A bipartisan coalition of legislators has reintroduced a significant piece of legislation aimed at reforming the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which would grant the White House a permanent mandate to withhold funding from the agency.

The legislation, named the “Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act,” seeks to transform a previously temporary authority into a lasting power. This would reinforce the government’s recent decision to withhold a payment of $3.6 million to WADA, a step that the agency claims could jeopardize the U.S. participation on one of its primary policymaking boards.

Criticism of WADA from the federal government is not new. Tensions escalated recently following WADA’s management of a doping incident involving Chinese swimmers, who were permitted to compete despite positive test results. These issues have been persistent since the high-profile Russian doping scandal began in 2014.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, emphasized the coalition’s stance, stating, “My colleagues and I have a message for WADA, the IOC, and any other international organization who tries to strong-arm the United States: we are calling your bluff, and we won’t be silenced in our mission to promote fair play in sports.”

Other prominent sponsors of the bill include Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, along