Everything just kind of crumbled--unexpectedly, really," he said Monday. "I never expected that anything would happen to me, not at this stage of my career, anyway."

Meanwhile, Congress had an opportunity to do right by the people whose lives have been ruined by Katrina. And Republicans in Congress still say, "No, no need to fix anything here."