[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6224 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6224
To establish a Federal incentive grant program for States that
implement effective measures to prevent and reduce underage consumption
of beverage alcohol, to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of
anti-underage drinking programs funded with Federal dollars, and to
provide appropriate reporting of Federal underage drinking data.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2006
Mr. Whitfield (for himself, Mr. Towns, Mr. Porter, Mr. Gordon, Ms.
Berkley, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, and Mr. Wynn)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Federal incentive grant program for States that
implement effective measures to prevent and reduce underage consumption
of beverage alcohol, to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of
anti-underage drinking programs funded with Federal dollars, and to
provide appropriate reporting of Federal underage drinking data.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Underage Drinking Prevention Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The consumption of beverage alcohol by underage youth
is an ongoing national concern. About 10.8 million Americans
between the ages of 12 to 20--for whom alcohol is illegal--
report current alcohol use, approximately 29 percent of that
age group. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration; 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.)
(2) Despite the seriousness of the problem that exists,
significant declines have been noted over the past decade among
8th, 10th and 12th graders. Since 1991, ``binge drinking'' has
declined by 19 percent for 8th graders; 8 percent for 10th
graders; and 6 percent for 12th graders, and ``past month
drinking'' has declined by 32 percent for 8th graders; 22
percent for 10th graders; and 13 percent for 12th graders (2005
Monitoring the Future Survey).
(3) However, 42 percent of college students report having
five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past two
weeks. Sixty-eight percent report drinking alcohol within the
past month. Consumption patterns in this category have remained
flat over the last decade. (Johnson, et al., 2004 Monitoring
the Future Study.)
(4) Sixty-five percent of underage youth who drink obtain
alcohol from family and friends. Seven percent of youth report
they obtained alcohol from retailers who failed to check for
identification (Teenage Research Unlimited, Omnibus 2003).
(5) Data from the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of
Medicine, the Federal Trade Commission and the American Medical
Association show that most youth who drink obtain alcohol
primarily through non-commercial sources, such as family and
friends.
(6) In 2000, an estimated $71 million of federally
appropriated funding was dedicated to the prevention of
underage drinking. Many Federal agencies have program
activities that include the prevention of underage drinking,
but for which agency officials have not isolated funding
specific to alcohol. For example, $769 million in funding was
used for activities that addressed the prevention of alcohol
and other drug use that targeted either youth or both youth and
the broader community. (GAO-01-503, Underage Drinking,
Information on Federal Funds Targeted at Prevention, 2001.)
(7) The Department of Health and Human Services/Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stated that
programs that have not been rigorously evaluated cannot be
assumed to be effective. Programs that are funded by the
Federal Government should have evidence of effectiveness (A
Comprehensive Plan for Preventing and Reducing Underage
Drinking, 2006).
(8) Based upon evidence of effectiveness, existing Federal
funding should be reallocated to programs and grants to States
with effective measures to prevent and reduce underage
drinking.
SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION; CONSULTATION.
(a) Administration.--This Act shall be carried out by the Secretary
of Health and Human Services on behalf of the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (referred to in this
Act as ``ICCPUD'').
(b) Consultation With Nonfederal Entities.--In carrying out this
Act, the Secretary shall consult with States, public and private
entities, including colleges and universities; public health and
consumer organizations; and the beverage alcohol industry.
SEC. 4. EVALUATION OF FEDERAL UNDERAGE DRINKING PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall in accordance with subsection
(b) evaluate programs that are carried out in whole or in part with
Federal funds and are intended to prevent and reduce the consumption of
beverage alcohol by minors (referred to in this Act as ``underage
drinking'').
(b) Certain Requirements.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) identify Federal underage drinking programs--
(A) that primarily make awards of grants,
cooperative agreements, or contracts to States or local
governments; and
(B) that primarily make such awards to private
entities;
(2) determine the cost of each of the programs, with
allocations specific to Federal, State, local, and private
expenditures; and
(3) evaluate all programs and require grantees to build the
evaluation costs into grant proposals.
(c) Certain Requirements.--With respect to evaluations under
subsection (a):
(1) The Secretary shall work jointly with the funded entity
to develop evaluation criteria appropriate to each program.
(2) The Secretary shall determine that all evaluations are
properly completed in a timely fashion.
(3) Programs that do not receive a score that demonstrates
effectiveness will have to be modified or will not be eligible
for future funding.
(d) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall complete the
evaluations under subsection (a) and submit to the Congress a report
summarizing the results of the evaluations. The report shall include
the information pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) and recommendations
for reallocating Federal funding for underage drinking prevention and
reduction programs toward the incentive grant created in section 5 or
to programs deemed to be effective and evidence-based. The list of
evaluated and evidence-based programs should be made available online
and should be evaluated on a revolving basis.
SEC. 5. INCENTIVE GRANTS TO STATES REGARDING MEASURES TO PREVENT OR
REDUCE UNDERAGE DRINKING.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to eligible States
for the purpose of carrying out activities to prevent, and reduce
underage drinking by reallocating funding from grants and programs
deemed ineffective in section 4.
(b) Eligible States.--A State is an eligible State for purposes of
this section if the State has implemented not fewer than five of the
following ten policies with respect to underage drinking:
(1) The State has demonstrated coordination among agencies,
including public health, alcohol beverage control and law
enforcement, to prevent and reduce underage drinking and abuse
by providing prevention and treatment as well as enforcing laws
regarding the illegal purchase, attempt to purchase,
possession, consumption, furnishing, and provision of beverage
alcohol to minors.
(2) The appropriate agencies referred to in paragraph (1)
have conducted a review to identify and catalog state and local
underage drinking prevention and reduction programs online and
have evaluated programs consistent with criteria pursuant to
section 4.
(3) The State has implemented a comprehensive plan to
improve enforcement and adjudication of existing laws to
prevent and reduce underage drinking and to report the results
of these efforts.
(4) The State has--
(A) penalties for adults who knowingly and
illegally provide alcohol to minors in violation of
State law;
(B) penalties for minors who purchase, attempt to
purchase, possess or consume beverage alcohol in
violation of State law, including driver's license
penalties; and
(C) penalties that escalate with repeat offenses.
(5) The State has monetary fines resulting from the
imposition of such penalties outlined in paragraph (4) that are
used to provide funding for programs to prevent and reduce
underage drinking in the States in which the violation
occurred.
(6) The State requires parental notification for minors who
seek to fraudulently acquire beverage alcohol in violation of
State law.
(7) The State publicizes its laws and penalties regarding
underage drinking, including penalties for individuals who
illegally provide or furnish beverage alcohol to minors in
violation of State laws.
(8) The State has established mechanisms for effective
collaboration between licensed retailers, including retailers
owned or operated by or on behalf of the State or its agency,
and law enforcement authorities to detect and stop the use of
false or fraudulent identification.
(9) The State has established incentives for such retailers
as defined in paragraph (8)--
(A) to regularly train employees who serve or sell
alcohol; and
(B) to utilize age verification in the serving and
selling of alcohol.
(10) The State has developed and implemented evidence-based
programs designed to educate parents about underage drinking
and how to address the issue.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
(a) Certain Transfers.--With respect to Federal underage drinking
prevention and reduction programs that are determined by the Secretary
through evaluations under section 4 to be ineffective, the Secretary
may terminate such programs and transfer the Federal amounts involved
for use for--
(1) programs determined under the evaluations to be
effective in preventing or reducing underage drinking;
(2) evidence-based programs to prevent or reduce underage
drinking; and
(3) incentive grants to states regarding measures to
prevent or reduce underage drinking.
(b) State Funding Levels.--Once the Secretary has submitted the
report under section 4 to Congress, States will retain and manage their
Federal funds and will have an initial two-year grace period to either
modify or sunset ineffective programs and reallocate Federal resources.
Thereafter, unused funds must be obligated before the fiscal year ends
in order to be carried over to the next fiscal year. Once obligated,
the funds can be used within a four-year period.
SEC. 7. IMPROVED COLLECTION AND REPORTING.
(a) In General.--
(1) Reporting in consistent manner.--ICCPUD, as part of its
ongoing efforts to improve Federal data collection, shall
require that federally funded surveys collect and report data
in a consistent manner that allows users of this data to
compare the results of these surveys. In these efforts, the
surveys shall report demographic categories that represent the
cohort of those under the age of 21. In order to facilitate
more useful data analysis, the following age categories shall
be established, where cohorts are available and used in those
activities described in subsection (b):
(A) Early teens--persons 12 to 14 years of age.
(B) Teens--persons 15 to 17 years of age.
(C) Underaged adults--persons 18 to 20 years of
age.
(2) Additional requirements.--With respect to the age
groupings under paragraph (1):
(A) The grouping shall not preclude the use of
other age groups or the use of a comprehensive age
grouping of people between the ages of 12 to 20.
(B) The groups shall include gender, ethnic and
other specific demographic data.
(b) Use of Certain National Surveys.--Activities under subsection
(a) shall include the collection and reporting of relevant data from--
(1) national surveys funded by the Secretary, including but
not limited to Monitoring the Future Survey and National Survey
on Drug Use and Health; and
(2) State data available from research conducted or
supported by the States, which wholly or partially use Federal
funds.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health
and Human Services.
(2) The term ``underage drinking'' means the illegal
consumption, purchase, attempt to purchase or possession of
beverage alcohol in violation of State law.
(3) The term ``underage drinking programs'' means programs
referred to in section 4(a).
(4) The term ``minors,'' with respect to a State, means
individuals who are under the age designated in the law of the
State as the minimum age for legally purchasing, attempting to
purchase, consuming or possessing beverage alcohol as defined
under State law.
(5) The term ``beverage alcohol industry'' means producers,
bottlers, importers, marketers, wholesalers, and retailers,
including control state jurisdictions, of beer, wine and
distilled spirits.
(6) Incentive grant means funding reallocated from programs
deemed to be ineffective.
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