Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), the St. Louis congressman who asked Mark McGwire about steroid use when the former home run king appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2005 (to which McGwire responded, "I'm not here to talk about the past") says the matter is closed, now that McGwire admitted to having used steroids on Monday. Clay released the following statement this afternoon:

I spoke with Cardinals management today and they briefed me on Mark McGwire's admission.  I'm glad he finally told the truth and has taken personal responsibility for his mistakes.  He owes that to the Cardinals and to baseball fans everywhere.  From my perspective, the issue is now closed and we move on.  I wish him well in his return to the dugout as the Cardinal's new batting coach.

Clay was not the only committee member to ask McGwire about steroids, but he represents St. Louis City, the district in which McGwire played as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998, the year he broke the MLB single-season home run record. After a self-imposed exile from baseball, McGwire will return to the Cardinals in 2010 as the team's hitting coach, a move urged by Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, a friend of McGwire's since their time on the Oakland A's.