[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4453 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4453

   To establish a grant to increase enforcement of laws to prohibit 
   underage drinking through social sources, to improve reporting of 
    Federal underage drinking data, to establish grants to increase 
    parental involvement in school-based efforts to reduce underage 
                   drinking, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2007

Mr. Towns (for himself, Mr. Whitfield, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
   Texas, Mr. Porter, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Wynn, and Mr. Gordon of 
  Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a grant to increase enforcement of laws to prohibit 
   underage drinking through social sources, to improve reporting of 
    Federal underage drinking data, to establish grants to increase 
    parental involvement in school-based efforts to reduce underage 
                   drinking, and for other purposes.

    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 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) While underage drinking has been on the decline for 
        more than 20 years, the consumption of beverage alcohol by 
        underage youth is an ongoing national concern. According to the 
        Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 10.8 
        million Americans between the ages of 12 to 20 for whom alcohol 
        is illegal report current alcohol use, approximately 28 percent 
        of that age group.
            (2) Data from the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of 
        Medicine, the Federal Trade Commission, the Century Council and 
        the American Medical Association show that most youth who drink 
        obtain alcohol primarily through noncommercial sources, such as 
        family and friends.
            (3) According to research conducted by Teenage Research 
        Unlimited (TRU) for the Century Council, 10-18 year olds say 
        parents and school teachers should begin discussing the dangers 
        and consequences of underage drinking with children by age 11.
            (4) The role of parents in reducing underage drinking, 
        particularly among middle-school aged children, is critical. 
        Numerous studies confirm the crucial role parents play in 
        shaping the behavior and decisionmaking skills of their 
        children. For example, a study reported in Health Education and 
        Behavior, February 2001, suggests that parental involvement is 
        associated with a 67 percent less likelihood of drinking.
            (5) The Surgeon General's 2007 Call to Action to Prevent 
        and Reduce Underage Drinking recognizes that significant social 
        transitions, such as moving from elementary school to middle 
        school or from middle school to high school may increase the 
        likelihood that adolescents will use alcohol, in part because 
        they increase adolescent stress levels. Additionally, evidence 
        shows that youth who spend more time engaged in volunteering, 
        sports, music, academics and leadership are less likely to 
        engage in risky behaviors, such as alcohol use.
            (6) According to a 2004 study published in the Journal of 
        Adolescent Health, ``Adults' Approval and Adolescents' Alcohol 
        Use,'' one in five teens reported drinking alcohol that was 
        provided by a parent or a friend's parent at a party. 
        Additionally, researchers found that such provision of alcohol 
        significantly increased the likelihood of regular and binge 
        drinking.
            (7) A 2003 report submitted to Congress by the National 
        Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine recommended that 
        underage drinking cannot be successfully addressed by focusing 
        on youth alone. Two out of three teens (aged 13 to 18) said it 
        is easy to get alcohol from their homes without their parents 
        knowing it. Thirty-three percent of teens responded that it is 
        easy to obtain alcohol from their own parents (knowingly); this 
        increases to 40 percent when it is from a friend's parent.
            (8) The Surgeon General's 2007 Call to Action to Prevent 
        and Reduce Underage Drinking supports holding adults 
        accountable for underage drinking at house parties, even when 
        those adults are not at home.
            (9) In nearly 20 States, legislatures are considering bills 
        to increase penalties for adults who provide alcohol to people 
        under the age of 21. Those penalties include higher fines, 
        driver's license suspensions and even jail.
            (10) The Surgeon General's 2007 Call to Action to Prevent 
        and Reduce Underage Drinking includes the need for complete and 
        timely information on patterns and trends in youth alcohol 
        consumption in order to develop and evaluate prevention 
        strategies. Additionally, reports from the General Accounting 
        Office and the Department of Health and Human Services 
        demonstrate the need for better data collection and effective 
        evaluation of on-going programs.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that:
            (1) Understanding which programs are effective in reducing 
        underage drinking will maximize scarce Federal resources and 
        help the nation confront underage drinking in a more effective 
        and cost-efficient manner and enable local communities to 
        implement the most effective tactics to reduce underage 
        drinking.
            (2) Evaluation is necessary. Therefore the Substance Abuse 
        and Mental Health Services Administration should explore ways 
        to expand and improve evaluation efforts while preserving and 
        continuing current programs and funding in the interest of 
        achieving maximum effectiveness.
            (3) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
        Administration should continue to improve evaluation efforts 
        and national outcome measures (NOMS) reporting in the Substance 
        Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and other grant 
        programs, when appropriate.
            (4) Federal agencies should strive to evaluate all 
        federally funded underage drinking programs and modify programs 
        as needed to reach maximum effectiveness in reducing underage 
        drinking.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC EDUCATION GRANTS TO REDUCE SOCIAL 
              SOURCES OF UNDERAGE DRINKING.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are to--
            (1) increase enforcement of underage drinking that occurs 
        at house parties across the nation and instances of adults 
        providing alcohol to people under age 21;
            (2) inform the public of the legal consequences of 
        providing alcohol to people under the minimum drinking age of 
        21;
            (3) educate the public that the majority of people who 
        drink underage are obtaining their alcohol from social sources 
        such as family and friends; and
            (4) enhance, not supplant, effective local community 
        initiatives for enforcing underage drinking laws.
    (b) Authorization of Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Juvenile 
        Justice and Delinquency Programs (in this section referred to 
        as the ``Director'') shall award grants to States and units of 
        local government to implement and evaluate enforcement and 
        public education programs aimed at reducing the provision of 
        alcohol by social sources to underage drinkers as part of the 
        Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program.
            (2) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds provided under this 
        section shall be used to supplement and not supplant funds 
        expended for existing programs related to the prevention of 
        underage drinking and the enforcement of underage drinking 
        laws.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a State or unit of local government, or a consortia of 
States or such units, shall prepare and submit to the Director an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Director may require, which shall include--
            (1) a description of the activities to be carried out under 
        the grant; and
            (2) an assurance that the applicant will evaluate its 
        program and submit a report to the Director concerning the 
        effectiveness of the programs and activities carried out under 
        the grant.
    (d) Uses of Funds.--Each State or unit of local government that 
receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to carry 
out the activities described in the application submitted by such State 
or unit under subsection (c).
    (e) Administrative Expenses.--Not more than 6 percent of a grant 
awarded under this section may be expended for administrative expenses.
    (f) Definition.--In this section, the term ``social source'' means 
a noncommercial individual (including family members, friends or other 
individuals) who intentionally provide or serve alcohol to underage 
drinkers or knowingly allow underage drinking to occur on property they 
own, lease or otherwise control (recognizing that State laws do provide 
exceptions for some individuals under certain circumstances).
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
subsequent fiscal year.

SEC. 5. IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in his 
role as Chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the 
Prevention of Underage Drinking authorized in section 519B(c) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-25b(c)), shall work with 
members of such Committee to improve Federal collection of data related 
to underage drinking by ensuring that federally funded surveys related 
to underage drinking collect and report data in a consistent manner to 
accurately reflect underage drinking that allows users of such data 
to--
            (1) compare the results of surveys conducted and reports 
        issued by various entities; and
            (2) isolate such data with respect to the demographic 
        category of individuals who are under the age of 21.
    (b) Establishment of Federal Data Collection Improvement 
Committee.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, in his role as Chair of the Interagency Coordinating 
        Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, shall 
        establish a Federal data improvement committee with 
        representatives from each member of the Interagency 
        Coordinating Committee.
            (2) Committee tasks.--In working to improve Federal data 
        collection on underage drinking, the Federal data improvement 
        committee under paragraph (1) shall undertake the following 
        efforts in addition to any other tasks requested by the 
        Secretary:
                    (A) The committee shall review ways to preserve 
                trend data while simultaneously increasing the 
                consistency of data collection.
                    (B) The Committee shall review all Federal data 
                collected on underage drinking and ensure that all data 
                collected allows for the demographic breakdown of data 
                related to individuals who are under the age of 21.
                    (C) The Committee shall review State data that is 
                made available from research conducted or supported by 
                States, that is gathered in whole or in part with the 
                use of Federal funds to ensure timely reporting and 
                publishing of State data on underage drinking.
                    (D) The Committee shall establish short-term and 
                long-term goals with respect to improving Federal data 
                collection not later than one year after the date of 
                the enactment of this Act.
                    (E) The Committee shall consult with States, public 
                and private entities (including institutions of higher 
                education), public health and consumer organizations, 
                the beverage alcohol industry, and other users of 
                Federal data on underage drinking with respect to the 
                use of such Federal data and recommendations for 
                improvements to the collection and reporting of such 
                Federal data.

SEC. 6. GRANTS TO INCREASE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL-BASED EFFORTS 
              TO PREVENT UNDERAGE DRINKING.

    (a) Authorization of Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall award 
        grants on a competitive basis to local educational agencies to 
        develop and implement innovative and effective programs to 
        increase parental awareness and involvement in reducing 
        underage drinking in elementary and secondary schools.
            (2) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds provided under this 
        section shall be used to supplement and not supplant funds 
        expended for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a local educational agency shall prepare and submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such 
application shall include--
            (1) a description of the activities to be carried out under 
        the grant;
            (2) an assurance that such activities will meet the 
        principles of effectiveness described in section 4115 of the 
        Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (20 U.S.C. 
        7115); and
            (3) an assurance that the applicant will evaluate its 
        program and submit a report to the Secretary concerning the 
        effectiveness of the programs and activities carried out under 
        the grant.
    (c) Highlight Existing Effective Programs.--The Secretary shall 
identify existing, effective, national programs that increase 
interaction between parents and children to prevent underage drinking, 
and shall disseminate information on those programs to local 
educational agencies as model programs for replication at the local 
level.
    (d) Administrative Expenses.--Not more than 6 percent of a grant 
awarded under this section may be expended for administrative expenses.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
subsequent fiscal year.
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