[House Hearing, 108 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING: WHAT WORKS?
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM
of the
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
February 11, 2004
__________
Serial No. 108-42
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/
house
or
Committee address: http://edworkforce.house.gov
______
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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio, Chairman
Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin, Vice George Miller, California
Chairman Dale E. Kildee, Michigan
Cass Ballenger, North Carolina Major R. Owens, New York
Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Donald M. Payne, New Jersey
Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
California Lynn C. Woolsey, California
Michael N. Castle, Delaware Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
Sam Johnson, Texas Carolyn McCarthy, New York
James C. Greenwood, Pennsylvania John F. Tierney, Massachusetts
Charlie Norwood, Georgia Ron Kind, Wisconsin
Fred Upton, Michigan Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio
Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan David Wu, Oregon
Jim DeMint, South Carolina Rush D. Holt, New Jersey
Johnny Isakson, Georgia Susan A. Davis, California
Judy Biggert, Illinois Betty McCollum, Minnesota
Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Danny K. Davis, Illinois
Patrick J. Tiberi, Ohio Ed Case, Hawaii
Ric Keller, Florida Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Tom Osborne, Nebraska Denise L. Majette, Georgia
Joe Wilson, South Carolina Chris Van Hollen, Maryland
Tom Cole, Oklahoma Tim Ryan, Ohio
Jon C. Porter, Nevada Timothy H. Bishop, New York
John Kline, Minnesota
John R. Carter, Texas
Marilyn N. Musgrave, Colorado
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Phil Gingrey, Georgia
Max Burns, Georgia
Paula Nowakowski, Staff Director
John Lawrence, Minority Staff Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM
MICHAEL N. CASTLE, Delaware, Chairman
Tom Osborne, Nebraska, Vice Lynn C. Woolsey, California
Chairman Susan A. Davis, California
James C. Greenwood, Pennsylvania Danny K. Davis, Illinois
Fred Upton, Michigan Ed Case, Hawaii
Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Jim DeMint, South Carolina Ron Kind, Wisconsin
Judy Biggert, Illinois Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio
Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Chris Van Hollen, Maryland
Ric Keller, Florida Denise L. Majette, Georgia
Joe Wilson, South Carolina George Miller, California, ex
Marilyn N. Musgrave, Colorado officio
John A. Boehner, Ohio, ex officio
------
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on February 11, 2004................................ 1
Statement of Members:
Castle, Hon. Michael N., Chairman, Subcommittee on Education
Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce........... 2
Prepared statement of.................................... 2
Musgrave, Hon. Marilyn N., a Representative in Congress from
the State of Colorado, Prepared statement of............... 94
Osborne, Hon. Tom, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Nebraska.......................................... 5
Wilson, Hon. Joe, a Representative in Congress from the State
of South Carolina, Prepared Statement of................... 83
Woolsey, Hon. Lynn C., Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce. 3
Prepared statement of.................................... 4
Statement of Witnesses:
Hackett, Jacqueline, Student Leadership Council, Students
Against Destructive Decisions.............................. 49
Prepared statement of.................................... 51
Hamilton, Wendy J., National President, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving.................................................... 37
Prepared statement of.................................... 40
Katz, Francine I., Vice President, Corporate Communications,
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.............................. 52
Prepared statement of.................................... 54
Molinari, Hon. Susan, Chairman, The Century Council,
Washington, DC............................................. 8
Prepared statement of.................................... 11
Newton, Robert L., Director, Business Development, Betty Ford
Center, Rancho Mirage, California.......................... 32
Prepared statement of.................................... 34
Additional materials supplied:
Anastas. Bob, Founder, Students Against Driving Drunk, Letter
submitted for the Record................................... 94
Baker, Dale & Thomas, Ph.D.s, Family-School-Community
Partnerships, Letter submitted for the Record.............. 95
Rehr, David K., Ph.D., President, National Beer Wholesalers
Association, Statement submitted for the Record............ 96
Riibe, Diane, Executive Director, Project Extra Mile, Letter
submitted for the Record................................... 98
Taft, Hope, First Lady of Ohio, Statement submitted for the
Record..................................................... 99
PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING: WHAT WORKS?
----------
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Education Reform
Committee on Education and the Workforce
Washington, DC
----------
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:35 a.m., in
room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Michael N.
Castle [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Castle, Osborne, Upton, Keller,
Wilson, Woolsey, Davis of California, Davis of Illinois, Case,
Kind, and Van Hollen.
Ex officio present: Representative Owens.
Staff present: Kevin Frank, Professional Staff Member;
Catherine Meyer, Legislative Assistant; Krisann Pearce, Deputy
Director of Education and Human Resources Policy; Whitney
Rhoades, Professional Staff Member; Deborah L. Samantar,
Committee Clerk/Intern Coordinator; Jo-Marie St. Martin,
General Counsel; Liz Wheel, Legislative Assistant; Joe Novotny,
Minority Legislative Assistant/Education; and Lynda Theil,
Minority Legislative Associate/Education.
Chairman Castle. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee
on Education Reform of the Committee on Education and the
Workforce will come to order.
We are meeting today to hear testimony on ``Preventing
Underage Drinking: What Works?'' So that we can get to our
witnesses, I am going to limit the opening statements to the
Chairman, the ranking minority member, and the designee from
each side. Therefore, if other members have statements, they
will be included in the hearing record.
With that, I ask unanimous consent for the hearing record
to remain open 14 days to allow members' statements and other
extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be
submitted in the official hearing record.
Without objection, so ordered.
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE, CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION REFORM, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
Let me say, first of all, good morning to everyone here,
including, of course, our witnesses. I would like to welcome
all of our guests and our witnesses and our members who are
here for today's Education Reform Subcommittee hearing
entitled, ``Preventing Underage Drinking: What Works?''
I am looking forward to hearing the witnesses' testimony
pertaining to the efforts these organizations are making to
help reduce and prevent underage drinking in this country.
Today's hearing will focus on awareness and prevention programs
that are geared toward students in elementary, middle and high
school that successfully prevent and discourage youth from
drinking alcohol before they are of legal age.
Significant gains have been in reducing underage drinking
since the 1970's and the 1980's. I applaud the various local,
state and Federal Governmental organizations, the public health
community groups, and the members of industry who have
contributed to this reduction. I know that in my home state of
Delaware there are numerous efforts at all levels of
government.
However, this issue remains a real problem with very real
and devastating consequences. Despite the progress that has
been made, the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Administration found that 10.7 million young people, ages 12 to
20, reported drinking alcohol within a 30-day period. About
three in ten high school seniors reported binge drinking, binge
drinkers defined as those having five or more drinks on the
same occasion at least once in the past 30 days.
The study also reported that 95 percent of 12th graders
perceived alcohol as readily available to them.
It is my hope that we can better learn what constitutes an
effective awareness and prevention program so that these best
practices can be shared with schools and communities throughout
the country. Programs based on research and whose effectiveness
has been evaluated are invaluable.
I would like to thank my colleague from Nebraska, Mr.
Osborne, for his interest in this issue and for his dedication
to reducing and preventing underage drinking. It was his
interest and tenacity that was the impetus for this hearing.
I now yield to the distinguished ranking minority member of
the Subcommittee, Mrs. Woolsey, for purposes of making an
opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Castle follows:]
Statement of Hon. Michael N. Castle, Chairman, Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Good Morning. I would like to welcome our guests, witnesses, and
members to today's Education Reform Subcommittee hearing entitled,
``Preventing Underage Drinking: What Works?''
I am looking forward to hearing the witness' testimony pertaining
to the efforts these organizations are making to help reduce and
prevent underage drinking in this country. Today's hearing will focus
on awareness and prevention programs that are geared toward students in
elementary, middle, and high school that successfully prevent and
discourage youth from drinking alcohol before they are of legal age.
Significant gains have been made in reducing underage drinking
since the 1970's and 1980's. I applaud the various local, state, and
federal governmental organizations, the public health community groups,
and the members of industry that have contributed to this reduction. I
know that in my home state of Delaware there are numerous efforts, at
all levels of government. However, this issue remains a real problem
with very real and devastating consequences. Despite the progress that
has been made, the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,
administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration,
found that 10.7 million young people, ages 12 to 20, reported drinking
alcohol within a 30-day period. About 3 in 10 high school seniors
reported binge drinking--binge drinkers defined as those having five or
more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days. The
study also reported that 95 percent of 12th graders perceive alcohol as
readily available to them.
It is my hope that we can better learn what constitutes an
effective awareness and prevention program so that these best practices
can be shared with schools and communities throughout the country.
Programs based on research and whose effectiveness has been evaluated
are invaluable.
I would like to thank my colleague from Nebraska, Mr. Osborne for
his interest in this issue and for his dedication to reducing and
preventing underage drinking. It was his interest and tenacity that was
the impetus for this hearing.
With that, I yield to my colleague from California, Mrs. Woolsey
for whatever opening statement she may have.
______
STATEMENT OF HON. LYNN WOOLSEY, RANKING MEMBER, SUBCOMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION REFORM, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
Ms. Woolsey. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank
you for this hearing. It is very important. Underage drinking
is a serious public health and safety program and it is also
very, very expensive for our country.
Alcohol is a key factor in the three leading causes of
death among young people in America--traffic crashes,
homicides, and suicides. Alcohol kills 6.5 times as many
American youth as illegal drugs combined. The economic
consequences of underage drinking are also huge.
The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
researched the cost to society of underage drinking in a report
prepared in the year 2002 and found them to be more than $58
billion per year. Yet we have a robust Federal youth anti-drug
campaign and no Federal campaign to combat underage drinking.
In fact, in his fiscal year '05 budget, President Bush has
recommended eliminating funding for the one Federal school-
based alcohol prevention program which is currently authorized
under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act. This must change.
In September of 2003 the Institutes of Medicine at the
National Academy of Sciences issued a report to Congress
entitled, ``Reducing Underage Drinking, a Collective
Responsibility.'' The panel of public health experts who wrote
this report found that not only is alcohol easy for underage
youth to obtain, but also that their main source of alcohol is
adults, both in social settings and in stores. The panel also
found alcohol product advertising to be a strong contributing
factor to underage drinking.
So when we talk about programs that work to prevent
underage drinking we need to remember that along with programs
that focus directly on the youth, we also need programs to
educate adults about what they do to contribute to underage
drinking, and we need to have better constraints on advertising
and marketing alcohol to youth of those ages. In my district I
am really pleased to say that in my district an alcohol
beverage distributor called Golden Gate Distributing Company
has been constantly involved with local police departments and
their programs to curb underage drinking.
Golden Gate Distributing has been involved--well, they are
a 70-year-old distributing company, and they have been involved
for years at our local high schools with their safe graduation
nights and they work to make sure that we are totally involved
in their programs to combat underage drinking. They would like
the Federal Government to understand that not all distributors
are out to get kids to drink; and we can use what they are
doing as one of our examples but what we have to know--all
these examples are not leading to the results we want so we
have to do more. That is what I hope we will be hearing from
you about.
I am pleased today that Jacqueline Hackett is here to tell
her story about Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)--
what a great way to do this--which is an outstanding national
program that does focus directly on youth. SADD provides
students with prevention and intervention tools, the tools they
need to deal with underage drinking and other harmful
behaviors, and SADD has a proven track record of success.
I look forward to hearing from you, Jackie, and I would
like to greet the Honorable Susan Molinari, a past Member of
Congress who still feels like she is in our halls. Thank you
for coming, Susan.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Woolsey follows:]
Statement of Hon. Lynn Woolsey, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Thank you for calling this hearing, Mr. Chairman. Underage drinking
is a serious public health and safety problem, as well as a very costly
one.
Alcohol is a key factor in the three leading causes of death among
young people in America: traffic crashes; homicides; and suicides.
Alcohol kills six and half times as many American youth as all illegal
drugs combined.
The economic consequences of underage drinking are also huge--the
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation researched the costs to
society of underage drinking in a report prepared in 2002 and found
them to be more than $58 billion per year.
Yet, we have a robust federal youth anti-drug campaign and no
federal campaign to combat underage drinking. In fact, in his fiscal
year 05 budget, president bush has recommended eliminating funding for
the one federal school-based alcohol prevention program, which is
currently authorized under the safe and drug-free schools act.
That must change.
In September of 2003, the Institutes of Medicine at the National
Academy of Sciences issued a report to congress, ``Reducing Underage
Drinking: A Collective Responsibility.''
The panel of public health experts who wrote this report found that
not only is alcohol easy for underage youth to obtain, but also that
their main source of alcohol is adults, in both social settings and
stores. The panel also found alcohol product advertising to be a strong
contributing factor to underage drinking.
So, when we talk today about programs that work to prevent underage
drinking, we need to remember that along with programs that focus
directly on youth, we also need programs to educate adults about the
things that we do to contribute to underage drinking and we also need
better restraints on advertising and marketing alcohol to underage
youth.
Having said that, I am pleased today to have Ms. Jacqueline Hackett
here to tell us about SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), an
outstanding national program that does focus directly on youth. SADD
provides students with the prevention and intervention tools they need
to deal with underage drinking and other harmful behaviors, and it has
a proven track record of success. I look forward to hearing from
Jacqueline and the rest of the panel.
______
Chairman Castle. Thank you, Ms. Woolsey. We appreciate your
good comments.
The opening statement indicated we would have a designee on
each side, and I will now turn to the distinguished gentleman
from Nebraska, Mr. Osborne, for his 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM OSBORNE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Chairman Castle. I would like to
thank you and also Chairman Boehner for allowing us to have
this hearing.
The reason I was interested in this is that I spent about
36 years on a college campus, and I would say probably 70 to
maybe 90 percent of the problems that I saw and I dealt with,
whether it be assaults, sexual assault, accidents, and
sometimes criminal behavior, have usually involved alcohol, and
usually it was underage drinking.
So at the present time, more than one-fourth of Nebraska
young people indicate that they first use alcohol by age 13,
and I believe nationally the average age of first drink is
under age 13. We are not really aiming here at 21, 20, 19-year-
olds. We are really concerned about what is going on at 11 and
12 and 13 and 14 and 15. And this is a big problem. There is an
estimated 3 million teenagers in our country today that are
full-blown alcoholics, and that is a huge number when you look
at other types of addiction. That is by far the most.
It has already been mentioned that alcohol kills six times
more young people than all other illicit drugs and I think Ms.
Woolsey mentioned $58 billion as the annual cost. I have seen
$53 billion, but it is certainly in the $50 billions.
We just had a meeting, Republicans did, about the budget
deficit, and $53 billion would go a long ways, I mean if we
could even trim that in half, because somebody is paying for
that and basically it is the taxpayers that are paying for that
$53 billion.
Those who use alcohol before age 15 are four times more
likely to become alcohol-dependent. The thing I think that I
would like to emphasize here is that there is a physiological
and psychological component. When you are 12 and 13 and 14, 15,
that is way different in the use of alcohol than if you are 21,
22, 23 years of age. It has an entirely different reaction on
the human body and on the brain, and these are the kids that we
are dealing with.
Underage drinkers consume nearly twice as much alcohol per
occasion as adults and that is a binge drink, and oftentimes
what they do is they drink to get drunk. They don't drink to be
sociable, they drink to get drunk.
Alcohol is the most widely used drug among America's young
people, yet the Federal Government spends 25 times more on
prevention of illicit drug use by young people than on
prevention of underage drinking, so it is our biggest problem.
And yet we spend 1/25th of our prevention dollars on alcohol,
which seems a little bit skewed as far as I am concerned.
In May of 2001 the General Accounting Office released a
report, and the report provided concrete evidence that, No. 1,
the Federal Government's approach to youth alcohol prevention
is disjointed, and, No. 2, funding for alcohol youth prevention
is woefully inadequate.
So as Ms. Woolsey mentioned, we are really concerned to see
the $30 million for alcohol abuse reduction zeroed out in the
'05 budget. Again, talking about the budget process, we realize
there's going to be casualties, but if you can do something to
reduce a $53 billion taxpayer bill by spending $30 million, it
might be money well spent.
Then also, September 2003, the National Academy of Science
reported and they recommended this, a national adult-oriented
media campaign as the centerpiece of Federal efforts to prevent
underage drinking. The problem is that so many adults actually
are sometimes relieved if their child uses alcohol, because
they say if they are using alcohol, they are not going to use
anything else. Well, anybody who knows anything about this
problem realizes that kids, once they become addicted will grab
anything they can. They don't start with meth. They don't start
with cocaine. They start with alcohol, sometimes with marijuana
and then it goes from there. So we need to educate adults as to
what is going on out there.
Secondly, the alcohol industry should strengthen its
current voluntary advertising codes, refrain from marketing
practices that have substantial appeal to youth and be more
careful to place under ads to reduce youthful exposure.
Then, third, the need for better Federal coordination and
assistance to states and local communities.
Lastly, let me just say this. I know there are
representatives of the alcohol industry here and I think many
of you do some great things. I know your intentions are very
good but I would have to confess some skepticism in regard to
some of the claims that people in alcohol industry have made.
For example, the director of product development at
Anheuser-Busch, in commenting on Bacardi Silver, said this:
``This beauty of this category is that it brings in new
drinkers, people who really don't like the taste of beer.
Industry trade reporters call these beverages teeny-bopper
sweet drinks,'' so they appeal heavily to underage drinkers.
A recent Monitoring the Future survey indicates that 50
percent of high school seniors have consumed Alco-Pops, which
taste like soda pop, which, again, appeals to youth to drink.
Malibu Rum has U-Shaggy to promote its products. Shaggy won two
Teen Choice awards in 2001 and recently Anheuser-Busch assigned
Sergio Garcia, age 22, to a Michelob sponsorship agreement, and
the Beer Institute marketing advertising code stipulates models
and actors used in ads should be a minimum of 25 years old and
on and on and on.
Beer advertisement providing steady exposure to talking
animals, pop culture, immature humor, encourages underage
drinking.
So anyway, these are some of the concerns I have and I want
to thank you witnesses for being here today. I look forward to
hearing your thoughts and suggestions of how we can strengthen
underage drinking prevention programs and again, Mr. Chairman,
appreciate your having this hearing.
Chairman Castle. Thank you, Mr. Osborne.
We will now turn to our witnesses, and we have a very
distinguished panel of witnesses before us today. I will go
through all the introductions and then we will go through the
format, how we will proceed.
The first speaker will be the Honorable Susan Molinari, who
is currently the chairman of the Century Council, a not-for-
profit organization that seeks to fight drunk driving and
underage drinking. She is also president and CEO of the
Washington Group. Previously Congresswoman Molinari represented
a congressional district in New York from 1990 to 1997, where
she was elected to the Republican majority leadership. She is
the chair of the Ripon Educational Fund and serves as a
national spokesperson for Americans for Consumer Education and
Competition, and she was a very successful Member of Congress
when she was here, and we welcome her back.
All of you will have 5 minutes to speak. Former Members of
Congress only get 1 minute.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Castle. So she will be a little bit limited in
what she says.
And I understand that Mr. Osborne would like to introduce
the next witness on our panel today, and I yield to him for
that purpose.
Mr. Osborne. Well, it's my pleasure to introduce Bob
Newton. I met Bob 36 years ago. He was at Cerritos Junior
College in California, played a little football there, came to
the University of Nebraska in 1969 and played there in 1969-70
and was an All-American player at Nebraska, went on to play
with the Chicago Bears from 1971 through 1976, Seattle Seahawks
from 1977 to 1982--I may have those years off a little bit, but
he spent 11 years in pro football.
In 1983 he came back to University of Nebraska and
eventually got a master's degree, went through some procedures
he may tell you about, and eventually became a drug and alcohol
counselor, worked for Lincoln Council on Alcohol and Drugs,
later went to Seattle, worked as a drug counselor out there,
worked with the Seahawks in a capacity as a drug and alcohol
counselor, and now he works with Betty Ford as the director of
business development. And he also is a certified drug and
alcohol counselor, does a lot of speaking around the country,
and he knows this issue inside and out, so I am glad that he
could be here today.
Chairman Castle. Thank you, Mr. Osborne, and nice to have
you here, Mr. Newton.
Our next witness is Mrs. Wendy J. Hamilton. She is
currently the national president of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, where she has served since 2002. She began her efforts
with MADD after three separate drunk driving crashes occurred
within her family, and prior to her current position, Mrs.
Hamilton served MADD in several positions, including vice
president of victim issues, vice president of field issues, and
as public policy liaison.
Next will be Jacqueline Hackett, who has already been
mentioned. Ms. Hackett is currently a senior at Souderton Area
High School in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where she participates
in various activities--quite a few activities, as a matter of
fact. She serves on the student leadership council for Students
Against Destructive Decisions. Additionally, she is a DARE role
model as well as a member of the Just Say No Traveling Show.
Ms. Hackett has been recognized in Who's Who Among American
High School Seniors and is a member of the National Honor Roll
and the National Honor Society.
Our final witness will be Mrs. Francine Katz. Mrs. Katz is
the vice president of corporate communications at Anheuser-
Busch Companies, Incorporated. Her duties include overseeing
the departments responsible for Anheuser-Busch's alcohol
awareness and education programs for both underage and adult
audiences as well as the company's archives and library.
Prior to joining Anheuser-Busch Mrs. Katz practiced law for
5 years in St. Louis, where she specialized in general
corporate law. She is a member of various boards, including St.
Louis University, the Mary Institute and County Day School, and
the St. Louis Children's Hospital Developmental Board.
Let me just say before the witnesses begin to testify that
the whole panel will testify and then we will have questions
back and forth from the members up here. It is a 5-minute limit
in both instances.
Let me apologize. As some of you may know, we all serve on
more than one Committee and I am serving on the Financial
Services Committee and Mr. Alan Greenspan is testifying there,
and it is time for me to ask him questions, and try to
straighten out our economy, so I am going to run over there for
awhile, and turn this over to Mr. Osborne as we proceed with
our witnesses.
With that, we will turn to Susan Molinari.
STATEMENT OF HON. SUSAN MOLINARI, CHAIRMAN, THE CENTURY
COUNCIL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Ms. Molinari. Thank you very much, Chairman Castle and
other members of this Committee. It is truly a pleasure for me
to be here. I will be on the other side of the podium than when
Congressman Boehner--Chairman Boehner and I served many years
together on this Committee, and it truly is an honor to be back
here.
May I say that I would not be surprised to come back here
in a few short years and find Ms. Hackett sitting on the other
side of this dais herself, based on the background that she has
accrued for herself at such a young age.
I am delighted to be here today as a former Member of
Congress, but very important to today's mission as chairman of
the Century Council. The Century Council is an independent,
national, not-for-profit organization with two missions--
fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. It is
headquartered here in Washington, D.C. and is funded by
America's leading distillers. Our council's mission is to
promote responsible decisionmaking regarding drinking or not
drinking of beverage alcohol and to discourage all forms of
irresponsible consumption through education, communications,
working with law enforcement, and in conjunction with other
program partners.
Now since 1933 the distilled spirits industry has initiated
and supported programs designed to fight alcohol abuse. In the
testimony I have submitted I have provided you examples of
those efforts in greater detail.
Today, let me talk about the Century Council, which was
formed in 1991 and is funded by Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine,
North America, Bacardi USA, Brown Forman, DIAGEO, Future
Brands, LLC, and Pernod Ricard USA. They have invested together
more than $130-140 million to support the council's efforts to
develop and implement alcohol education and prevention
programs.
We posted over 2000 events to launch our programs. Just
launching our programs in communities across the nation,
bringing them to millions of parents, kids, educators, law
enforcement officials, and traffic safety professionals.
We are joined and work in conjunction with an independent
advisory board of distinguished leaders in business,
government, education, medicine and all other relevant
disciplines to assist the counsel in development of its
programs and its policies.
Now the council's education efforts start in middle school
and continue on through college--programs such as the Ready or
Not program, which is a video-based program currently being
utilized in boys' and girls' clubs across the country.
The Brandon Silveria Make the Right Choice is a speaking
tour by a young man who was involved in an alcohol-related
crash in high school. Parents, You're Not Done Yet is a
brochure that encourages parents to talk with their kids before
they leave for college about the dangers of underage drinking,
very much to your point, Congressman Osborne.
Cops in Shops is a cooperative effort involving local
retailers such as the ones Congresswoman Woolsey talked about
and law enforcement designed to deter minors from attempting to
purchase alcohol illegally and adults who purchase alcohol for
minors.
Our latest, Alcohol 101 Plus, is an innovative CD-ROM
program aimed at helping students make safe and responsible
decisions about alcohol on college campuses.
In fact, many Members of Congress have participated in, I
think close to 200 now, and have shared these programs with
their constituents, such as the Brandon program, which was a
program that I used in my high schools when I was a Member of
Congress and was my first introduction to the council's good
work.
Now important progress has been made in reducing underage
drinking over the past few decades. Implementation of effective
programs has resulted in fewer alcohol-related deaths and
injuries among youth, but clearly, and we are grateful for your
presence here today because so much more needs to be done.
The 2003 Monitoring the Future study revealed that alcohol
consumption was relatively unchanged in 2003, unfortunately,
after declining in 2002. Despite the lack of significant
decrease in consumption, high school seniors who reported daily
drinking in the past months declined 32 percent
proportionately, but despite this notable progress, as you
stated very correctly, Congressman Osborne, underage drinking
levels, particularly in a targeted segment, remains
unacceptably high.
Research conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited and
Wirthlin Worldwide for the Century Council revealed additional
alarming facts about underage drinking and I think several of
you mentioned it in your opening statements today. Sixty-five
percent of youth who drink reported obtaining alcohol from
family and friends. A separate survey conducted by Wirthlin
revealed that a majority of parents believe family and friends
are also the leading source of alcohol for today's youth.
Although this number is still unacceptable, it is important
to note that this research indicates only 7 percent of youth
who drink report obtaining alcohol from a store, bar or club
that does not check ID. Other sources include fake IDs and
asking strangers outside the store to help them obtain alcohol.
Now encouragingly but indicates that we have a long way to
go, research also shows that parents are the most influential
factor in a child's decision not to drink. According to recent
data such as the 2002 Roper Youth Report, 71 percent of youth
identify their parents with having the most influence on their
decisions as to whether to drink alcohol or not. Friends and
peers are a distant second. Now these reports confirm the
council's longstanding belief that parents are keys to keeping
alcohol out of the hands of kids, which is why so many of our
programs are directed toward the parents of young people.
Working together, the council believes underage drinking
programs should be data-driven, developed by professionals in
the field, and why we distribute it to parents, educators and
youths. We are therefore constantly conducting research and
evaluation to develop our programs and determine its
effectiveness.
Our education efforts are developed by recognized
professionals in the education field, reviewed by practitioners
and an evaluation is currently built into every program that we
implement.
For instance, our Cops and Shops program, implemented in 42
states around the nation, was identified by the Department of
Justice publication as a promising practice for reducing
attempts for purchase of underage youth. The evaluation found
that following the program launch students were more inclined
to believe that someone under 21 would be caught and arrested
for illegally purchasing beverage alcohol.
Now based on findings, Congressman Osborne, that you
referred to, which breaks all of our hearts, education now
needs to begin as early as 10-years-old. Our newest education
program that will be released later this year focuses on middle
school students, their parents and educators. Let me assure you
that in going to middle schools and developing his agenda, we
are working with various government agencies including the
United States Department of Education, NIAAA, SAMHSA and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We are also working with educational groups like the
American School Counselors Association, the National Secondary
School Principals Association, the National Middle Schools
Association, and the National Latino Children's Institute. We
look forward to coming back maybe individually in your office
sharing the depth and breadth of these programs with you.
Now as I conclude my remarks, I would like to ask you to
watch a very brief PowerPoint presentation we prepared that
gives an overview of some of our programs. While they are going
on on the screen, let me just conclude that we all believe that
underage drinking is an issue that requires a sustained
response using effective strategies and tactics.
America's leading distillers have from the beginning
recognized this fact and have proactively contributed to this
activity by contributing to the Century Council through their
efforts on the Distilled Spirits Council and their own
individual company efforts.
As the Committee attempts to develop strategies to reduce
and prevent underage drinking, I thought it important to convey
to you what we have done in the past, what we are currently
doing and what we will continue to do in the future to ensure
that underage drinking is not tolerated.
The Century Council looks forward to working with you, and
let me conclude, Chairman, as a member of the Century Council
but particularly as a mother of a five and a 7-year old, in
these crazy days of much demands on all of your schedule, to
all of you who are sitting here today, we are very grateful for
your taking a national focus on this problem. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Molinari follows:]
Statement of Hon. Susan Molinari, Chairman, The Century Council
Good morning Chairman Castle and other distinguished members of
this Committee. My name is Susan Molinari and I am the Chairman of The
Century Council. I am pleased to present testimony to the Committee on
this important issue. As a former Member of Congress, it's an honor to
be back albeit on the other side of the table.
The Century Council is an independent, national not-for-profit
organization dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., and funded by America's leading
distillers, the Council's mission is to promote responsible decision-
making regarding drinking, or not drinking, of beverage alcohol and to
discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education,
communications, law enforcement and other programs.
Since 1933, the distilled spirits industry has initiated and
supported programs designed to fight alcohol abuse. These programs have
spanned throughout the decades. For example, in the 1960s, the
distilled spirits industry funded the development of alcohol education
sourcebooks, including Alcohol Education for Classroom and Community
for high school and college teachers. Distillers also provided a series
of grants to the National Education Association to develop Learning
About Alcohol, a popular and widely used text.
In the 1970s, the distillers partnered with the National Football
League (NFL) and the Education Commission of the States for several
consecutive seasons to co-sponsor national TV and radio messages
helping parents educate young people about alcohol. In the 1980s,
distillers also partnered with the NFL and the Education Commission of
the States to develop Straight Talk About Alcohol, a booklet designed
to help parents and teenagers improve their communications on the
subject of alcohol. In that decade, distillers also were active
sponsors of SADD, Students Against Driving Drunk, and also co-sponsored
with DOT the ``Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk'' campaign.
Formed in 1991, The Council's funding companies (Allied Domecq
Spirits & Wine North America, Bacardi USA. Inc., Brown-Forman, DIAGEO,
Future Brands LLC, and Pernod Ricard USA) have invested more than $130
million to support the Council's efforts to develop and implement
alcohol education and prevention programs. To date, we have hosted
nearly 2,000 events to launch our programs in communities across the
nation bringing them to millions of parents, kids, educators, law
enforcement officials and traffic safety professionals.
An independent Advisory Board comprised of distinguished leaders in
business, government, education, medicine and other relevant
disciplines assists the Council in its' development of programs and
policies. Additionally, the Council maintains advisory panels in the
areas of education and traffic safety that provide related guidance.
The Council's education efforts start in middle school and continue
through college. Programs such as Ready or Not, a video-based program
utilized in Boys and Girls clubs across the country; Brandon
Silveria's, Make the Right Choice, a speaking tour by a young man who
was involved in an alcohol-related crash in high school; Parents You're
Not Done Yet, a brochure that encourages parents to talk with their
kids before they leave for college about the dangers of underage
drinking; Cops in Shops a cooperative effort involving local retailers
and law enforcement designed to deter minors from attempting to
purchase alcohol illegally and adults who purchase alcohol for minors;
and Alcohol 101 Plus, an innovative, interactive CD-ROM program aimed
at helping students make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol
on college campuses are widely used across the country. Other programs
such as SPEAK-UP (a joint effort with the National Collegiate Athletic
Association), and Promising Practices (a joint effort with George Mason
University) and are also in use on our nation's college campuses. In
fact, many Members of Congress have participated in and shared these
programs with their constituents, such as our Brandon program which is
how I was first introduced to The Century Council's good work as a
Member of Congress.
Underage drinking is an issue where we must work together.
Important progress has been made in reducing underage drinking over the
past few decades. The implementation of effective programs has resulted
in fewer alcohol-related deaths and injuries among youth but more can
be done.
The 2003 Monitoring the Future Study revealed that alcohol
consumption was relatively unchanged in 2003, after declining in 2002.
Despite the lack of significant decrease in consumption, high school
seniors who reported daily drinking in the past month declined 32%
proportionally from 70% in 1982 to 48% in 2003. Despite this notable
progress, underage drinking levels remain unacceptably high.
Research conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited and Wirthlin
Worldwide for The Century Council revealed additional alarming facts
about underage drinking in America today: 65 percent of youth who drink
report obtaining alcohol from family and friends. A separate survey
conducted by Wirthlin revealed a majority of parents believe family and
friends are also the leading source of alcohol for today's youth as
well.
Although still unacceptable, it is important to note that this
research indicates only 7 percent of youth who drink report obtaining
alcohol from a store, bar or club that does not check identification.
Other sources include fake IDs and asking strangers to buy alcohol.
Research also shows parents are the most influential factor in a
child's decision not to drink. According to the last several Roper
polls, such as the 2002 Roper Youth Report, 71% of youth identify their
parents as having the most influence on their decision whether to drink
alcohol or not. Friends and peers are a distant second. These reports
confirm The Council's longstanding belief in the important role that
parents play in keeping alcohol out of the hands of kids.
The Century Council also believes collective action can have a
greater impact than individual efforts. We involve all sectors of the
community including beverage alcohol wholesalers and retailers, law
enforcement, public officials, educators, insurers, health care
professionals and private citizen organizations in the fight against
drunk driving and underage drinking.
Working together, the Council also believes underage drinking
programs should be data-driven, developed by professionals in the field
and widely distributed to parents, educators, and youth. We therefore,
constantly conduct research to assist us in developing new programs and
to gauge the effectiveness of our efforts.
While many organizations simply identify the problem, identifying
the problem is not enough. The Council's education efforts are
developed by recognized professionals in the field, reviewed by
practitioners, and evaluation is currently built into every program.
For instance, our Cops in Shops program, implemented in 42 states
around nation, was identified in a Department of Justice publication as
a promising practice for reducing attempts to purchase by an underage
youth. The evaluation found that following the program launch, students
were more inclined to believe that someone under 21 would be caught and
arrested for illegally purchasing beverage alcohol.
Alcohol 101 is another example. Requested by more than 1500 college
campuses throughout the nation and winner in two categories of the
prestigious FREDDIE Awards, Alcohol 101 was recently highlighted in the
National Academy of Sciences report as being ``independently evaluated
with purposeful sampling.'' The independent evaluation found that the
Alcohol 101 CD generates a significant increase in individuals' intent
to better regulate their future behavior.
The Council updated and released the successful Alcohol 101 last
year in the form of Alcohol 101 Plus an innovative, interactive CD-ROM
program aimed at helping students make safe and responsible decisions
about alcohol on college campuses. Set on a ``virtual campus,'' Alcohol
101 Plus combines the core elements of the Alcohol 101 program, with
new content targeted to at-risk populations--first year students,
Greeks, student-athletes, and judicial policy offenders.
The program's realistic scenarios highlight the specific issues,
challenges, and decisions these groups face when it comes to alcohol in
a college setting and provides students and educators with the
opportunity for reflection and discussion. A special edition for high
school students is also available to educators nationwide.
All of the Council's programs highlight the need for parents to be
involved in the education of today's youth. The Council routinely
commissions related research, highlighting issues such as how underage
youth access alcohol and when and where alcohol education should be
conducted. It is also important to note that many of the Council's
programs are available in Spanish and our Ready or Not program has a
Native American version.
One of the Council's strengths is building effective coalitions for
change. Our educational programs have been developed and distributed in
cooperation with organizations such as the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the U.S. Department of Education
and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Based on research that says that alcohol education should begin as
early as the age of 10, our newest educational program will be released
later this year and focuses on middle school students, their parents
and educators. In developing this effort, we are working with various
government agencies including the U.S. Department of Education, NIAAA,
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We are also working with educational groups such as the American
School Counselor Association, the National Secondary School Principals
Association, the National Middle School Association, and the National
Latino Children's Institute. We look forward to sharing these program
materials with you later this year.
Underage drinking is an issue that requires a sustained response
using effective strategies and tactics. America's leading distillers
have, from the beginning, recognized this fact and have proactively
contributed to reducing this activity through The Century Council, The
Distilled Spirits Council and their own individual company efforts. As
the Committee attempts to develop strategies to reduce and prevent
underage drinking, I thought it important to convey to you what we have
done in the past, are currently doing and will continue to do in the
future to ensure that underage drinking is not tolerated.
I have also enclosed an overview of the Council that provides some
background information. The Century Council looks forward to working
with you to reduce underage drinking. Once again, thank you for your
good work and for the opportunity to testify today.
______
[Attachments to Ms. Molinari's statement follow:]
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------
Mr. Osborne. [presiding] Thank you very much.
I would like to remind the witnesses that they have 5
minutes and you have a green light, a yellow light comes on
when you have 1 minute left, and the red light is at 5 minutes,
so we would appreciate it if you would try to adhere to those
timelines. Bob.
STATEMENT OF ROBERT L. NEWTON, DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT,
BETTY FORD CENTER, RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA
Mr. Newton. I guess it's Mr. Vice Chairman and Subcommittee
members, good morning. I have a hard time not calling you
``Coach,'' so excuse me. For 36 years I have been calling you
that. I am very appreciative of that.
I am very grateful to be here this morning and on behalf of
the Betty Ford Center and the Partnership for Recovery. As
Coach Osborne was sharing some of my background, I did play in
the NFL for 11 years for the Bears and the Seahawks, and after
a distinguished college career at the University of Nebraska. I
was released from the Seahawks in September, 1982, excuse me.
In July 1983 I was admitted to an alcoholism/drug treatment
center in Monroe, Washington, diagnosed as a late stage
alcoholic/drug addict. That first week I was in that treatment
center at age 33, I was extremely in shock. One of the aspects
that I learned in that treatment center is at age 13 is when I
had my first beer. It was a Saturday afternoon, and my best
friend offered it to me that he had stolen from his parents. I
didn't know how to get out of that situation, and that was the
first instance that I felt peer pressure.
I had a few more beers that day, and I ended up getting
very sick and it was a very toxic chemical to my body, but I
failed to heed that warning. I went into high school and I
continued to drink heavily with my friends, and I was raised
with a lot of mixed messages.
My father had a severe problem with alcohol, as did most of
my uncles on my mother's and father's side. Alcoholism was very
prevalent in my family. All the men drink. It was a mixed
message to me. I thought drinking alcohol, especially beer, had
something to do with being a man and being mature.
I continued this behavior and got my first DUI at age 17. I
ended up getting more, several DUIs. I am very grateful today
that I didn't kill somebody under the influence of alcohol.
Also when I was in that treatment center, I became aware of
how ignorant our society is about alcohol problems and
alcoholism. I kind of made a commitment that one of these
days--I was in treatment--that I was going to try to help
educate people about alcohol problems and alcoholism and drug
addiction.
I became a certified counselor in 1988 and I started
working in schools. I went to many schools and gave many
presentations and seminars, trying to build awareness about
alcohol and other drugs. I heard a lot of statistics this
morning and they were very, very well presented. But one of the
ones I came across, preparing for this, is that 38 percent of
eighth grade female girls who attempted suicide were heavy
drinkers of alcohol, versus 11 percent of eighth grade girls
who did not drink alcohol. I think it is very obvious young
people do not understand that alcohol is a very powerful
depressant on the nervous system and a very powerful drug.
A lot of times I hear that parents are responsible. We've
got 6 million kids living with an impaired parent that has a
problem with alcohol or drug addiction. There's no way they are
going to get an understanding, a clear message that is going to
prevent them from using.
One of the reasons that I used alcohol is to help me with
the emotional turmoil I was having with my father because of
his drinking.
A lot of you said, well, Bob, did alcohol hurt you? I mean,
you went on and played for Nebraska, and you played in the NFL.
I never reached my potential as a football player. Alcohol
caused major negative legal consequences in my life, with DUIs.
It was a major contributor to a divorce, and financial ruin. So
it did impair my life, even though I played football for a long
time.
As a student assistance program counselor for a local high
school in Tacoma, Washington, I came--I was able to observe
many young kids get help with early intervention and I can't
tell you--a lot of these kids were coming from families that
had alcohol problems and they had a chance to get counseling
and treatment.
A lot of these kids, as Coach Osborne mentioned, were
addicted already at 15 or 16 years old, and I have seen kids as
young as 12 having a severe problem with addiction with alcohol
and other drugs. I just feel our society is continuing to send
a mixed message to children, to young people. I don't like that
alcohol and sports are interrelated in every sporting event. I
think that is the wrong message for young people. I never saw
alcohol improve an athlete's career. I did see alcohol ruin
many athletes' careers.
To sum up, what would I suggest to Congress, what we can
do? You know, inaction is not working. Not taking action is
hurting us. We need to--I am in full support of the NAS
recommendations, especially that we have a Federal strategy for
prevention and intervention to help young people and an excise
tax to alcohol to help the media campaign to educate our
society, especially adults, because as Wendy said, a lot of the
alcohol is accessed through parents and adults, and so they
need as much education as our adolescents.
I thank you for having me here today. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Newton follows:]
Statement of Robert L. Newton, Director, Business Development, Betty
Ford Center, Rancho Mirage, California
The Betty Ford Center is a non-profit licensed addiction hospital
in Rancho Mirage, California. Mrs. Ford opened the facility in October
1982 to help those suffering from alcoholism and other drug addiction
and their families. The center has helped over 61,000 people since its
opening. Levels of care provided at the Betty Ford center include:
inpatient care, residential day treatment, and intensive outpatient
services. We have specialty programs including our licensed
professional program, family and children's programs.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) reports that more than 6 million children live with at least
one parent who abuses or is dependent on alcohol or an illicit drug.
The Betty Ford Center's Children's Program attempts to help children
whose parents have struggled with addiction by providing a program
where they can learn problem-solving, coping and self-care strategies.
The Betty Ford Center is a member of the Partnership for Recovery
(PFR), a public policy coalition comprised of nine of the nation's
leading alcohol and drug addiction treatment providers and the field's
trade association, the National Association of Addiction Treatment
Providers (NAATP). Members include: the Betty Ford Center, Bradford
Health Systems, Caron Foundation, Cumberland Heights, Father Martin's
Ashley, Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Hazelden Foundation, NAATP,
Sierra Tucson, and Valley Hope Association. The PFR was formed in 1997
because the Centers share a common philosophy in the treatment and care
of individuals and their families suffering from chemical dependency
and share a common interest in shaping policy that affects those in or
seeking recovery. The treatment providers offer a continuum of care
including traditional and intensive outpatient, residential inpatient,
day or partial care and sub-acute detoxification. Each PFR facility
also utilizes American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Patient
Placement criteria to determine admission, length of stay and discharge
for all levels of care.
BACKGROUND
I have worked in the chemical dependency field since 1986 as a
counselor, educator, and administrator. I have been a CADC [certified
alcohol drug counselor] since 1988. I currently work at the Betty ford
center as a business development associate and counselor. I've also
worked in many school systems presenting numerous lectures and seminars
regarding prevention and intervention to substance use for students,
teachers, administrators and coaches. Some of my work with youth
included SAP [Student Assistance Program] counseling for a high school
in Tacoma, WA. where I evaluated adolescents for chemical use, provided
individual counseling and family education. This work also included
training teachers, administrators and coaches about signs and symptoms
of chemical use problems in the school. The SAP experience was
extremely insightful and a valuable experience. I was able to provide
early intervention for numerous young people experiencing alcohol and
other drug abuse and/or addiction. This early intervention gave the
young person an opportunity to seek counseling and/or treatment. I
observed many young people turn their lives around from the SAP
process. I have great concern that the Student Assistance Program is
diminishing throughout the country because of budget woes. Many young
people will suffer from not having an SAP on every high school and
middle school campus.
The Seattle Seahawks football team also utilized my services as a
consultant regarding their alcohol/drug programs. I provided
evaluations, individual counseling and trainings for players and staff
and treatment recommendations. My past work also included evaluation
specialist and educator for the University of Nebraska athletic
department.
Prior to my work in the chemical dependency field I played in the
National Football League for eleven years as an offensive lineman with
the Chicago Bears [1971-1975] and Seattle Seahawks [1976-1981]. I was a
team member on the first national Championship college football team
for the University of Nebraska in 1970. I was also honored as a
consensus All-American offensive tackle in 1970.
My NFL career ended in 1982 because of my alcoholism and other drug
dependencies. I entered alcoholism treatment in July 1983 and I'm very
grateful that I have been clean and sober since July 12, 1983. One of
the aspects I learned about my alcoholism while I was in treatment is
the mixed messages I received as a young teenager about alcohol use. I
had my first drink of alcohol [beer] at age 13 as a result of peer
pressure from one of my friends. I had a few other beers that afternoon
and became very sick. But I did not heed this warning and continued to
drink through high school because I felt drinking alcohol had something
to do with being mature and being a man. Again, I had received
confusing messages about alcohol from my friends and alcohol
advertisements and did not have the leadership at home from my family
because my dad had a severe problem with alcohol. Although I had a
successful college football career and played a long time in the NFL, I
never played up to my potential and alcohol use caused me to be cut
from the Seahawks. Alcohol caused major legal problems in my life
regarding DUI'S. I had my first DUI at age seventeen. Alcohol was a big
factor in my divorce and severely impaired my physical and mental
health.
THE SCOPE OF THE UNDERAGE DRINKING PROBLEM
Today I feel our young people are still receiving mix messages
regarding alcohol. Underage drinking is a serious widespread problem in
America that deserves immediate Congressional action. Approximately
10.7 million underage Americans, 28.8 % of the 12 to 20 age group,
reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to being surveyed by the
2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and 7.2 million of those
teens are classified as binge drinkers.\1\ Furthermore, underage
drinkers are responsible for almost 20% of all alcohol consumed in the
United States, with $22.5 billion spent on alcohol in 1999.\2\
Teens and adults incorrectly view alcohol as less harmful than
other drugs and, while many Americans view teen drinking as a right of
passage, we cannot ignore the serious long and short-term consequences
associated with illegal underage drinking.
UNDERAGE DRINKING AND ILLICIT DRUG USE ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO YOUTH
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SUICIDE
As I can tell you first hand, underage drinking and alcohol abuse
can result in serious negative consequences in the lives of our
nation's youth. Early experimentation with alcohol puts teens at a
greater risk for developing a problem with alcohol and/or substance
abuse. A study released just last month found that the basis for adult
substance abuse has been generally established for a person by the time
he or she finishes high school.\3\ Youth who begin drinking before age
15 are four times likelier to develop alcohol dependence than those who
begin drinking at age 21.\4\ Furthermore, alcohol use strongly
associates with illicit drug use and 30.7% of heavy drinkers aged 12
and older concurrently use illicit drugs.\5\ Thus, the Partnership for
Recovery and the Betty Ford Center applaud the Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP)'s new ad campaign that debuted during the Super
Bowl that links youth alcohol consumption with substance abuse. ONDCP
reports that this ad ranked as the number one Super Bowl ad among
viewers aged 17 and under and we hope that additional ads will be
forthcoming.
Underage drinking can damage developing brains and put our children
at higher risk for sexual assault and suicide. For example, one study
found that 37% of eighth grade females who drank heavily reported
attempting suicide, compared with 11% who did not drink. NIAAA reports
that ``underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than
all illegal drugs combined\6\ and in 2002, 24% of drivers ages15 to 20
years old who were killed in crashes were intoxicated.\7\ We need to
tackle this problem before it destroys or ends the lives of any more
American children.
THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF UNDERAGE DRINKING
The economic consequences associated with underage drinking are
staggering. The Institute of Medicine and National Research Council
(IOM/NRC) report released last September found that underage drinking
costs the nation an estimated $53 billion annually in losses stemming
from traffic fatalities, violent crime, and other behaviors that
threaten the well-being of America's youth.\8\ If this cost were shared
equally by each congressional district, the amount would approximately
total more than $120 million per district.\9\
RECOMMENDATIONS
Congress has the opportunity to help curtail underage drinking--a
problem that will not go away on its own. The IOM/NRC report made
several recommendations on necessary steps to reduce underage drinking.
The Betty Ford Center and the PFR urge Congress to act as swiftly as
possible to enact these recommendations. While I realize that not all
of the recommendations are within the purview of this Committee, I
believe they deserve Congressional attention.
REFORM ADVERTISING
Alcohol companies, advertising companies, and commercial
media should refrain from marketing practices (including product
design, advertising, and promotional techniques) that have substantial
underage appeal and should take reasonable precautions in the time,
place, and manner of placement and promotion to reduce youthful
exposure to other alcohol advertising and marketing activity
The alcohol industry trade associations, as well as
individual companies, should strengthen their advertising codes to
preclude placement of commercial messages in venues where a significant
proportion of the expected audience is underage, to prohibit the use of
commercial messages that have substantial underage appeal, and to
establish independent external review boards to investigate complaints
and enforce the codes
Congress should appropriate the necessary funding for the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to monitor underage
exposure to alcohol advertising on a continuing basis and to report
periodically to Congress and the public. The report should include
information on the underage percentage of the exposed audience and
estimated number of underage viewers of print and broadcasting alcohol
advertising in national markets and, for television and radio
broadcasting, in a selection of large local or regional markets
FUND HHS UNDERAGE DRINKING MEDIA CAMPAIGN
The federal government should fund and actively support
the development of a national media effort, as a major component of an
adult-oriented campaign to reduce underage drinking
Intensive research and development for a youth-focused
national media campaign relating to underage drinking should be
initiated. If this work yields promising results, the inclusion of a
youth-focused campaign in the strategy should be reconsidered
DEVELOP A FEDERAL STRATEGY TO PREVENT UNDERAGE DRINKING
A federal interagency coordinating committee on
prevention of underage drinking should be established, chaired by the
secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The annual report of the secretary of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services on underage drinking should include key
indicators of underage drinking
The Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey and the National
Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) should be revised to
elicit more precise information on the quantity of alcohol consumed and
to ascertain brand preferences of underage drinkers
RAISE ALCOHOL EXCISE TAXES
Congress and state legislatures should raise excise taxes
to reduce underage consumption and to raise additional revenues for
this purpose. Top priority should be given to raising beer taxes, and
excise tax rates for all alcoholic beverages should be indexed to the
consumer price index so that they keep pace with inflation without the
necessity of further legislative action
SUPPORT COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION EFFORTS
Community leaders should assess the underage drinking
problem in their communities and consider effective approaches--such as
community organizing, coalition building, and the strategic use of the
mass media--to reduce drinking among underage youth
Public and private funders should support community
mobilization to reduce underage drinking. Federal funding for reducing
and preventing underage drinking should be available under a national
program dedicated to community-level approaches to reducing underage
drinking, similar to the Drug Free Communities Act, which supports
communities in addressing substance abuse with targeted, evidence-based
prevention strategies
STRENGTHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS
States should strengthen their compliance check programs
in retail outlets, using media campaigns and license revocation to
increase deterrence
States and localities should implement enforcement
programs to deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors
States should facilitate enforcement of zero tolerance
laws in order to increase their deterrent effect
Local police, working with community leaders, should
adopt and announce policies for detecting and terminating underage
drinking parties
I understand that Representatives Frank Wolf (R-VA), Lucille
Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and Zach Wamp (R-TN) intend to introduce
legislation containing a Office of Public Health and Science and U.S.
Surgeon General funded media campaign aimed at reducing underage
drinking. From my own experience, I know that such a campaign would be
invaluable for the millions of American youth who are bombarded with
mixed messages about drinking.
On behalf of the Betty Ford Center and the Partnership for
Recovery, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on such an
important issue affecting America's youth. We look forward continuing
to work with Congress to reduce and prevent underage drinking. Thank
you.
\1\ Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration. (2003). 2002 National Survey on
Drug Use and Health.
\2\ Susan E. Foster, et al, ``Alcohol Consumption and Expenditures for
Underage Drinking and Adult Excessive Drinking,'' Journal of
the American Medical Association. (February 2003): 289:989-995.
\3\ Alicia Merline, et al, ``Substance Use Among Adults 35 Years of
Age: Prevalence, Adulthood Predictors, and Impact of Adolescent
Substance Use,'' American Journal of Public Health. (January
2004).
\4\ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National
Institutes of Health. (1998) NIH News Release.
\5\ Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration. (2003). 2002 National Survey on
Drug Use and Health.
\6\ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2003) Alcohol
Alert,.
\7\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U. S Department of
Transportation. Traffic Safety Facts 2002: Young Drivers.
(2003)
\8\ Richard Bonnie, et al. ``Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective
Responsibility'' (September 2003). National Research Council &
Institute of Medicine.
\9\ David Levy, et al, (1999) ``Costs of Underage Drinking'' U.S.
Department of Justice.
______
Mr. Osborne. Thanks, Bob. Ms. Hamilton.
STATEMENT OF WENDY J. HAMILTON, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, MOTHERS
AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING
Mrs. Hamilton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman
Osborne, and Ranking Member Woolsey for holding this important
hearing today. My name is Wendy Hamilton. I am the National
President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. MADD's mission is
to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent
crime, and prevent underage drinking. I am honored to be here
testifying on this critical public health issue. Your
leadership is going to be very important in identifying
systemic changes that will keep our children safe.
This is a historic time. With the recent release of the
National Academy of Sciences report, Congress is developing a
strategy to prevent underage drinking. The NAS and the nation's
top public health researchers examined the problem and my
comments today will focus on NAS's science-based solutions to
save lives.
Alcohol is the illegal drug of choice for America's youth,
with 10.1 million underage drinkers in this nation. Alcohol is
a major factor in the three leading causes of death of
America's teens. Forty-nine percent of high school seniors
reported drinking in the last 30 days, more than those using
marijuana or tobacco combined, and for over a decade underage
drinking rates have flatlined.
I have submitted for the record a sheet from Monitoring the
Future data, which shows that since 1991 this number has not
moved. In over 10 years it has not moved.
Teens have easy access to alcohol. They are saturated with
irresponsible alcohol ads. Underage drinking laws are not well-
enforced and communities often look the other way. The
consequences of underage drinking are staggering. Research
demonstrates that the younger children begin to drink alcohol,
the more likely they are to become alcohol dependent or drive
drunk later in life.
Young drivers constitute 13 percent of the alcohol-involved
drivers in fatal crashes and individuals under 21 commit over a
third of all rapes, robberies and assaults. Half of this is
alcohol-related.
Neuroscience documents that the adolescent brain develops
into the early 20's and youth alcohol use stunts physical
development and functioning of the brain. In addition to the
human toll, the NAS concluded that the $53 billion price tag
appears to be an underestimate of the social costs of underage
drinking.
In fiscal 2000 the Nation spent approximately $1.8 billion
on preventing illicit drug use, but only $71.1 million on
underage drinking prevention. A 2001 GAO report confirmed that
the government's approach is disjointed and that only 7 percent
of total Federal funds available for alcohol and other drug
prevention focused on underage drinking.
MADD supports NAS Recommendation 12-1 for a Federal
interagency coordinating committee to align Federal efforts to
prevent underage drinking, and the Department of Education must
be a key player. NAS reports that education-oriented
interventions should be implemented within a comprehensive
approach, and MADD supports NAS Recommendation 6-1, which
encourages the government to develop a national media campaign
to reduce underage drinking that targets adults. Most adults
including parents underestimate the dangers of underage
drinking and even facilitate children's drinking by allowing
access to alcohol.
This media campaign is necessary to elevate and frame this
important issue. Youth who drink remember 10 percent less of
what they have learned than those who don't drink. Higher
absenteeism rates and lower GPAs are associated with great
alcohol use.
The Safe and Drug Free Schools program is the Federal
Government's primary vehicle for reducing drug, alcohol,
tobacco use and violence. Currently the state grants program
has lower funding levels than 1991. The administrations's
fiscal year 2005 request contains $441 million for state
grants, $28 million less than 2003. The 2005 budget request
proposes a $30 million slash in alcohol prevention programming,
cutting the only K through 12 money within Safe and Drug Free
Schools that targets alcohol prevention.
Making underage drinking prevention programs optional for
schools is a major flaw in our system. This Committee has the
opportunity to establish stable ongoing funding for prevention
programs committed to reducing underage drinking. MADD supports
NAS Recommendation 10-2, which urges HHS and DOE to fund only
evidence-based education interventions. MADD applauds the
rigorous standards required by SAMHSA and the DOE for programs
seeking eligibility into the national registry of effective
programs. MADD worked very hard to ensure the effectiveness of
its elementary school program, Protecting You, Protecting Me,
an alcohol use prevention curriculum for Grades 1 through 5,
was named a model program by HHS and is on the national
registry of effective programs.
Scientific evaluation of PYPM has shown that students
receiving the lessons are more knowledgeable of their brains,
more media literate, less likely to ride with a driver who has
been drinking, and less likely to drink as teens.
Continued growth of this and other proven programs is
necessary as we seek to create a culture where underage
drinking is not a rite of passage. There has to be a long-term
commitment to evaluation to ensure that tax dollars are being
spent on programs that work.
School-based programs have only modest results if not
coupled with research-based community prevention interventions.
MADD designed Youth in Action as a community initiative
where students work on projects proven to reduce underage
drinking. These teams work to change the community environment
that condones underage drinking, from the store clerk that
doesn't check IDs to the adults willing to buy beer for kids.
Young people have to learn about alcohol in the classroom
but must also be engaged in community interactions and we urge
this Committee to allow community-based programs like Youth in
Action to be accepted as model programs.
The alcohol industry has relied on unevaluated, unproven
programs to combat underage drinking. NAS reports that it is
aware of only one industry-sponsored education program that has
been independently evaluated and further research was suggested
on that particular program.
It found that the rest of the industry's material had no
backing in science.
Underage drinkers consume between $11-22 billion worth of
alcohol annually. When else would we trust a manufacturer to
convince customers not to buy their products? Yet for underage
drinking, many are willing to leave the sole education of our
children to the alcohol industry. The alcohol industry has not
created programs that stand up to scientific scrutiny.
If we don't put an end to the complacent attitude about
underage drinking we continue to put our children in harm's
way. Many would like to blame parents for this problem, but
they are just a piece of the puzzle.
Kids are growing up where alcohol is easy to get,
irresponsible advertising is everywhere, and underage drinking
laws are not well enforced. I remember, and I'm sure most of
this Committee knows, what it is like to have a child leave on
a Friday night and just pray that they get home safely. That's
what I did every Friday.
Our nation can no longer pretend that underage drinking is
a mere rite of passage and harmless. Our children deserve more,
and as a parent and an activist forever changed by the
devastation caused by a drunk driver, I urge this Committee to
embrace the role that you play in expanding youth and community
interventions through the educational system. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mrs. Hamilton follows:]
Statement of Wendy J. Hamilton, National President, Mothers Against
Drunk Driving
Good Morning. My name is Wendy Hamilton and I am the National
President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. MADD's mission is to stop
drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent
underage drinking. I am honored to be here today to testify on the
critical public health issue of illegal youth alcohol use.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Castle,
Vice Chairman Osborne, Ranking Member Woolsey and the entire
Subcommittee for holding this hearing today. Your leadership will be so
important in identifying systemic changes that will help keep our
children safe from harms caused by underage alcohol use.
Despite the fact that alcohol kills six and a half times more youth
than all other illicit drugs combined, there has been minimal attention
paid to this public health issue. However, it is a historic time in our
nation. With the release of the Congressionally mandated National
Academy of Sciences / Institute of Medicine (NAS) September 2003 report
titled ``Reducing Underage Drinking, A Collective Responsibility,''
Congress has started working toward the development of a comprehensive
strategy to prevent underage drinking. The NAS assembled the nation's
top public health researchers to examine a problem that has been
overlooked for far too long. Many of my comments today will focus on
the NAS recommendations as the report offers proven, science-based
solutions that, if implemented, will save young lives.
The public health and safety communities have been pursuing action
at the federal level for many years on this issue, but only now has the
necessary national dialogue begun. The NAS report provides a
groundbreaking opportunity to help put the nation's number one youth
drug problem on the national policy agenda and gives our nations'
leaders the impetus for concrete action. All of the NAS recommendations
should be seriously considered by Congress, the Administration, and
state and local leaders. While MADD supports the NAS report in its
entirety, my remarks will focus on areas in which this committee can
have the greatest impact. I applaud your commitment to shine the
national spotlight on this sorely neglected issue.
Overview of the Problem
Without question, alcohol is the most widely used drug among
America's youth. It is illegal for people under the age of 21 to drink
alcohol, and yet currently there are 10.1 million underage drinkers in
this nation (2002 National Household Survey On Drug Use and Health).
Alcohol is a major factor in the three leading causes of death of
America's teens: motor vehicle crashes, homicides and suicides.
Further, underage drinking does not just harm the drinker: half of the
people who die in traffic crashes involving underage drinking drivers
are people other than the drinking drivers. Underage drinking is not
harmless fun. There is no such thing as ``responsible'' underage
drinking.
Progress was made in the 1980's, most notably with the raising of
the minimum drinking age to 21--a law that has saved over 20,000 young
lives. But we still have a national mentality that accepts underage
drinking as a mere ``rite of passage,'' and underage drinking rates
remain inexcusably high and have not improved for the past decade.
According to 2002 Monitoring the Future data, nearly half (48.6
percent) of all high school seniors report drinking in the last 30
days, a much larger proportion of youth than those who report either
using marijuana (21.5 percent) or smoking (26.7 percent). The
proportion of high school seniors who reported drinking in the last 30
days was the same in 2002 as it was over a decade ago in 1993.
Additionally, 29 percent of seniors report having five or more drinks
on at least one occasion in the past two weeks, a percentage virtually
unchanged since 1993.
Teens have easy access to alcohol. They are saturated with
irresponsible alcohol ads. Underage drinking laws are not well
enforced. And, parents and communities often look the other way when
kids drink, in many cases even providing the alcohol. We've all heard
the line: ``Well, at least they're not using drugs.'' The fact is,
alcohol IS the illegal drug of choice for teens.
Consequences Associated With Youth Alcohol Use
The consequences of youth alcohol use are staggering. Research
demonstrates that the younger someone starts drinking, the more likely
they are to suffer from alcohol-related problems later in life,
including alcohol dependence and drunk driving. Children who drink
before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent
than those who delay drinking until they are 21.
More than 17,000 people are killed each year in alcohol-related
crashes and approximately one-half million others are injured. In 2000,
69 percent of youth killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes involved
underage drinking drivers. Although young drivers make up a mere 7
percent of the driving population, they constitute 13 percent of the
alcohol-involved drivers in fatal crashes.
The 1999 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Among Drivers Age
16--20 revealed that youth drove 11 million times after drinking in the
past year. Their average blood alcohol level was .10 percent, three
times the level of all drivers who drove after drinking. Forty percent
of youth who drove after drinking had at least one passenger in the
vehicle. Clearly young drivers are putting themselves and others at
risk. Society has an obligation to protect motorists from the risky
behavior of underage drinkers. Society also has an obligation to
protect kids from themselves.
Alcohol is also implicated in a large portion of deaths and
injuries caused by dangers other than drinking and driving. According
to the NAS, nearly 40 percent of youth under age 21 who died from
drowning, burns and falls tested positive for alcohol. Youth alcohol
use is also associated with violence and suicidal behavior. Individuals
under 21 commit 45 percent of rapes, 44 percent of robberies, and 37
percent of other assaults, and it is estimated that 50 percent of
violent crime is alcohol-related.
Sexual violence, as well as unplanned and unprotected sexual
activity, is another consequence of youth alcohol use. A 2002 National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) study titled ``A Call
to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges'' found
that each year more than 70,000 students aged 18-24 are victims of
alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. Additionally, the report
found that 600,000 students were assaulted by another drinking college
student annually.
Groundbreaking work in the field of neuroscience sheds further
light on the long-term consequences of youth alcohol use. We know that
the human brain continues to develop into the early 20's. As research
in this area continues to emerge, studies show that heavy alcohol use
by youth has disproportionately negative effects on the physical
development of the brain, and that alcohol use during adolescence has a
direct negative effect on brain functioning.
In addition to the human costs associated with underage drinking,
the economic cost to society is staggering. It is conservatively
estimated that underage drinking costs this nation $53 billion dollars
each year, including $19 billion from traffic crashes and $29 billion
from violent crime. The NAS points out that this estimate is ``somewhat
incomplete'' and ``does not include medical costs other than those
associated with traffic crashes'' and other potential factors
contributing to the social costs of underage drinking. The NAS
concludes that ``the $53 billion appears to be an underestimate of the
social costs of underage drinking.'' (p. 70)
As parents, as educators, as legislators, knowing that underage
alcohol use has such serious consequences, we have a responsibility to
treat this problem with the emphasis that it deserves. Underage
drinking is not a childhood rite of passage--it is a threat to our
children's health and safety, brain development, to their potential and
to their futures.
National Efforts to Combat Underage Drinking Woefully Inadequate
While illicit drugs and tobacco youth prevention have received
considerable attention and funding from the federal government,
underage drinking has consistently been ignored. NAS confirms this:
In fiscal 2000, the nation spent approximately $1.8 billion on
preventing illicit drug use (Office of National Drug Control
Policy, 2003), which was 25 times the amount, $71.1 million,
targeted at preventing underage alcohol use. (p. 14)
Not only is there minimal funding available to states and local
communities specifically targeted to reduce youth alcohol use, there is
also no coordinated national effort to reduce and prevent underage
drinking. In May 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a
report outlining federal funds aimed at preventing underage drinking.
The report provided concrete evidence that: 1) the federal government's
approach to youth alcohol use prevention is disjointed and 2) funding
for youth alcohol prevention is woefully inadequate.
GAO found that multiple federal agencies play some role in underage
drinking prevention, and that only a very small portion--7 percent--of
total funds available for alcohol and other drug use both had a
specific focus on alcohol and identified youth or youth and the broader
community as the specific target population.
Citing the GAO and additional research, the NAS report concludes
the following:
...there is no coordinated, central mechanism for disseminating
research findings or providing technical assistance to grantees
or others interested in developing strategies that target
underage drinking--the committee is not aware of any ongoing
effort to coordinate all of the various federal efforts either
within or across departments. The multitude of agencies and
initiatives involved suggests the need for an interagency body
to provide national leadership and provide a single federal
voice on the issue of underage drinking. (p. 236-237)
The NAS report also adds that ``community efforts are most likely
to succeed if they have strong and informed leadership'' and that
``resources are needed for training and leadership development for
coalition and task force members as well as key decision makers.'' (p.
237-238)
MADD strongly supports NAS recommendation 12-1 which calls for the
establishment of a federal interagency coordinating committee to better
align federal agency efforts to prevent underage drinking. The
Department of Education, working with the Department of Health and
Human Services, must be a vital player in this effort.
National Adult-Oriented Media Campaign
NAS reports that education-oriented interventions should be
implemented in the context of a comprehensive approach to preventing
underage drinking. A focal point of this comprehensive approach is the
development and implementation of a national adult-oriented media
campaign that seeks to educate parents and adults about the risks
associated with youth alcohol use.
MADD strongly supports NAS recommendation 6:1, which states:
The federal government should fund and actively support the
development of a national media effort, as a major component of
an adult-oriented campaign to reduce underage drinking.
The goals of the campaign, as explained by NAS, would be to instill
a broad societal commitment to reduce underage drinking, to increase
specific actions by adults that are meant to discourage underage
drinking, and to decrease adult conduct that facilitates underage
drinking.
The need for a comprehensive public education campaign aimed at
underage drinking prevention is undeniable as most parents and teens
are unaware of the dangers associated with youth alcohol use. Many
parents do not recognize the prevalence of or the risks associated with
underage alcohol use and because of this they often facilitate their
underage children's drinking by giving kids access to alcohol, by not
responding to children's drinking, by not adequately monitoring their
children's behavior and by not understanding the severity of the
consequences of youth alcohol use. All too often, parents falsely
believe that since they lived through their teen years relatively
unscathed, their kids will be fine.
Seven years ago, Congress allocated $1 billion dollars to the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for an anti-drug
media campaign designed to prevent youth drug use. Despite the fact
that alcohol is the number one youth drug problem--both then and now--
underage drinking prevention messages were excluded from the campaign.
The glaring omission of alcohol from the ONDCP campaign left a gaping
hole in national youth prevention efforts. America's cultural
``education'' on alcohol continued to rely almost entirely on
irresponsible alcohol advertising, television shows and movies. A more
realistic portrayal of the consequences associated with youth alcohol
use is long overdue.
Since 1998, Congress has considered creating a separate media
campaign to prevent underage drinking, but those attempts failed due to
behind the scenes opposition from the alcohol industry. The alcohol
industry instead pressured Congress to request a study as a means to
delay action on a media campaign. The Congressional directive to NAS to
develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent underage drinking dates
back several years to repeated attempts by the public health and safety
communities to establish a media campaign that addresses youth alcohol
use.
When the alcohol industry learned that the NAS might recommend
prevention measures it opposes, alcohol interests tried to
inappropriately influence the content of the report, fault the NAS
expert panel, and criticize and discredit the findings while they were
being formulated. Before the NAS report was even released, the beer
industry took out full-page ads in Roll Call, the Hill, Congress Daily
and other Capitol Hill publications in an attempt to discredit the
report findings. The beer industry complained that they did not have
enough influence on the NAS report.
The alcohol industry seeks to limit underage drinking prevention
efforts by pointing fingers at parents as those who must bear
responsibility for educating their kids. Parents do play a vital role
in youth alcohol prevention efforts, but they--along with other adults
who make youth access to alcohol easy--must be educated about the risks
and consequences associated with underage drinking. And, research tells
us that underage drinking is much more than a ``family problem.'' Even
parents who incorporate a no-use message about alcohol are swimming
upstream as their kids grow up in a world in which alcohol is easy to
obtain, irresponsible alcohol advertising is omnipresent, and underage
drinking laws are not well-enforced.
A national adult-oriented media campaign to prevent underage
drinking is necessary to elevate this public health issue and to
support effective prevention efforts at the national, state and local
level. The American public needs and deserves these messages.
Increased Funding and Institutionalization Needed for Alcohol
Prevention within Safe and Drug Free Schools
On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child
Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. The NCLB emphasizes the
Administration's commitment to provide support for elementary and
secondary education to ensure that every student achieves academic
success.
But, despite the staggering impact of alcohol-related problems
among students, and the clear link between youth alcohol use and school
achievement, our educational system does not provide stable, targeted
funding for underage drinking prevention. It is important to recognize
the relationship between academic performance and youth alcohol use:
Research indicates that adolescents who use alcohol may
remember 10 percent less of what they have learned than those who don't
drink. (Brown SA, Tapert SF, Granholm E,--et al. 2000. Neurocognitive
functioning of adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 24(2):164-171)
Among eighth graders, higher absenteeism rates were
associated with greater rates of alcohol use in the past month. (O
Malley PM, Johnston LD, Bachman JG. 1998. Alcohol use among
adolescents. Alcohol Health & Research World. 22(2):85-93)
Among eighth graders, students with higher grade point
averages reported less alcohol use in the past month. (O Malley PM,
Johnston LD, Bachman JG. 1998. Alcohol use among adolescents. Alcohol
Health & Research World. 22(2):85-93)
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program was reauthorized under NCLB
and is the federal government's primary vehicle for reducing drug,
alcohol, tobacco use, and violence, through education and prevention
activities in the nation's schools. This program consists of two major
components: (1) State Grants for Drug and Violence Prevention Programs
and (2) National Programs. State Grants is a formula grant program that
provides funds to state and local education agencies, as well as
governors, for a wide range of school- and community-based education
and prevention activities. Communities rely on state grant funding for
valuable prevention activities.
Under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act the term
``drug'' includes controlled substances, the illegal use of alcohol and
tobacco, and the harmful, abusive, or addictive use of other
substances, including inhalants or anabolic steroids.
Overall funding for the Department of Education's Safe and Drug-
Free Schools State Grants initiative has remained at very low levels.
Historically, the State Grants program is at approximately the same
level of funding it received in 1990, and is currently lower than the
amount it received in 1991. The Administration's fiscal year 05 budget
request contains 441 million dollars for State Grants, the same level
of funding enacted in fiscal year 04, and a 28 million dollar decrease
from the fiscal year 03 enacted level.
Quite significantly to youth alcohol prevention advocates, the
Administration's fiscal year 05 budget request proposes a 30 million
dollar reduction in K-12 alcohol prevention programming. This funding
represented the only amount within Safe and Drug-Free Schools that was
specifically targeted to K-12 alcohol prevention. While a very modest
sum compared to the economic and social costs of youth alcohol use,
this cut demonstrates a clear lack of commitment to reducing underage
drinking. Our schools require a stable, dedicated funding base for
youth alcohol prevention. As more schools focus on violence prevention,
more and more funds continue to be directed away from youth alcohol
prevention.
Within the confines of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, alcohol programs
must compete with a variety of other drug and violence prevention
activities. Local education authorities can access these federal funds
for a laundry list of programs, including ``counseling services;
professional development services; programs for school personnel,
students, law enforcement officials, judicial officials; implementing
conflict resolution, peer mediation and mentoring programs;
implementing character education programs and community service
projects; acquiring and installing metal detectors and hiring security
personnel.'' While these areas are all important, the result is that
very few targeted funds are available for underage drinking prevention.
A stable, year-to-year funding base for underage drinking
prevention is critical because it is not enough to simply provide
program funds for one or two years and then cease prevention efforts.
If we are to ever succeed in youth alcohol prevention in any meaningful
way, Congress must continuously allocate protected funds to educate our
nation's children. NAS confirms this need:
Institutionalization is crucial for prevention to realize its
full potential. It can ensure that new social norms in a
community are perpetuated by exposing new community members
(e.g., every fifth grade class in a school) to the norms, that
well-trained professionals facilitate the intervention, and
that programs are regularly evaluated and adjusted to meet the
changing needs of the community. This kind of consistency and
rigor has the potential to ensure that programs shown to reduce
underage drinking can have long lasting effects. However,
schools and communities are often funded to implement these
programs through temporary mechanisms and often at a level that
does not allow sustained implementation. (p. 199)
Alcohol is a major factor in youth violence and more widely abused
by children in America than any other illicit drug. To maintain an
educational system in which underage drinking prevention programs are
optional for schools presents a major flaw in our prevention efforts.
Every American child is at-risk when it comes to alcohol. Every school
district must deal with the fall out caused by underage drinking, but
our educational system continues to bypass the number one drug problem
teens face: alcohol.
MADD urges the committee to invest in establishing increased,
continuous, targeted funding for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free
Schools specifically for youth alcohol use prevention programs.
Effective Education-Oriented Prevention Measures
The NAS report outlines the effective role that youth-oriented
interventions can play, and specifically states that ``School-based
intervention programs represent an important opportunity to prevent and
reduce alcohol use among youth.'' (p. 195)
MADD strongly supports NAS recommendation 10:2, which states:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S.
Department of Education should fund only evidenced-based
education interventions, with priority given both to those that
incorporate elements known to be effective and those that are
part of comprehensive community programs.
NAS also states that:
Approaches that have been demonstrated to reduce youth alcohol
use have many program elements in common. However, similar to
other approaches recommended in this report, the committee
believes that education-oriented interventions should be
implemented in the context of a comprehensive approach. (p.
197)
This comprehensive approach, as stated by NAS and strongly
supported by the public health community, includes development of a
national media campaign to prevent underage drinking, alcohol
advertising reform, limiting access, youth-oriented interventions,
government assistance and coordination, research and evaluation, and
community-based interventions, which I will discuss later in my
testimony.
MADD supports the current, rigorous standards required by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and
the Department of Education for programs seeking eligibility and
acceptance into the National Registry of Effective Programs (NREP).
Through this review process, prevention programs are evaluated and, if
approved, placed on a list of programs that have been proven to prevent
or reduce substance abuse and other related high-risk behaviors.
Alcohol-related expectancies are well-formed by age 12
(Christiansen et al., 1982; Jones et al., 2001). Prevention efforts
targeting suicide, drop-out and violence, for example, have shown that
the most effective prevention efforts begin in or long before the
developmental period that precedes the problem. Since alcohol-related
expectancies are developed in childhood, prior to actual use during
adolescence, and expectancies are a key factor leading to use,
prevention is most effective if it begins in the developmental period
preceding adolescence-childhood-which means effective prevention
messages must reach our children in elementary school.
The federal government has established a set of criteria for best
practices in prevention education--with that system and the latest
research in mind, MADD worked diligently to ensure the effectiveness of
its elementary school program, Protecting You/Protecting Me.
As NAS states:
...interventions need to be multicomponent and integrated;
sufficient in ``dose'' and follow-up; establish norms that
support nonuse; stress parental monitoring and supervision; be
interactive; be implemented with fidelity; include limitations
in access; be institutionalized; avoid an exclusive focus on
information and avoid congregating high-risk youth; and promote
social and emotional skill development among elementary school
students. (p. 197)
NAS continues with:
Significant developmental changes occur during adolescence. For
educational interventions to be effective, they must be
delivered throughout this period--multiyear programs should be
encouraged. (p. 198)
Protecting You/Protecting Me is an alcohol use prevention
curriculum for grades 1-5. It was created in direct response to parents
and community leaders seeking a program for elementary school students
that could be incorporated into the core curriculum. PY/PM was named a
Model Program by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and
can be found on the NREP list.
PY/PM includes the latest brain research, provides all curriculum
and training materials necessary for national replication and includes
an evaluation component, which continually demonstrates significant
results. The PY/PM curriculum teaches basic safety skills, alcohol's
effects on the developing brain and shows kids how to protect
themselves by making good decisions, such as what to do when riding in
a car with an unsafe driver. The curriculum is designed to fill the gap
in current prevention programs that have not yet incorporated the
latest research on children's brains and the developmental risks
associated with exposure to alcohol before the age of 21.
The goal of the curriculum is to prevent youth alcohol-related
death and injury, focusing on the risks of underage consumption of
alcoholic beverages, and vehicle-related risks, including those
associated with riding as a passenger in vehicles in which the driver
is not alcohol-free.
Evaluation of PY/PM has shown that students receiving the lessons
are:
more knowledgeable about their brains
more media literate
less likely to ride with a driver who is not alcohol-free
less likely to drink when they are teenagers
PY/PM is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
National Association of Elementary School Principals. By the end of
2003, nearly 200,000 elementary students were exposed to MADD's PY/PM's
lessons in over 1,200 schools across the country. MADD is committed to
continued growth of this program as we seek to create a culture where
underage drinking is not a ``rite of passage.''
Program Implementation
As NAS points out, ``identifying and selecting model programs are
only part of the process in launching a successful education
strategy.'' (p. 201) Local communities and education authorities have a
wide range of choices when designing their prevention plans and
selecting programs. Once identified however, many good programs do not
have the capacity or willingness to provide the necessary technical
assistance to ensure effectiveness at the local level. In fact, NAS
finds that:
Experience over the past two decades reveals that most schools
do not implement research-based programs as intended or do not
continue to use them over time. Failure to institutionalize
interventions is likely to prevent them from realizing their
full potential. Federal and state policies are needed to
encourage and support the institutionalization of research-
based programs. (p. 210)
Often program developers will not alter their programs or work with
local educators and communities on implementation issues. This lack of
attention to local communities can significantly lessen the impact of
prevention programs. Model Programs are thoroughly tested and evaluated
in order to be effective; however when the fidelity of the programs is
not protected during implementation, it is impossible to ensure the
programs will achieve their desired results. While the DOE requires the
use of research-based programs, more needs to be done to ensure that
programs are implemented the way in which they were intended.
MADD urges the committee to support funding for program developers
to ensure that prevention programs have the necessary infrastructure to
provide technical support to communities. The federal government must
make a commitment to local school teachers, principals, counselors and
parents to reject an ivory tower approach to prevention programming by
ensuring that trained professionals will be there to roll up their
sleeves and help local schools use Model Programs in the most effective
way.
Increased Emphasis/Funding Needed for Prevention Research
As stated earlier, it is absolutely essential that Model Programs
be rigorously evaluated and identified through the NREP process;
however maintaining the efficacy of a Model Program goes far beyond the
initial award. There must be a long-term commitment to continually re-
evaluate prevention programs and make certain that they remain
relevant. MADD and many other prevention groups have been able to
identify funding to develop and initially evaluate programs to meet the
initial requirements of the NREP review process. But the pursuit of
ongoing, long-term evaluation requires an increased financial
commitment.
NAS supports this:
Both SAMHSA and the Department of Education have demonstrated a
commitment to funding research based interventions. The
committee believes that this interest, and the effectiveness of
funded programs, would be enhanced by a standard evaluation
expectation across all funded programs. Programs also need to
be provided with tools for conducting research and
evaluation.'' (p. 247)
MADD strongly supports NAS recommendation 12-9:
States and the federal government--particularly the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department
of Education--should fund the development and evaluation of
programs to cover all underage populations.
MADD urges the committee to seek increased funding levels to
specifically support longitudinal research to ensure the ongoing
effectiveness of Model Programs.
To guarantee that our children continue to receive the best that
prevention has to offer, the federal government must commit time,
resources and attention to the long term assessment of all Model
Programs. This is a measure that will protect investments made by the
federal government and ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent on
programs that work year after year.
Community-Based Interventions
As stated earlier in recommendation 10:2 and throughout the report,
NAS outlines the need for community-based interventions as part of a
comprehensive underage drinking prevention strategy. School-based
interventions will have only modest results if they are not coupled
with proven, research-based community interventions. That is why MADD
designed Youth In Action (YIA). YIA is a community-based prevention
approach that utilizes effective environmental strategies such as
limiting availability of alcohol to minors, creating partnerships with
law enforcement and working to change alcohol policies. Young people
work on specific community projects which are proven to significantly
reduce the availability of alcohol for teens and raise compliance with
related 21 Minimum Drinking Age Laws. Such practices have been found to
be highly effective and are substantiated by numerous studies cited in
the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation report, ``Regulatory
Strategies for Preventing Youth Access to Alcohol: Best Practices.''
YIA teams have been trained in more than 40 communities across the
country. Their partnerships with local law enforcement agencies,
schools and community leaders have helped pass key underage drinking
legislation and encourage enforcement of laws that have saved young
lives. Youth In Action focuses on the community environment that
condones underage drinking: from the store clerk who doesn't check IDs,
to the police officer who might pour out the alcohol and send teens
home, to the adult who doesn't mind buying beer for a kid who slips him
or her an extra $10. YIA teams look for community solutions to underage
drinking to work in concert with many of the school-based interventions
already in place in their communities.
Youth In Action teams engage in very specific interventions because
research says these projects work. For example, YIA teams conduct
Alcohol Purchase Surveys, where a young looking 21 year old attempts to
purchase alcohol without an ID. No actual purchase is made. It is
merely a community survey conducted to determine whether retail clerks
would have sold alcohol to a presumed minor without ID.
In the Greater Boston area, MADD's Youth In Action team began doing
Alcohol Purchase Surveys in 2000. At that time only 64 percent of
surveyed stores carded the legal age buyer. After concentrated efforts
with local law enforcement these numbers increased to 81 percent of
buyers being carded by 2002.
YIA teams also conduct Shoulder-Tap Surveys. During these surveys,
local police observe the youth for safety purposes as they approach
adults outside an alcohol retailer and ask if these adults would
willingly purchase alcohol for them because they are too young to
legally buy.
That same YIA team I mentioned from Boston also conducted Shoulder
Taps in 2001. Students approached 100 people at 15 different package
stores. The good news is they found that 83 people would not purchase
alcohol for them. The disheartening news is that they also determined
that they only needed to be out for an average of 15 minutes before
they could find a complete stranger willing to say yes.
Instead of money, the adults who agreed to purchase alcohol were
given a card outlining Massachusetts state law and listing the penalty
for furnishing alcohol to a minor. Those who refused to purchase
alcohol were handed a card thanking them for serving their community by
refusing to provide alcohol to a minor.
Students involved with Youth In Action also conduct two projects in
support of law enforcement. Many organize Law Enforcement Recognition
Events where teens publicly thank local law enforcement officials who
are working to prevent underage drinking and impaired driving. These
events range from formal banquets, to media events, to YIA teams
dropping off snacks for officers at the station or out on location
where police officers are working on the job.
The second project with police involves students preparing ``Roll
Call Briefings.'' YIA teams ask to present to police officers during
their shift change meetings when officers are beginning their shifts.
Two or three YIA members go to the police station with an adult leader
to encourage police officers to enforce the Zero Tolerance Laws that
make it illegal for youth to drive after drinking. Many YIA teams hand
out printed cards or notepads that outline the law and declare the
teens support for the police officers in enforcing the law.
The inclusion of tested community-based programs that engage
students in underage drinking prevention as part of a comprehensive
strategy is vital. MADD urges the committee to pursue action to allow
community-based programs to be accepted as Model Programs. Young people
must not only learn about alcohol in the classroom but must be engaged
in solutions through learning opportunities that support a multi-
component, integrated prevention plan.
Alcohol-Industry Efforts
MADD continues to push for evaluation efforts and proven programs
because without hard data we do not know what types of messages will
work. Unevaluated programs may be useless or, worse, counterproductive.
As the NAS states, ``interventions that rely solely on provision of
information alone, fear tactics, or messages about not drinking until
one is ``old enough'' have consistently been found to be ineffective in
reducing alcohol use, and in some cases, produce boomerang effects.''
(p. 195)
This is why many in the public health community remain highly
skeptical of the value of the alcohol industry's underage drinking
programs. By and large, the alcohol industry has relied on unproven
messages and tactics to combat underage drinking. The NAS reports that
it ``is aware of only one industry-sponsored education program that has
been independently evaluated,'' (p. 195) and further research was
suggested on that particular program.
The alcohol industry charged that the NAS panel did not review
industry funded programs, but this could not be farther from the truth.
The NAS reviewed all of the materials submitted, but found that the
industry's material had no backing in science. This led NAS to report:
``Based on our own review of the materials submitted by
industry representatives, the alcohol prevention literature,
and the other materials and testimony submitted to the
committee, we believe that industry efforts to prevent and
reduce underage drinking, however sincere, should be redirected
and strengthened.'' (p. 132)
NAS went on to rearticulate the need for strong scientific evidence
to support any underage drinking program:
...industry-funded messages and programs should be delivered
directly to young people only if they rest on a scientific
foundation, as judged by qualified, independent organizations,
or incorporate rigorous evaluation. Programs that have an
exclusive focus on providing information have been demonstrated
to be ineffective at reducing alcohol use and should be
avoided. (p. 134)
Quite significantly, a typical industry-funded ``responsibility''
ad is branded with the alcohol company name, which leads many public
health experts to conclude that ``responsibility'' ads are simply
another means to promote brand recognition and loyalty.
A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY
2003) reported that in 2001 the alcohol industry spent $23.2 million
dollars to air 2,379 ``responsibility'' messages, while in contrast the
industry spent $812.2 million on 208,909 product advertisements. There
were 179 product ads for every ad that referred to the legal drinking
age.
NAS reports that:
In 2001, alcoholic beverage companies spent $1.6 billion on
advertising and print media, broadcast media, billboards, and
other venues--known as measured media purchases. At least twice
that amount was spent on unmeasured promotion, which includes
sponsorships, product placement payment in entertainment media,
point-of-sale advertising, discount promotion, apparel and
other items with brand-name logos, and other activities
(Federal Trade Commission, 1999). (p. 134)
The market certainly rewards those manufacturers that can tap the
youth market. The NAS reports that underage drinkers consumed anywhere
from 10 to 20 percent of all alcohol consumed in 2000, representing
somewhere between 11 to 22 billion dollars. Beer is overwhelmingly the
most common alcoholic drink consumed by underage drinkers.
Now ``malternatives'' or ``alcopops'' have climbed onto the
advertising bandwagon to capture more of the youth market (such as
Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver, and Skyy Blue). MADD is deeply concerned
with the growing number of ads for liquor-branded, malt-based beverages
that have a flavor and marketing plan that appeals to our kids. Just
like beer, the distilled spirits industry is being given a ``free
pass'' to establish brand recognition and loyalty among youth. NAS
states that:
A particularly troubling illustration of the youth-specific
attractions of an alcohol marketing campaign concerns so-called
``alcopops,'' sweet, flavored alcoholic malt beverages. Recent
survey data suggest that these products are more popular with
teenagers than with adults, both in terms of awareness and use.
(p. 135)
New data from the 2003 Monitoring the Futures Survey confirms that
these drinks are popular with teens: nearly 80 percent of high school
seniors who drink had consumed an alcohol-pop within the past year.
Additionally, despite the alcohol industry's claims, CAMY reports
that young people under 21 are reached at a higher proportion to their
numbers in the population by print alcohol ads. Our youth see far more
beer, distilled spirits and malternative advertising in magazines than
adults. In 2001 alone, nearly one-third of all measured magazine
alcohol ads were placed in 10 publications with a youth audience of 25
percent or more.
NAS points out that the dispute over whether alcohol advertising
``causes'' underage drinking is simply an ``unnecessary distraction''
from the most important task at hand: the alcohol industry must do a
better job of refraining from marketing products or engaging in
promotional activities that appeal to youth. NAS concludes that if the
industry fails to respond in a meaningful way to this challenge, the
case for government action becomes compelling. Although beer is the
favorite alcoholic beverage among young people, the beer industry has
advertised for years with little or no restrictions or standards from
the networks. Strong alcohol advertising restrictions must be mandatory
for all segments of the alcohol industry--including ads for beer, wine,
liquor and malt-based beverages.
It is odd that an industry that studies and hones its marketing
messages so well has no data on the effectiveness of its underage
drinking programs. At best, the industry is inept in this area; at
worst, they are a malevolent force.
In no other context would we trust that a product manufacturer
would aggressively work to convince a segment of the population not to
buy their products. Yet in regards to underage drinking, we are willing
to trust the health, well being and education of our children in large
part to the care of the alcohol industry.
The government must act to make sure that science-based, effective
programs are not lost in the din of advertising and industry messages.
If the alcohol industry can create programs that stand up to scientific
scrutiny, then we can reexamine this; in the meantime, it is past time
for action.
Conclusion
Armed with the knowledge that underage alcohol use results in
significant negative social and economic consequences, including
irreversible damage to the adolescent brain, our nation can no longer
pretend that underage drinking is a rite of passage. Our children
deserve more. It is time to face the sobering reality that if we do not
put an end to the complacent attitude about underage drinking, we
continue to put our children in harm's way.
More youth drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or use other illegal
drugs, yet federal investments in preventing underage drinking pale in
comparison with resources targeted at preventing illicit drug use. The
media constantly reports on the countless numbers of alcohol-related
deaths and injuries of today's youth, but our nation accepts and even
enables these preventable tragedies. The future of our nation's youth
continues to hang in the balance. Underage drinking is illegal, and yet
millions of kids continue to engage in this high-risk behavior every
month, every weekend, and even every day.
The NAS has reviewed the research and has recommended strategies
that will significantly reduce and prevent underage drinking. As a
parent and an activist who has experienced devastating alcohol-related
consequences, I urge this Committee to use the NAS recommendations as a
roadmap to create a healthier future for America's youth and embrace
the role you can play in expanding youth and community interventions
through our nation's educational system. Thank you.
______
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton.
Ms. Hackett.
STATEMENT OF JACQUELINE HACKETT, STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL,
STUDENTS AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE DECISIONS
Ms. Hackett. Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee and
distinguished panelists, my name is Jacqueline Hackett, and I
am a senior at Souderton Area High School in Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania.
I have been actively involved in Students Against
Destructive Decisions since I was in the eighth grade, first at
the local level and now nationally, where I serve as an
executive committee member for the SADD Student Leadership
Council.
As a high school student, I am very aware of the lifestyle
and the activities chosen by some of my peers. Friday night
parties are not kept secret, nor is anyone left unaware of what
happens at these events. The reality of high school life is
that underage drinking is a very big deal and a serious problem
that affects not only those who choose to use but also others
in the high school community and ultimately my entire
generation.
Let me tell you a little bit about SADD and how it works.
Since being founded in 1981 as Students Against Drunk Driving,
SADD has been committed to empowering young people to say no to
alcohol and other drugs and encouraging young people to serve
as role models in their own communities.
In 1997 in response to young people themselves, SADD
expanded its name and its mission and now sponsors chapters
called Students Against Destructive Decisions. SADD continues
to endorse and affirm a no use message related to the use of
alcohol and other drugs. With this expanded focus, SADD now
highlights prevention in all destructive behaviors and
attitudes that are harmful to youth, focusing particularly on
underage drinking, substance abuse, impaired driving, teen
violence, suicide and depression.
Currently there are 10,000 SADD chapters in middle schools,
high schools and colleges around the United States with 350,000
active members and seven million students in the schools where
SADD chapters exist. Over the past 23 years, literally millions
of people have gone through the SADD program, proving that SADD
serves a necessary role and delivers a strong and unwavering
message.
The efforts of SADD have been proven to work. An
independent study conducted in the late '90's showed that
students in schools with an established SADD chapter are more
aware of and informed about the risks of underage drinking,
other drug use and impaired driving.
Students in schools with a SADD chapter are also more
likely to hold attitudes reflecting positive reasons not to use
alcohol. Alcohol is the No. 1 drug of choice among our nation's
youth.
I won't repeat all the statistics because I am sure you
know them, but here is just one. In 2002 there were more than
2,400 alcohol-related traffic deaths among students 15 to 20
years old, more than 200 teen lives lost each month to impaired
driving alone. Across the country, SADD is working to respond
to this pervasive youth epidemic. Perhaps the most important
reason that SADD works is because it's students who talk to
each other, using words and activities that are more likely to
make a difference. After all, young people are the ones who are
actually drinking the beers, putting the keys into the ignition
and piling into a car with friends who have been drinking in
the driver's seat.
SADD chapters provide information and education about the
harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, but they also host
alternative drug-free activities for students, mentor younger
elementary and middle school students, and reach out to other
groups in the community, such as law enforcement, the media,
and the business community. My chapter has held prom graduation
programs, offered dances as drug-free alternative events, and
co-hosted a picnic with the local YMCA.
SADD offers a safe haven for those who have made the
conscious decision not to use. SADD students become alternative
role models and consciously work to bring people together who
believe in the no use message for youth and want to make a
positive difference in their community.
All the individual SADD chapters working together have a
huge potential to present positive change in their communities.
We need support though. We need more people to acknowledge our
efforts and provide us with the resources to implement
effective programming.
If in my state the Pennsylvania Department of Education
were to embrace the 550 Pennsylvania SADD chapters working on
prevention efforts at the local level, link them with community
coalitions and local law enforcement initiatives and provide
coordinating services that magnify the energy and drive of
fellow SADD students working within every school, there would
indeed be a strong statewide movement opposing the destructive
influences of alcohol on our youth.
With the state support not only in Pennsylvania but in
every state in the country, SADD would be able to spread its
message even further, implement effective prevention
programming within the schools and ultimately change behaviors
and attitudes of the youth across the United States.
The underage drinking epidemic needs a strong movement
against it to challenge the negative and risky attitudes of
young people and SADD is that movement.
SADD students are the troops and they are ready for the
country, they are ready for the country to support them so that
they can win this war.
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to speak
today with you about this very serious problem that I am
committed to addressing through my work in SADD. Underage
drinking is dangerous and often deadly and I urge you to rally
behind students like myself and give us the support we need to
continue the work that we are doing every day in our
communities. SADD is a force that needs your collaboration and
support.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Hackett follows:]
Statement of Jacqueline Hackett, Student Leadership Council, Students
Against Destructive Decisions
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, Distinguished Panelists:
My name is Jacqueline Hackett and I am a senior at Souderton Area
High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. I've been actively
involved in Students Against Destructive Decisions since I was in
eighth grade; first at the local level and now nationally where I serve
on the executive committee of the SADD Student Leadership Council.
As a high school student, I'm very aware of the lifestyle and
activities chosen by some of my peers. Friday night parties aren't kept
secret, nor is anyone left unaware of what happens at these events. The
reality of high school life is that underage drinking is a very big
deal and a serious problem that affects not only those who choose to
use, but also others in the high school community and ultimately my
entire generation.
Let me tell you a little bit about what SADD is and how it works.
Since being founded in 1981 as Students Against Driving Drunk, SADD has
been committed to empowering young people to ``say no'' to alcohol and
other drugs, and encouraging young people to serve as role models in
their communities. In 1997, in response to young people themselves,
SADD expanded its mission and name, and now sponsors chapters called
Students Against Destructive Decisions. SADD continues to endorse a
firm ``no use'' message related to use of alcohol and other drugs. With
its expanded focus, SADD now highlights prevention of all destructive
behaviors and attitudes that are harmful to youth, focusing
particularly on underage drinking, substance abuse, impaired driving,
teen violence, suicide and depression.
Currently there are 10,000 SADD chapters in middle schools, high
schools, and colleges around the United States with 350,000 active
members and seven million students in the schools where SADD exists.
Over the past 23 years, literally millions of people have gone through
the SADD program, proving that SADD serves a necessary role and
delivers a strong and unwavering message.
The efforts of SADD have been proven to work. An independent study
conducted in the late 1990s showed that students in schools with an
established SADD chapter are more aware of and informed about the risks
of underage drinking, other drug use, and impaired driving. Students in
schools with a SADD chapter are also more likely to hold attitudes
reflecting positive reasons not to use alcohol.
Alcohol is the number one drug of choice among our nation's youth.
I won't repeat all the statistics because I'm sure you know them, but
here is just one. In 2002, there were more than 2,400 alcohol-related
traffic deaths among 15 to 20 year olds, more than 200 teen lives lost
each month to impaired driving alone.
Across the country, SADD is working to respond to this pervasive
youth epidemic. Perhaps the most important reason that SADD works is
that it's about students talking to each other, using words and
activities that are most likely to make a difference. After all, young
people are the ones who actually drink the beer, put the key in the
ignition or pile into a car with a friend who has been drinking in the
driver's seat.
SADD chapters provide information and education about the harmful
effects of drugs and alcohol, but they also host alternative drug-free
activities for students, mentor younger elementary and middle school
students and reach out to other groups in the community such as law
enforcement, the media and the business community. My chapter has held
prom and graduation programs, offered dances as drug-free alternative
events, and co-hosted a picnic with the local YMCA. SADD chapters offer
a ``safe haven'' for those who have made the conscientious decision not
to use. SADD students become alternative role models and continuously
work to bring people together who believe in the ``no use'' message for
youth and want to make a positive difference in their community.
All of the individual SADD chapters working together have a huge
potential to present positive change in their communities. We need
support though. We need more people to acknowledge our efforts and
provide us with resources to implement effective programming. If in my
state, the Pennsylvania Department of Education were to embrace the 550
Pennsylvania SADD chapters working on prevention efforts at the local
level, link them with community coalitions and local law enforcement
initiatives, and provide coordination services that magnified the
energy and drive of fellow SADD students working within every school,
there would indeed be a strong state-wide movement opposing the
destructive influence of alcohol on our youth. With state support, not
only in Pennsylvania but in every state in the country, SADD would be
able to spread the message even further, implement effective prevention
programming within the schools, and ultimately change behaviors and
attitudes of youth across the United States. The underage drinking
epidemic needs a strong oppositional movement to challenge the negative
and risky attitudes of young people, and SADD is that movement. SADD
students are the troops and they're ready for the country to support
them so they can win this war.
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak with you
today about this very serious problem that I am committed to addressing
through my work with SADD. Underage drinking is dangerous and often
deadly, and I urge you to rally behind students like myself and give us
the support we need to continue the work we are doing everyday in our
communities. SADD is a force that needs your collaboration and support.
______
Mr. Osborne. Thank you very much.
Mrs. Katz.
STATEMENT OF FRANCINE I. KATZ, VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS, ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES, INC.
Mrs. Katz. Good morning, Mr. Vice Chairman and
distinguished members of the Subcommittee. My name is Francine
Katz, and for 14 years I have headed a department at Anheuser-
Busch of over 20 people working to fight alcohol abuse,
including underage drinking. I am pleased to be sharing the
floor today with others who share a commitment to this issue.
I hope you will remember three things from what I have to
say.
First, that the more than 830,000 people who brew, package,
distribute, and sell America's beers care about this issue and
want to be part of the solution. Personally, I feel
passionately about this issue, not just because of my job at
Anheuser-Busch but because I am a mother. I have a 17-year-old
daughter and a 12-year-old son, and I care about this issue
just like every other mom out there.
The second thing I would ask you to remember is that the
best way to fight underage drinking is through education and
awareness, starting early and in the home.
Third, things are getting better. There is much more work
to be done, but our nation has made some real progress in this
fight.
Our industry is committed to addressing underage drinking
and we want to be part of the solution and at Anheuser-Busch we
take great pride in the beers we brew, but we also understand
the responsibility that accompanies selling an adult product.
People in our industry come from all walks of life. They
are brewers and bottlers, wholesalers and retailers. They are
waiters, they are MBAs and they are secretaries. They are
salespeople and they are union workers. They are churchgoers
and PTA members. They live all over the United States. They are
moms. They are dads. And they all share a commitment to
fighting underage drinking.
We believe the best way to address this issue is through
education and awareness and in this regard we take a three-
prong approach.
First and foremost, our efforts are directed at parents, to
help them address this issue with their kids. Why? Because
every year for the last decade in a national poll of youth
conducted by the Roper research organization youths themselves
have identified their parents' far and away as the most
important factor in their decisions to drink or refrain from
drinking.
Our efforts on this front involve several programs. The
first is called ``Family Talk About Drinking,'' which is a
guide book that's available in five languages and helps parents
of children as young as 8 years old begin the conversation with
their children and carry it through their teenage years. We've
given out over 5 million copies of this program since it was
introduced in 1990.
The second program is called ``College Talk,'' and it's a
program for those parents whose teens are heading off to
college, and the goal of that program is to help parents help
their teens continue to make responsible decisions in their
college years. But we also recognize that some youth don't get
the kind of parental influence that they need at home, and we
have been a strong supporter of mentoring initiatives designed
to help adults who are caring adults make a difference in the
lives of youth who need that kind of positive influence.
The second prong of our efforts is aimed at retailers.
Because we don't actually sell our products to the public, but
rather we sell to wholesalers who in turn sell to retailers,
and those retailers sell to the public. So we focus on efforts
on those retailers who are on the front line, and we give them
training and tools to spot fake IDs and stop sales to minors.
And the nation's largest retailers, including 7-11, Circle K,
Safeway and Publics join us in this effort.
I'd like to show the Subcommittee a commercial which
debuted on last year's Academy Awards and aired again this
month on the Super Bowl which emphasizes the powerful role that
retailers can play in this fight.
[Videotape is played.]
Mrs. Katz. The third prong of efforts involves programs
aimed at young people. The most visible example is a speaker's
bureau, comprised of third parties who bring messages into
schools through live presentations. These speakers cover topics
such as drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, building refusal
skills, and enhancing self-esteem. Over the last 5 years,
they've reached more than 1.4 million students.
Each of these programs emphasizes that there is no excuse
for breaking the law, and that youth must understand that such
behavior will have consequences.
Mr. Vice Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, over the
last 22 years, Anheuser-Busch and its family of wholesalers
across the country have invested nearly half a billion dollars
in these efforts. But equally important to this financial
investment is the human capital that we and our wholesalers
have expended in this fight. Whether it's manning a booth to
hand out Family Talk about drinking to parents or hosting
training sessions for servers to help them spot fake IDs,
meeting with school principals to offer a third-party speaker
for students, this human capital demonstrates our collective
commitment to being part of the solution.
Finally, it is important to acknowledge that progress has
been made on this front so that parents know their efforts are
working, so that retailers know checking IDs is working, and so
that teens know that most of their peers are making the good
decision not to drink, because many are. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 82 percent of today's
teens do not drink. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the
Future Survey sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
reports that the percentage of high school seniors having a
drink in the last 30 days has declined 32 percent since 1982.
I realize that Mrs. Hamilton also cited the same statistic.
However, her data is from 2002, not the most recent 2003
report, which was released 2 months ago, and shows that this
figure is at a record low level.
And according to the U.S. Department of Transportation,
teen drunk driving fatalities have declined 61 percent since
1982. A large part of the credit for this progress goes to
groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and SADD. And while
we've made significant progress, this battle is far from over.
In closing, let me say that the commitment I've spoken of
today is shared by my colleagues at Miller, Coors, Heineken,
and other brewers. We believe that the best way to continue the
progress made in this fight against underage drinking is
through education, especially involving parents, and the
collective investment we make in our youth today will ensure
their safe passage into adulthood.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mrs. Katz follows:]
Testimony of: Francine Katz, Vice President, Corporate Communications,
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman and distinguished
members of the Subcommittee. My name is Francine Katz, and I'm the vice
president responsible for Anheuser-Busch's longstanding efforts to
fight alcohol abuse, an area I have been working in since 1990. I also
am the mother of a 17-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, so I am
dealing with these issues as a parent, too.
I thank you for the opportunity to be here to address a topic that
is important to all of us at Anheuser-Busch and to our fellow brewers.
I hope that you remember three things from my statement here today:
First, that the men and women who brew, package, distribute and sell
America's beers care about this issue and want to be part of the
solution. The more than 830,000 people in this industry come from all
walks of life. They are brewers and bottlers, wholesalers and waiters.
They are MBAs and secretaries, sales people and union workers. They are
churchgoers and members of their local PTAs. They are east coasters,
west coasters and Midwesterners. They are men and women, moms and dads.
And they have an important role in helping to resolve this problem.
Second, that our nation truly has made some significant progress in the
fight against underage drinking. And third, that education, starting
early and in the home, is the best way to continue that progress.
Those of us in the beer industry are also in the hospitality
business. Our beers are intended to be a refreshing accompaniment to
social occasions or a simple reward after a long day's work. We take
great pride in being part of an industry that has had its roots in
America since colonial times. We also understand the responsibility
that goes along with making and marketing an adult product, and we have
been at the forefront of efforts to fight the abuse of our products. I
am proud to tell you that my company has invested nearly a half billion
dollars thus far in these efforts, and we are committed to continuing
these initiatives. And I speak for other members of our nation's beer
industry. While we compete with each other as fiercely as any industry
in America, in this we are united: we don't want kids to drink, and we
are committed to giving parents and others who deal with the problem
real solutions.
In addition to our company's efforts, each of Anheuser-Busch's
independently owned beer wholesalers conduct alcohol awareness programs
in their communities. These wholesalers have an individual within their
organizations with responsibility for developing an alcohol awareness
activities market plan and directing their local efforts. They do this
by providing our educational materials to the public, making our
alcohol awareness programs part of their promotions, and purchasing
print, outdoor, radio and TV awareness ads. Equally important to this
financial investment is the human capital that Anheuser-Busch and our
wholesalers have expended in this fight. Whether it's manning a booth
to hand out materials designed to help parents talk to their kids about
drinking; hosting training sessions for servers to help them spot fake
IDs; meeting with school principals to offer third party speakers who
address topics with students like drunk driving and alcohol awareness,
this human capital demonstrates our collective commitment to being part
of the solution.
We believe we have far more in common with the other witnesses on
the panel than may appear at first blush. We all agree that underage
drinking is a serious issue that we must aggressively fight. And I hope
that we can channel our energies and resources toward this collective
goal and find ways to work together in this fight.
We believe the most effective way to fight underage drinking is to
use a three-prong approach, and the cornerstone of that approach is
focused on parents. Don Elium, a family and child counselor, recently
wrote a book called, ``Raising a Teenager.'' In his book, Elium says
that the teenage years are like a second birth of sorts, and that teens
need just as much time and attention at that stage of their lives as
they did when they were born. Elium goes on to say, ``One of the
biggest mistakes parents make is letting them make decisions they have
no business making...a family is not a democracy, it is a benevolent
dictatorship.'' As a mother myself, I know that to be true.
And despite what we may all think, youth themselves also favor
strong parental involvement. According to the Roper Research
Organization's Youth Poll, a nationally representative survey, 73% of
youth ages 8-17 cite their parents, far and away, as the most
influential factor in their decision to drink or refrain from drinking.
This poll has been conducted for over a decade, and every year, youth
have overwhelmingly identified their parents as the number one
influence in this decision.
Accordingly, we have invested a significant amount of our
efforts in programs for parents. One such program, a guide book
and video for parents called ``Family Talk About Drinking,''
was created by an advisory panel of authorities from the areas
of family counseling, alcohol treatment and education. It is
available in five languages. We promote this free program
through advertising and on our website, but over the years, we
have also worked in partnership with groups and organizations
across the country to get these materials into the hands of
parents. For instance, we have worked with the attorneys
general from various states to send these materials to parents.
Working with the Association of Junior Leagues International,
we have distributed ``Family Talk'' via the group's local
chapters through our network of 600 wholesalers throughout the
country. And for parents of teens heading off to college, we
have a program called ``College Talk,'' created by a group of
authorities in the fields of student life, alcohol treatment
and peer education. This program helps parents prepare their
teens for responsible decision-making in college. ``College
Talk'' is endorsed by the National Association of State
Universities and Land Grant Colleges, the American Association
of State Colleges and Universities, the Social Norms Resource
Center and the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network.
The second prong to our efforts to fight underage drinking is aimed
at the retail level, the point-of-purchase. Under the laws governing
the sale and distribution of beer, we do not sell our products to
consumers. Rather, we sell to our wholesalers, they sell to retailers
and retailers sell to the public. As a result, retailers are on the
front lines and they play a vital role in stopping underage drinking.
In cooperation with police departments, county sheriffs, and other
state and local agencies, we have worked aggressively to help retailers
and servers stop sales to minors. We provide materials in English,
Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese for retailers to teach them how to
properly check IDs and to spot fake IDs. We also disseminate ``WE ID''
and other point-of-sale materials that remind customers that the
establishment will ask for proper identification. Among the myriad of
tools we provide retailers are such things as drivers license booklets
that show valid licenses from all 50 states and serve as a useful tool
for retailers--especially in college communities--who are confronted
with IDs from all over the country. We have worked closely in these
efforts with a number of major national retailers including 7-Eleven
Stores, Circle K, Publix and Safeway Markets to put these materials to
work in their stores. Our efforts in this regard were just featured in
one of our Super Bowl commercials earlier this month, in which an
attentive clerk deterred two teens in their attempt to buy beer.
We have also been a sponsor of several server-training programs,
designed again to ensure the responsible sale and service of our
products. These include Training in Intervention Procedures for servers
of alcohol, or TIPs, a program developed by Dr. Morris Chafetz,
founding director of the NIAAA. TIPs provides techniques for servers to
avoid over serving and drunk driving situations and to ensure proper ID
checking procedures. Similar training is also presented in the BarCode
and Learn2Serve programs that we support.
Over the last decade, we have also joined with our colleagues at
Miller and Coors through the Beer Institute and with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Major League Baseball, and other
professional sports leagues in a program called ``TEAM'' (which stands
for ``Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management'') to address
underage drinking and abusive consumption at games and other major
outdoor events. Through this partnership, we helped train all the staff
at the 28 Major League Baseball stadiums in alcohol management
techniques before opening day last year.
Finally, the third prong of our approach involves directing efforts
at young people, to help them make good decisions. The most visible
example of these efforts is a Speakers Bureau comprised of third
parties from many walks of life who take their messages directly into
schools. The members of the Anheuser-Busch Consumer Awareness and
Education Speakers Bureau bring a message of responsibility and respect
for the law to middle school and high school students around the
country. With the support of our local wholesalers, over the past five
years, these speakers have reached more than 1.4 million students via
4,700 presentations throughout the country. The speakers include:
Barbara Babb, a former critical-care flight nurse, who
delivers a graphic, factual and memorable presentation on video to high
school and college students about the tragic consequences of underage
drinking and drunk driving.
Michael Chatman, who shares his message of self-
empowerment and personal responsibility with students across the
country. The son of an abusive father, Michael grew up in Miami, joined
a gang and endured the trials of life on the wrong side of the law.
Finally, following a series of life-altering events, he decided to
transform his life. Today, Michael has reached more than one million
teenagers, helping them realize that despite negative peer pressure,
and the many other challenges they may face, underage drinking is not
the answer.
Dr. Lonnie Carton, a nationally recognized educator and
family counselor, and host of the nationally syndicated radio program
``Take a Minute for the Family.'' Lonnie presents ``Stepping Into
Adolescence'' a program for parents of middle-school children designed
to help parents maintain open communication with their children during
the middle-school years and throughout adolescence.
Bob Anastas, the founder and former executive director of
Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD), delivers a powerful presentation
to high school and college students. Motivational in spirit, the
program offers parents and students a timely message on how young
people can build key life skills and make responsible decisions about
the challenges they face. The program is also available on video.
Emergency-room nurse Linda Dutil delivers a presentation,
designed for middle-and high school students, about the real-world
consequences that come from making poor choices about alcohol and
drugs. Linda also teaches effective skills for resisting peer pressure
and for making smart, responsible choices.
Jason Barber tells the story of several teens, including
his brother, each of who were drunk driving crash victims. What
students learn during Jason's powerful presentation is that he was the
intoxicated driver responsible for his brother's death. Jason was
seriously injured and served prison time for vehicular manslaughter.
Carolyn Cornelison, who holds a Ph.D. from Florida State
University where she worked as director of the Campus Alcohol and Drug
Information Center for four years while advising both BACCHUS & GAMMA,
delivers a program called ``Courage to Care,'' which focuses on college
drinking, taking responsibility, recognizing abuse and helping those
with alcohol problems. A member of a sorority and a former collegiate
student-athlete, Carolyn has taken her ``Courage to Care'' message to
more than 350 college campuses and has been a part of numerous Greek
education, athletic department and general campus health programs.
The ``Street Smart'' program, taught by certified
firefighter/paramedics, reminds students of the dangers of teen
drinking, drunk driving, illegal drug use and not wearing seat belts.
The program is available for presentation in English or Spanish, and
uses factual information, actual medical equipment and demonstrations
involving students to help them better understand the consequences of
their actions. ``Street Smart'' is presented by members of ``Stay Alive
From Education'' (S.A.F.E.), a non-profit organization created by
firefighter/paramedics in Miami-Dade County, Florida, dedicated to
reducing teen injuries and fatalities.
One of the things that each of these programs emphasizes is that
there is no excuse for breaking the law--and youth must understand that
such behavior will have consequences. While they are teens, our young
people should not be led to believe that they are excused from acting
responsibly and abiding by the law. They are expected to act with
responsibility.
At the college level, we have supported campus programs that focus
student attention on education and awareness, emphasizing personal
responsibility and respect for the law--which means not drinking if you
are under 21, and drinking responsibly if you are above the legal
drinking age and choose to drink. These programs include, among others,
unrestricted grants to colleges such as the University of Virginia,
Florida State University, Georgetown University, Michigan State
University and Virginia Commonwealth University to establish social
norms programs, a positive approach that reminds college students that
the large majority of their peers make healthy and responsible
decisions about drinking. We have also worked closely for over three
years with the National Association of State Universities and Land
Grant Colleges, an organization representing more than 200 of America's
largest institutions, to promote social norms and encourage responsible
behavior among college students. A recent comprehensive report issued
by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
categorized social norms and other approaches supported by the industry
as effective or promising. 1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Task Force of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at
U.S. Colleges, NIAAA, 2002, p. 24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I mentioned earlier that it was important to cite the progress that
has been made on this front--to let parents know their efforts are
working, and to salute those teens who are making the right decisions.
And many are. Teen drinking and teen drunk-driving fatalities have
declined significantly over the last two decades. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 82% of today's adolescents do
not drink. 2 That means nearly 20 million adolescents are
doing the right thing by not drinking. 3 Similarly,
according to the University of Michigan survey called ``Monitoring the
Future,'' sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the
percentage of high school seniors who report having a drink in the last
30 days was 32% lower in 2002 than it was in 1982. 4 In
2003, there were nearly 410,000 fewer high school seniors who reported
past-month drinking than did in 1982. 5 And beer consumption
by college freshmen fell 39% in the same time frame according to the
American Council on Education and researchers at the University of
California at Los Angeles. 6 The latter two measurements are
record lows.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2003), available at
http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/p0000016.htm.
\3\ Source of base data: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
\4\ Available at http://monitoringthefuture.org.
\5\ Source of base data: Projections of Education Statistics to
2012, Thirty-first Edition. U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics, October 2002, http://nces.ed.gov/
pubs2002/2002030.pdf.
\6\ The American Freshman Survey (2003), sponsored by UCLA and the
American Council on Education, available at http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/
heri/freshman.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, the United States Department of Transportation reports
that fatalities in crashes involving drunk drivers aged 16 to 20 have
fallen 61% between 1982 and 2002. There were 2,500 fewer teen drunk-
driving fatalities in 2002 than there were in 1982. That progress has
been achieved even though the number of 16 to 20-year-olds licensed to
drive has increased over 7% over the last decade to more than 12.4
million. 7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration (2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While many factors explain this success, and there is still
significant room for improvement, we believe that one of reasons for
the progress of the last 20 years is that different groups have come
together to create programs that work.
And those groups include members of our industry. I am happy to
report that I could give each member of this committee the names of
many people in your districts among our ranks that work with us on
similar efforts. I hope you would agree that it is good work.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report on alcohol
beverage industry self-regulation in which it reviewed industry-
sponsored alcohol awareness programs. The FTC commended these programs
and pointed out that they are developed by professionals in the fields
of education, medicine or alcohol abuse and that they follow approaches
recommended by alcohol research. 8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Federal Trade Commission, Alcohol Marketing and Advertising-A
Report to Congress, September, 2003, p. 21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In discussing solutions and efforts that are yielding results, I
would be remiss if I also didn't address a fundamental difference we
have with some on the issue of advertising and teen drinking.
Advertising is not what causes youth to drink. In fact, since 1982,
Anheuser-Busch's advertising expenditures have tripled, while teen
drinking has declined 32 percent and teen drunk driving fatalities have
declined 61 percent.
At the same time, our advertising is intended for adults, and those
of us in the beer industry voluntarily undertake extensive steps to
place our ads in adult programming. Our advertising is only placed in
television, radio and magazines where the proportion of the audience
above age 21 is reasonably expected to be 70% or higher. This standard
reflects the demographics of the U.S. population, in which
approximately 70% of the public is age 21 or older. The 2003 FTC report
commended the industry's self-regulation and also concluded that the
industry did not target youth with its advertising.
As adults, we need to help youth navigate through an adult world,
not try to pretend that adult activities don't exist. In the end,
underage drinking is not an advertising issue, it's a family issue, and
it's a societal issue.
As you know, the National Academy of Sciences also reviewed these
issues in its 2003 report. We have some fundamental differences with
some of the National Academy's recommendations.
Although the recent National Academy's recommendation to increase
excise taxes is not part of our discussion here today, it is well known
that the beer industry opposes such a measure; and I would like to take
a brief moment to explain why. Higher excise taxes are not an effective
deterrent to abusive consumption or illegal underage drinking. The
science on this issue was examined by the NIAAA in its 10th Special
Report to Congress. Their conclusion is that no consensus exists in
this debate. Research funded by the NIAAA indicates that teens are not
impacted by higher taxes. Further, the research on the effects of
higher taxes on college students is also cited in the NIAAA report, and
it concludes, ``The results suggested that alcohol prices were a less
salient determinant of the drinking behavior of college students than
they were in other populations.'' Finally, a study coauthored by one of
the National Academy's panelists indicates that the effects of tax
increases may be ``considerably smaller than suggested in previous
literature. 9 The bottom line is that we do not support this
recommendation because there is no scientific consensus to show that it
will reduce teen drinking. In addition, because excise taxes are highly
regressive, a tax increase would force a large number of middle class
adults who enjoy beer to bear an unfair and disproportional tax burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Cook, P.J. and Moore, M.J., ``Environment and Persistence in
Youthful Drinking Patterns,'' in Risky Behavior Among Youths, An
Economic Analysis, edited by Jonathan Gruber, University of Chicago
Press, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001, pp. 375-437.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In closing, let me reiterate that the efforts I have focused on
today include not only those supported by Anheuser-Busch and its beer
wholesalers, but also those supported by our colleagues at Miller,
Coors, Heineken and other brewers.
We believe the best way to continue the progress made in the fight
against underage drinking is through education, especially involving
parents. And the collective investment we make in our youth will ensure
their safe passage into adulthood.
______
[Attachments to Ms. Katz's statement follow:]
1. Statistical summary on progress in reducing alcohol abuse
2. Organizations/groups that endorse/support Anheuser-Busch
alcohol awareness efforts
3. Anheuser-Busch national wholesaler accomplishments in
implementing alcohol awareness programs
4. Beer Institute Advertising Code
5. Anheuser-Busch College Marketing Code
6. Driver's license guidebook provided to retailers [Retained in
the Committee's official files.]
7. Examples of Anheuser-Busch alcohol awareness advertising
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1726.025
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1726.003
PARTNERS
Here is a list of organizations with whom we have partnered on
alcohol awareness programs and projects, or who have distributed our
program materials.
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Council on Alcoholism
American School Counselor Association
BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mississippi
Florida Governor's Mentoring Initiative
Florida Highway Patrol
Florida Literacy Coalition
Florida Student Association
Illinois State Police
Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and other Substance Abuse
Issues
International Association of Chiefs of Police
Korean American Coalition
Korean Health Education, Information and Research Center
Mississippi Boys and Girls Club
Mississippi Mentoring Network
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Commission Against Drunk Driving
National Council of Negro Women
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network
National Safe Boating Council
National School Boards Association
National Social Norms Resource Center
Optimist International
Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc.
Provident Counseling
State Attorneys General: Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas
State Law Enforcement Chiefs Association (FL)
Take Stock in Children
The Betty Ford Center
The Caron Foundation
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees)
Alcohol Medical Scholars Program
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1726.022
COLLEGE MARKETING CODE
Anheuser-Busch is committed to the responsible enjoyment of its
alcohol beverage products by adults of legal purchase and drinking age.
This commitment is particularly important in the environment of the
American college campus, where many young adults are making decisions
about beer that might remain with them for the rest of their lives.
We believe college students 21 and over have the right to enjoy
beer responsibly as do other adults in our society. In fact, the vast
majority of America's 89 million adult beer drinkers enjoy beer in a
responsible manner that is consistent with a healthy lifestyle. We also
believe that college students under 21 should respect the state laws
that prohibit them from purchasing and consuming alcohol beverages.
Anheuser-Busch historically has supported programs to discourage
underage drinking and to remind those of legal drinking age to drink
responsibly . . . programs such as BACCHUS (Boost Alcohol Consciousness
Concerning the Health of University Students), the NCAA Foundation's
``Choices'' grant program, and National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness
Week.
It has long been our belief and practice that our marketing and
advertising programs reflect our commitment to responsible enjoyment of
beer by adults of legal age. While numerous studies have demonstrated
that alcohol beverage advertising does not cause alcohol abuse or
underage drinking, we have developed the following college marketing
guidelines to formalize our commitment to encourage responsible use of
our products and to discourage underage drinking.
The guidelines do not apply to educational materials, televised,
printed or audio messages which do not have as their principal message
promotion of a beer brand, nor materials or messages designed to
address issues of alcohol abuse or underage drinking.
In all cases, Anheuser-Busch marketing efforts which occur on
campus will be conducted in accordance with any college or university
regulations which apply to the sale and marketing of alcohol beverage
products.
Advertising
Advertising is defined as a message placed in traditional media
such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and signs. ``Campus
media'' includes any publication that is intended for distribution
primarily to undergraduate college students. Campus media does not
include any radio, television or cable television stations that also
reach a general audience in the community.
When purchasing advertising in campus media, Anheuser-Busch will do
so within the following guidelines:
All beer advertising will adhere to the guidelines
contained in the Brewing Industry Advertising Code.
All beer advertising placed in campus media will comply
with any guidelines set forth by the University or College
Administration.
Event Sponsorship and Promotion
Event sponsorship and promotion is defined as providing financial
or other resources in exchange for display of and recognition for
specific brand names in conjunction with the event.
1. Events on Campus: Anheuser-Busch will limit its event
sponsorship and promotion on campus to licensed retail establishments
and those activities open to the general public, such as
intercollegiate athletics, entertainment events and charity fund-
raisers where most of the audience is reasonably expected to be above
the legal purchase age. For all such events, management of the event
must agree to implement and enforce an effective system of checking
identification and adhering to minimum purchase age laws in place, if
beer is sold or served.
2. Spring Break: At Spring Break destination locations, Anheuser-
Busch will not conduct beer advertising, event sponsorships or
promotions on beaches or at other outdoor locations or non-licensed
premises where most of the audience is reasonably expected to be below
the legal purchase age.
3. Product Sampling: Sampling of Anheuser-Busch products on campus
among consumers of legal drinking age where allowed by law, will be
limited to circumstances meeting the following criteria.
The event must be limited to the premises of licensed
retail accounts and the management of the event must agree that the
event will be conducted in accordance with school policy.
The management of the event must agree to establish and
enforce reasonable limits as to time and quantity of consumption.
Promotional Materials
Beer-branded promotional materials are defined as posters,
calendars, articles of clothing, glassware and novelty items such as
towels, pens, key chains, buttons and the like designed to promote the
sale of specific beer brands. Anheuser-Busch beer-branded materials are
intended only for adults of legal purchase age. Anheuser-Busch will
limit its free distribution of promotional materials on campus to
circumstances meeting the following criteria:
Distribution must be at a licensed retail establishment
or during activities at a venue open to the general public where most
of the audience is reasonably expected to be above the legal purchase
age.
Persons in charge of distribution must agree to make a
good faith effort to limit distribution to those of legal purchase age.
Company Sales Representatives
Anheuser-Busch sales personnel must be above the minimum purchase
age and limit their calls on campus to licensed retail establishments.
Dissemination of Guidelines
A significant percentage of marketing activities at or near college
campuses are undertaken, not by Anheuser-Busch, but by wholesalers who
distribute our products. They are independent businessmen and women who
have a strong commitment to the communities and the colleges they
serve. And, like Anheuser-Busch, they also are committed to responsible
marketing practices. We encourage them to follow these guidelines.
These guidelines are to be distributed annually by Anheuser-Busch
to the following:
University and college administrators;
Wholesalers who distribute Anheuser-Busch beers;
All Anheuser-Busch sales and marketing personnel.
______
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Mr. Osborne. Thank you very much. We'll now begin
questioning. And in deference to Ms. Woolsey's schedule--she
has another hearing--I would like to call on her at this time.
Ms. Woolsey. Thank you very much, coach, for letting me do
this.
We call him ``coach,'' too, Mr. Newton.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Woolsey. I have a question. Mr. Newton, if SADD had
been in existence when you were in school, would it have made
any difference to you? Would you have joined? Would you have
supported? How would it have mattered?
Mr. Newton. I think it would have been an opportunity to
intervene on me early. At that time there were no programs in
schools and it was a heavy drinking environment in my high
school. So it could have been an opportunity for early
intervention. So I think it really has some value.
To carry that--the biggest concern I have with young people
is the mixed message. They see so many messages to drink by the
time they're 18, and the drinking age is 21 in America, so it's
a contradiction that they have a hard time working through. But
it would have been an opportunity for early intervention for
me.
Ms. Woolsey. OK. Thank you very much.
Jacqueline, tell us from your perspective and SADD's
perspective, what part do parents play? How important are
parents in--
Ms. Hackett. Certainly, the parents are very influential to
their children, and that's why we need to inform the parents of
the dangers of underage drinking. We need to let the parents
know the statistics about how many youth are dying and how it
affects all of their lives, and we need the parents to send the
message that students should not be drinking.
Ms. Woolsey. So how are we going to get that message to the
parents and to youth? Have you--what kind of--would a national
media campaign work? Does it work with the drug programs? I
mean, would it work?
Ms. Hackett. Absolutely.
Ms. Woolsey. And what would it act like?
Ms. Hackett. There is a lot of media centered toward youth,
and youth are very influenced by newspapers, by the TV, and by
magazines. And we need to act against that and send youth a
positive message and help them make the right decisions about
underage drinking.
Ms. Woolsey. Well, could you comment on the ad we just saw?
Because I can't believe that somebody that was old enough to
drink in the first place is sneaking out of the house and
putting make-up on. I mean, if they're a 21-year-old. So how
does that--is that a message that worked?
Ms. Hackett. We need to use a kind of messaging--when
people are in the media that are drinking, they're good-
looking, they're smart, they're athletic. We need to do
something to counteract that. We have to make hip ads. An
example would be the truth. It's those kind of ads that are
reaching the youth and helping them to make their own
decisions. So I think that's a campaign that we could
definitely look toward making modifications to that work on the
underage drinking aspects.
Ms. Woolsey. OK. Thank you very much. I think I'm going to
yield back, because I really have to go someplace else, but I
want to thank you all so very much. You've been very, very
helpful to us. Thank you.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Ms. Woolsey. I'll just ask a few
questions now. One statistic I ran across a few years ago--I
think it's fairly accurate--is that by the time a young person
is 21 years of age, they've watched roughly 2 years, not of
television, but 2 years of commercials. That's a pretty
powerful influence, 2 years out of 21, or even if it's a year
or year-and-a-half. And I'd like to have you think with me a
little bit as to what percentage of those commercials have to
do with alcohol. Probably out of 2 years, a few months, you
know, right? That would be fair. And out of those few months,
how many de-glamorized alcohol and how many of them have
glamorized? How many of them have involved young people who
are, as was mentioned by Ms. Hackett, athletic, attractive,
having a good time?
I certainly applaud you, Ms. Katz, for the commercial that
you showed us. I think that was good. There was one other
commercial on the Super Bowl that showed a rewind of what
happens when you use drugs and alcohol that was one of the most
watched. I think it was the most impressive to young people.
But on the other hand, we had the dog biting the guy. We had
the horse, flatulent horse, which appeals to probably somewhat
of a juvenile sense of humor, and over and over and over again.
So there is a cumulative effect here. And it definitely
impresses people. And I don't question your intentions. I don't
question the industry's intentions. But the long-term effect
has been a wearing down of sensibility to the destructiveness
of alcohol.
Bob, I'd just like to ask you, you said mixed messages.
Would you flesh that out a little bit? I know you may have some
thoughts on exactly what might be done that would make that a
little bit more effective.
Mr. Newton. Well, I agree with you. I think there is an
association that young people see as alcohol being very
glamorous. This is what successful people--this is how they
celebrate. And I think they develop attitudes from seeing those
messages.
I think to combat that--and as I said earlier, those young
girls, those eighth grade girls, I really believe they didn't
know alcohol was a depressant and a powerful drug. And I
sincerely agree with that the earlier a person drinks alcohol,
the physiological and the psychological impairment is
devastating. A lot of them won't even get through school. There
will be major, major negative consequences.
I think we need, as I mentioned earlier, we need a media
campaign to combat all the positive messages that are sent with
the association of alcohol, and I think that's one solution.
Mr. Osborne. OK. Thank you. I don't know how to say The
Honorable Molinari, but anyway, I recognize your former status.
Do you have any objective analysis of some of the data that you
have presented? In other words, the effects of the
counteractive measures where some outside agency has actually
come in and audited and tried to determine how effective what
you're doing has been?
Ms. Molinari. Sure. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. As I said,
all our current programs right now have an independent
evaluation as part of it. And I daresay for a lot of alcohol
prevention programs, they do not. We do. Some of our evaluators
include for the Alcohol 101 Plus that's currently in the field
right now, part of our evaluation committee consists of NIAAA
and the Department of Education.
They will come back together in a very short period of time
and consistently monitor progress. We're embarking on a several
hundred thousand dollar program with the University of New York
where we're going to sit down, and the chancellor has already
agreed, where we're going to use these programs at different
points of a college career and come back and on different
college campuses perform evaluations with outside auditors and
outside agencies.
A lot of our programs have been audited by the Pacific
Institute and evaluated by the Pacific Institute. The
University of Florida and George Mason University. And yes,
some of them, sir, have not been audited by professionals. But
I challenge anyone sitting here today to look at this, the
Brandon Story. This is the program that I got involved in as a
Member of Congress. Brandon has toured all over the United
States and spoken to high school students, particularly around
prom and at graduation time. He barely can speak. He can barely
walk anymore. He tells the story dramatically of the
irresponsible decision he made, blames no one for hitting a
tree and lost all his life dreams. And you know what, Mr.
Chairman, I have been a part of that real evolution. When high
school students come down and say, it's one instance, but it's
duplicated, that just sticks in my mind. A group of girls
before--because girls are the fastest rising binge drinkers in
the United States today and of great concern--a jar full of
change and said, wanted to let you know, we were giving this to
John to go out and buy alcohol after the prom, and after we
heard what happened to you, we're taking this money back and
we're going to go get our nails done for the prom.
So most of our programs are very well expert analyzed. And
some of them where I have sat in SPEAK-UP organizations on
college campuses where we've worked with the athletes as role
models, I have seen them save lives, sir.
Mr. Osborne. OK. Thank you. My time is up. Mr. Keller.
Mr. Keller. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. And I want to
begin by thanking you for your leadership, for bringing this
issue before our Committee and being largely responsible for
having this hearing today.
There's probably nobody I respect more in Congress than
Coach Osborne. I refer to him as our E.F. Hutton Congressman.
When he talks, everybody stops and listens. But I have to say
that I don't quite share Coach Osborne's skepticism about what
the industry is doing. And he mentioned Anheuser-Busch, for
example, in his opening remarks.
And let me just tell you why. In my district of Orlando,
Florida, the local Budweiser distributor is called Wayne Dench,
and the president is a young man named John Williams, and they
spend $42,000 a year there to help combat underage drinking,
and it makes a big difference. And I'll just give you just
three little examples that I'm personally familiar with.
We have a program in Central Florida called ``Tow to Go.''
And if you're out at a bar and you're underage or even legal
age, and you can't drive, you just call AAA and they send out a
truck and they take you and your car home, no questions asked.
And the beer distributor picks it up. And it saved 1,400 lives
last year. Fourteen hundred drunks used it. And they pick up
the tab. If you don't want your car towed, they have a similar
service with a cab.
They send speakers to the different high schools as well.
Congresswoman Molinari mentioned Brandon. And I was there and
met Brandon, and I went to Winter Park High School with him.
And I tell you, I got up in front of those kids and gave my
best I Have a Dream speech, and, you know, I'm not far removed
from you, and I'm only 30 years old. And someone who was a jury
trial lawyer before I got this job and now a politician. I have
a sense of when I'm connecting with a crowd. And let me tell
you, I did not connect with that crowd. It was like, whatever.
And when this young man got up and told his story, wow,
they were blown away. And you could hear a pin drop. And that's
because the local beer distributors cared about it and help
fund it with Congresswoman Molinari's organization. $42,000 a
year. Don't have to do it. Not doing it because there's a law.
Not doing it because there's some statute. They're doing it
because it's the right thing to do.
So I'm optimistic that working together, we can build
partnerships to win this battle and take it on head on.
Let me ask Mr. Newton, let me ask you a question. I'm going
to ask the same of Mrs. Katz here, and that is, on the issue of
educating young people, I'm real interested in the age group
where it's most successful. I know that you have spoke to kids
at all levels, and my gut reaction as a layman sitting up here
looking at this issue is that you probably have more success
focusing your resources and time with middle schoolers or ninth
and tenth grade than you would at a fraternity party with 20-
year-olds. But you tell me. You've been in the field. Where
should the time and resources best be used in terms of getting
to young people and encourage them not to drink?
Mr. Newton. That's a very good question, Mr. Keller. I
think we need a comprehensive educational approach in all grade
levels. I do believe it needs to start in elementary, and it
continues through middle school and high school.
I think because the kids that I'm concerned about the most
are the 6 million that I mentioned that come from a family
where there's a drinking problem or another drug problem
already established in the family, I would like to provide
early education for those kids and help them cope with that
type of family system, because there's a lot of research in any
case that is a very emotional turmoil for a young person living
in that type of family.
So I think we need a comprehensive approach through all
grade levels, K through 12. And that would be my hope if there
was a Federal strategy to implement that type of comprehensive
approach.
Mr. Keller. Thank you. Mrs. Katz, what's your opinion on
the education aspect, and what ages should we focus a lot of
our time and resources?
Mrs. Katz. Our Family Talk About Drinking program was
created by an advisory pane of people in alcohol prevention,
alcohol treatment, education, and family counseling, and they
recommend that you start the discussion with your children when
they're quite young, as young as eight.
Now when they're that age, it's a very general discussion,
but as they get older, the discussion becomes much more
pointed, and it's an ongoing dialog. And when I say a
discussion I mean more than just a conversation. As your teens
get to 15, 16, 17 years old, you need to start really becoming
an active part of their life, much the same way you had to when
they were babies.
In fact, the adolescent years are somewhat like a rebirth,
and kids need in their teen years as much time and attention
from their parents as they did when they were newborns. And
that means that you know who their friends are. You know who
their friends' parents are, and you make sure that they share
your same values. You know where they're going on a Friday or
Saturday night, and you're awake when they get home. And thanks
to the advent of cell phones, hopefully while they're out, you
even keep track of them, you know, as well. And I know that's
what I do as a mom.
Mr. Keller. Thank you. And, Coach, I'll yield back.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Keller.
Mr. Case?
Mr. Case. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I share my Ranking Member's
welcome acceptance of your initiative in this area.
Let me ask a bullet question of each of you in my 5
minutes, so that means 1 minute each. What should the Federal
Government do to combat underage drinking at this point? I
think we've diagnosed the problem pretty well. It seems to me
that the options are regulatory action by our Federal executive
branch, funding by our executive and legislative branches, or
statutory changes of one kind or another by both branches as
well.
So let me just walk down the panel and just give it to me
straight and bullet-wise. Ms. Molinari?
Ms. Molinari. Well, I think first of all, it's national
leaders I think holding hearings like this and being the
influence developers that you are throughout this nation
certainly speaking on these issues and employing our programs,
any one of the programs that are presented here today to help
educate and influence is an important role that you can all
play.
Certainly I'd say that we embrace almost the majority of
the NAS studies that--the NAS study recommendations that urge
the Federal Government to get more involved and wage media
campaigns, bring together independent advisory boards such as
we do to constantly keep this as a top priority for our
nation's leaders. And certainly in any way, shape or form,
Congressman, that we can be of assistance, we'd be very pleased
to help you in that.
But as we talk, there is a role--the numbers are still to
high--and there's a role for industry, for government, for not-
for-profits all likes to play in reducing and saving lives.
Mr. Case. Mr. Newton?
Mr. Newton. Thank you, Mr. Case. I agree with the NSA
support recommendations to have a Federal strategy to oversee
prevention, intervention and treatment process through
communities, schools and throughout our society. I really
believe that's the kind of intervention we need by the
government right now.
And I do believe that the media campaign would be a huge
tool for us to combat the mixed messages for young kids.
Mr. Case. Thank you.
Mrs. Hamilton?
Mrs. Hamilton. Thank you. It's all right here in the NAS
report. This Committee hearing was on what works. Of all of the
research that was submitted, nothing that was submitted by the
alcohol industry was scientifically evaluated as a science-
based program except for Alcohol 101, and that needed further
research.
This is a graph from Monitoring the Future that goes from
1975 to 2002. The middle line here where the 21 minimum
drinking age changed is where the line goes down. From 1991, it
flatlines. All of the programs that have been presented shown
that this is not working. You cannot just provide information
without having science behind it that proves that it works, and
I would urge this Committee to please look at funding for
science-based programs that can be scientifically evaluated for
this critical public health and safety issue. It's imperative
that we look at this.
You know, I really appreciate the ad. I really do. But I
have to say that that's only one of 179 that kids see that talk
about underage drinking. Kids see 2,400 alcohol ads, or people
do, about drunk driving and underage drinking, and they see
209,000 product ads. We need to have more responsibility from
the alcohol industry that talks about what alcohol is. It's for
adults.
Mr. Case. OK. Thank you. Let me just keep going. Ms.
Hackett? Federal Government action.
Ms. Hackett. We agree very much with what Mrs. Hamilton
said, especially in regards to the National Academy of Sciences
report. The Department of Education could also get involved. In
Vermont, for example, the Department of Education uses its SADD
chapters in its high schools throughout the state to host
leadership training, highway safety messaging, substance abuse
prevention programs and other positive decisionmaking messages
are sent.
The Vermont SADD chapters are a very important part of
their statewide community coalition, which is exactly the model
that the NAS report states.
Mr. Case. Thank you. Mrs. Katz?
Mrs. Katz. Yes, Congressman. First I have to say that we
truly believe that parents play the greatest role here in
helping their youth make good decisions. And of course youth
see beer advertising in their lives. It's part of society. They
may notice an ad. They may even laugh at an ad or be able to
recite something that becomes part of popular culture. But the
truth of the matter is that our job as adults is not to pretend
that adult things don't exist. It's to help youth navigate
through an adult world, and that's where we need to place our
efforts.
And in this regard, my company's advertising has tripled
since 1982.
Mr. Case. OK. Just briefly, should the Federal Government
do anything?
Mrs. Katz. Well, I think the notion that this topic is
being ignored is wrong. I think that there's a study that was
done by the Fiscal Planning Services of Bethesda, Maryland that
said in the year 2000, $8.1 billion was spent by state and
Federal Government agencies and private foundations on alcohol-
related activities such as alcohol abuse treatment, prevention,
education and research.
And I would say that contrary to maybe the answer to a lot
of questions, the answer here is not to throw money at it. It's
to get parents actively involved in their children's lives.
That's what kids have told us is the most important influence,
and that doesn't cost anything.
Mr. Case. OK. So is the answer no, we shouldn't do
anything? Or we should continue the Federal Government
programs?
Mrs. Katz. I think the Federal Government, state government
is already heavily involved in this issue, I would urge them to
continue those efforts. And I think my industry and my company
has deserved a seat at the table and can play a meaningful
role.
Mr. Case. Thank you. Thanks.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Case. Mr. Kind.
Mr. Kind. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank our
distinguished panelists for your testimony here today. Ms.
Molinari, as always, it's a pleasure. And Ms. Hackett, I just
want to commend you. You've been extremely poised in
testifying. I assume this is your first opportunity to testify
before a congressional committee. You've really done an
outstanding job, and I think your representation for students
across the country is outstanding in today's panel.
And Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you, too, for
highlighting this issue. I think it is an important issue, one
that the Committee should take a little more time studying,
obviously, with the National Academy of Science report that has
come out. As an old college football player myself, I, too, am
not insensitive to the messages that the youth and collegiate
athletics are subjected to on a daily basis.
And what I see in the state of Wisconsin is a coordinated
and comprehensive approach right now to educate our youth, to
educate the parents, between beer producers that exist in the
state, the beer distributors, to the schools, the Tavern League
has a very comprehensive approach, too, and we're starting to
see some very fine data coming back in regards to the success
of many of these programs.
And I'd hope as we move forward that there will be that
type of interest in greater collaboration, greater
communication between the various groups that have an interest
in trying to reduce underage drinking in this country.
I notice, Mrs. Katz, that Anheuser-Busch has been very
aggressive on this front as far as outreach efforts, educating
parents in their role in establishing that important
communication with their children in the family, working with
the retailers in order to try to intercept the underage
purchases of alcohol, but also the education efforts with
students and youth in particular. Do you have any statistics in
regards to the success of the type of programs that Anheuser-
Busch has been involved with? Any type of research that's gone
on with the approaches that you have taken that you can share
with the Committee?
Mrs. Katz. Well, Congressman, the FTC in its 2003 report on
youth advertising and underage drinking--I'm sorry. On
advertising and underage drinking, rather, commended the
industry's educational program, said that they were based on
sound research and that they were prepared by people from the
educational field, the medical field, the prevention field, and
they encouraged the industry to continue those efforts.
If I may, I left half of what I wanted to say to a point
that was raised earlier by Congressman Case. If I could just
finish. I said that our company's advertising expenditures had
tripled since 1982, but teen drinking has gone down 32 percent
in that same time period, and teen drunk driving has declined
61 percent.
Now we believe that parents play the greatest role again in
addressing this issue, but it also involves retailers, and
that's why we put so much emphasis at the point of purchase and
encourage retailers to get involved. One of the training
programs that we support at the retail level is called TIPS. It
stands for Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of
alcohol. And it was created by the founding director of the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Dr. Morris
Chafetz, and it has been researched at Virginia Polytechnic and
found to be very effective. That's a program that we have
wholeheartedly supported for many years, I believe over 20
years.
Mr. Kind. Ms. Katz, do you feel that the beer industry is
in a position or willing to try to work with some of the other
outside groups and organizations that obviously have an
interest, have a lot of ideas that they bring to the table on
what approach to take, or do you feel that you're being kind of
excluded in the overall discussion of what approach is
necessary?
Mrs. Katz. Well, Congressman, I won't comment on whether or
not I feel as if we're being excluded, but I will agree that we
have a role to play and that it would be wonderful if the
outcome of this hearing is that we all remember what the true
enemy here is and what we're truly fighting, and that's
underage drinking and not each other. And we would hope that
this hearing opens the door for more collaboration on the
things that we can agree on.
And I'm familiar with some of the programs that Mothers
Against Drunk Driving has developed. One that I haven't seen
but I've read a press release about is called Alcohol EDU, and
it's for high school students, and it emphasizes, according to
Mrs. Hamilton, that youth should not drink before they're of
legal drinking age, that they should never drink and drive, and
that they should never get in the car with anyone who's been
drinking.
Those are messages that we not only wholeheartedly support,
those are the very same messages that we're conveying in our
programs. So my hope is that we can work together on areas
where we have common ground and remember what our true aim here
is, and that is to continue the progress in the fight against
underage drinking.
Mr. Kind. Thank you. And Ms. Hackett, may I ask you a
question? Obviously peer pressure, and we heard from Mr. Newton
the role that peer pressure played in his early age in that,
but that has a huge role in underage drinking as well. Have you
noticed or have you been involved in any programs dealing with
peer pressure and educating students on how to deal with the
powerful influence of their peers in making these type of
societal decisions?
Ms. Hackett. I think that's a large initiative of SADD, is
to help create an environment where high school students can go
and be in a safe haven, you know, somewhere where they're not
going to be pressured by people to drink or to go to parties
where people will be drinking, but it gives them an alternative
without excluding them from friends.
Mr. Kind. All right. Thank you. Thank you all again, and
thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Kind.
Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Mr. Chairman, I'd
like to thank you for your efforts in having this hearing
today. As the father of four children, I have a special
interest in this, and also I'm very pleased that when I served
in the state senate of South Carolina that I worked very
closely with MADD. I have been a member. I don't know if my
dues are current to date, but I have been a--and particularly
Mr. Bill Rowe of Bluffton, South Carolina, who has been our
leader there in South Carolina, is very good about educating
persons on the state level, and I'm very grateful. Please come
by and visit my office. Ms. Hackett would like this, too, but
I've got a--
Mrs. Hamilton. I'll be in South Carolina next week.
Mr. Wilson. Oh, wonderful. Hey, that's terrific. I've got a
certificate of merit on the wall. And so thank you. You make a
real difference on the state level, both of you, MADD and SADD.
Additionally, I want to submit a statement for the record,
and I want to commend the beer wholesalers. I've worked with
them over the years, in particular Larry Lipoff of Charleston,
with the Pearlstein Distributors in Ridgeland, South Carolina,
and they have an extraordinary program. This is a very
depressed community. And they have a program that's real life
of working with firefighters and with police officers to
explain the consequences of driving intoxicated.
Additionally, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, I have known
multiple generations of the Barudi family. Murray Barudi,
Orangeburg Distributors. He actually recruited Hootie and the
Blowfish to provide a little video to warn against young people
drinking and the consequences. And it's been seen and reached
142 million people. But I've got this statement for the record.
And at this time, in the interest of time, Ms. Hackett, I
was very interested in your point about having mentoring,
because I believe that peer pressure has been indicated with
Mr. Newton too that mentoring can be very helpful. Can you tell
us of any examples in your experience of mentoring?
Ms. Hackett. Each SADD chapter focuses on mentoring in a
different way, but my particular chapter, we do DARE role
modeling, where we'll go into elementary schools with DARE
officers near the end of their curriculum, and take questions
from the students about what it's like to be asked to use, if
we've ever been asked.
We also have a program called the Just Say No Traveling
Show where our members who signed the pledge to be no use will
go into middle schools and elementary schools, not just in our
district, but around the state. And they perform skits about
prevention, underage drinking and violence.
Mr. Wilson. And I was particularly happy to hear about the
Just Say No. To me, that program is so positive, and it's a
positive negative message. And so thank you for even
referencing that.
And Congresswoman Molinari, it's wonderful to have you
back. And particularly your work with the Century Council, it
makes a difference. And you've indicated that research has show
that parents are the most influential factor in an adolescent's
decision to drink or not. Could you please explain any
initiatives that you may have that emphasizes that point?
Ms. Molinari. Yes sir. I think we all certainly agree here
that there's so much--there's a role for all of us to play--
government, industry, not-for-profit organizations, as we are
too, but that to Francine's point, we can't--you want data. The
data states time and time again that the most important
influence in a person's ability, a young person's ability to
choose to drink or not, comes from their parents.
And let me just cite one more study that we did through
Teenage Research Unlimited several years ago. We interviewed
over 2,000 teenagers, and then we interviewed the same amount
of parents of teenagers. Seventy percent of the parents
believed in the last 3 weeks they had a meaningful conversation
about underage drinking with their teenager. Seventy percent of
the teenagers said they had not talked to their parents about
underage drinking yet.
So a lot of what our programs aim to do is to say if you're
talking, they're not hearing you or you're talking through each
other. So our programs like You're Not Done Yet and a lot of
our other programs go directly to the parents, and most
particularly the program that we're gearing right now for 10-
year-olds and up will be directed through middle schools but
primarily the message will be geared toward the parents, which
will be a facilitator's guide and also a message in conjunction
with a television, positive television representative
personality, which I can't name yet, but one that you'll all
think is a good thing, to help communicate to parents and very
young people about the dangers of underage drinking.
It's a message that needs to be reinforced to parents, a
consequence and a level. There's the right way and the wrong--
there's the really right way for parents to communicate with
their children about underage drinking, but I don't think
there's a wrong way. The conversation just has to take place.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you. We appreciate your service and your
husband's service, too.
Ms. Molinari. Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. And Mrs. Katz, you've indicated that Anheuser-
Busch has programs in place to promote greater parent-child
communication. And that's the key as identified by the other
persons here today. Can you restate those real quickly in the
interest of time?
Mrs. Katz. The programs that we have are aimed at parents
of young children, Family Talk About Drinking, which helps
parents initiate the conversation with their children. As those
children move into their teenage years and are heading off to
college, we have another program called College Talk, and that
program helps parents help their teens continue to make good
decisions as they head out of the home and to college.
And then finally, we are an avid supporter of mentoring
programs for those students who don't have that kind of strong
parental influence at home.
But I'd just like to make one comment if I may about the
Roper Research organization's poll of young people, because
actually that poll asks youth to identify their influences on a
whole host of topics--music, what clothes they wear. Whether or
not they're going to drink is one of the answers, or one of the
questions, rather. And when it comes to things like music and
what clothes they wear, parents don't really play a role.
But when it comes to important decisions in their lives
like whether or not they're going to drink or what they're
going to be when they grow up, they look to their parents. And
advertising has always been one of the choices on this survey,
and it has always ranked dead last.
And we believe that if youth have so firmly told us that
their parents are such an important factor in this decision,
they don't want their parents' disapproval, they want to do the
right thing, if 82 percent of today's teens are not drinking,
let's continue to use what works. I agree that we are a far way
from claiming victory. There are still far too many teens who
drink. But we're on the right track. And we need to reinforce
that there's progress that's been made. Because if we don't, we
lose the opportunity to help students understand that their
efforts are working.
I applaud the work that SADD does. In fact, Anheuser-Busch
was a founding corporate sponsor of SADD. And my older daughter
was a member of SADD when she was in high school. It's a
wonderful program, and it complements what parents should be
doing at home, and it helps youth make good decisions. And in
the end, that's what this comes down to.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Wilson follows:]
Statement of Hon. Joe Wilson, a Representative in Congress from the
State of South Carolina
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for convening this hearing on what works in
the fight against illegal underage consumption of alcohol. I commend
you for focusing on the solutions rather than the problem itself. We
all know great strides have been made in the last twenty years;
however, there is more to be done. Parents, schools, communities, and
the industry must band together to identify what works in our
communities and do more.
Early intervention by parents, schools, and community partners is
paramount in taking this fight to the battlefields where it is fought.
As the father of four children, I have long supported community efforts
to prevent underage drinking. In the state Senate I received Mothers
Against Drunk Driving's (MADD's) Certificate of Merit award, and
proudly display that award in my Congressional office.
I want to speak about what works in my community. In the district I
represent, and across South Carolina, beer wholesalers have exemplified
a strong dedication in their communities in the fight against illegal
underage consumption. There are more underage drinking prevention
programs at work in South Carolina's Second District , and nationwide,
than we have time to enumerate here today, but I want to tell you about
just a few. Additionally, because I believe in the MADD program, I have
been a member led by Bill Roe of Bluffta, SC.
In Ridgeland, South Carolina, Pearlstine Distributors, led by
President Larry Lipor of Charleston, hosts a program called ``Street
Smart,'' which uses firefighters and paramedics to present high school
and middle school students with a real-life look at the consequences of
underage drinking.
Additionally, Orangeburg Distributors is an industry leader in the
fight against illegal underage consumption. Orangeburg Distributors
President, Murray Baroody, enlisted the help of his friends, pop
musicians ``Hootie and the Blowfish,'' to record a Public Service
Announcement which has reached more than 142 million people. Orangeburg
has a continuous rotation of underage drinking prevention outdoor ads,
radio spots and print ads, and Orangeburg recently sponsored a talk by
emergency room nurse Linda Dutil, who makes a dramatic presentation
showing students the harmful effects of binge drinking and drunk
driving accidents.
Both of these operations participate in the ``WE ID'' program that
offers retailers ID training and a variety of materials, from buttons
to stickers for cooler doors and store entrances.
Across the state, the industry works with local high schools to
promote safe and fun celebrations for seniors on graduation or prom
nights--by providing food, games, entertainment, and a Zero Tolerance
for alcohol.
Again, the efforts that I have touched on today highlight just a
few of the important and successful programs being implemented by beer
wholesalers in my district and state. I urge my colleagues to allow for
full consideration of the industry's commitment to this important issue
and its efforts to address our mutual concerns.
Mr. Chairman, again I would like to thank you for your efforts in
preventing underage consumption by having this hearing today. I am
confident that we are all here to reach the same goal, though we may
have different ways of going about it. I look forward to working with
my colleagues as well as all the public and private entities to find a
solution to the underage drinking situation that is facing our children
and American families.
______
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And let me
commend you for helping to make sure that this issue gets
raised. As one who has spent much of my adult life working with
young people and members of my family working with young people
as teachers and principals and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and
Sunday school and the whole works, I think it's a very relevant
discussion.
As I listen to the different type programs and the
different activities that seem to work, it occurs to me that I
represent a district that has a large disadvantaged area, large
disadvantaged population. Many families are dysfunctional. And
so the normalcy of family impact and family influence
oftentimes does not occur, or it occurs in a very different
kind of way.
My question, Mrs. Katz, is really to you. You've put a lot
of emphasis on parent or parental influence on decisions and
behavior of children. Do you have programs that work most
directly with organizations and groups--I mean, I find that
interaction, local community groups, local community
organizations, seem to have a greater opportunity to reach not
only teenagers or young people, but in many instances, their
parents as well. And so television messages, ads, don't seem to
work as well in some of these areas as the direct interaction.
And so my question is, do you have programs that promote that
kind of direct interaction and involvement with communities?
Mrs. Katz. Absolutely, Congressman Davis. In fact, our
wholesalers, who are in virtually every community across the
country, bring the programs that I've referenced today to their
communities, and they work with local organizations to get them
implemented.
Nationally, we've worked with many organizations to get
these programs into the hands of parents or to bring speakers
into schools. Those that we've worked with include some of our
states attorneys general, the National Collegiate Athletic
Association Foundation, the University of Virginia, Florida
State University. We have worked with Boys and Girls Clubs.
We've worked with organizations throughout the country,
because we believe that, again, while it's so important for
parents to play a meaningful role in their lives, a group like
the Jaycees or the Junior League can help us get these
materials to parents and help start those discussions, and
that's the most important thing. So, yes, we work with
community organizations throughout the country.
Mr. Davis. And I would encourage you to even do more
outreach, for example, while many of the groups that you just
mentioned in parts of what would be my congressional district,
because I represent downtown Chicago and everything in it, but
I also represent other areas where the organizations, for
example, that you just mentioned, would not be a part of those
communities. And so I would encourage some additional outreach
to groups that perhaps are not as traditional, not as well
known, but are in fact emerging as part of the decisionmaking
process.
And the only other comment that I'd have, I want to commend
MADD. I've been a great fan of MADD since its inception from
day one, SADD, any groups that are really working, because I
think that people learn what they live. And I do believe that
there are opportunities to influence behavior and that as
individuals learn, then they will apply what they know to daily
living and make decisions in a different way.
And so I thank you very much. And thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Molinari. Congressman? Could I--when we have a
conversation about how the Federal Government can get involved,
I'd like to ask, because your point is well taken, and very
similar programs are run by the Distilled Spirits, through the
Boys and Girls Clubs, through the NCAA, through colleges and
high schools. But certainly you are all--are grassroots in many
ways, and if there are organizations to any of you that you
think we can work--and I'll speak for the beer industry too--
we'd all be happy to hear of your suggestions as to where we
can take our programs or help you if you can help us facilitate
relationships to get into those venues, we'd be more than happy
to pursue those and would consider it an honor to work with you
in the future.
Mr. Davis. I'd be very pleased to do that.
Ms. Molinari. Terrific. Thank you.
Mr. Davis. And we will make it a point. Because I work with
a group called Prevention Partnership that does outstanding
work. And I know that they, as well as others, would be
interested.
Ms. Molinari. Terrific. We would welcome the opportunity,
as well.
Mr. Davis. Thank you very much.
Mrs. Hamilton. Mr. Vice Chairman, could I just mention a
few more things? I really want to thank this Committee for
taking the opportunity to look at this issue very carefully,
but I also--
Mr. Osborne. Would you hold off just a second?
Mrs. Hamilton. I apologize.
Mr. Osborne. We have one more member who has some
questions, and so thank you, Mr. Davis. And Mrs. Davis?
Mrs. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I'm sorry that I
missed your earlier testimony. You may have spoken about this,
but if I can ask a little bit more about what is research-based
to you? What does that entail, and how do we go about that?
Mrs. Hamilton. Research-based is independently evaluated.
When MADD's Protecting You Protecting Me program, which is a
curriculum for first through fifth graders, was named as a
model program by the Federal Government, it went through a
rigorous process to get on the national registry of effective
programs. It has to go to at least three separate independent
evaluating organizations to look at. There's a criteria that
they grade upon, and it has to meet that criteria. Everybody
has to agree on it in order to get on it. Of the over 700
programs that were submitted for evaluation, I believe there
are only about 50 that were named as a model program.
So it's important that independent people look at the
program that has been put before them, that they look at the
science behind to see if those programs were developed based on
science and shown to work to change behavior and to make a
difference.
Mrs. Davis. In your estimate, is that what's happening
across the board?
Mrs. Hamilton. Unfortunately, no. And that's what we're
very, very concerned about, is that the programs that were
shown to the NAS is that they were not scientifically
evaluated, and we're talking about using Federal funds in the
school system to talk about underage drinking programs.
We want to emphasize that these programs that are used
within the school system that are getting taxpayer-funded need
to be scientifically evaluated by independent researchers and
shown to work.
Mrs. Davis. One of my other concerns is the extent to which
the young people are included in that. And perhaps, Ms.
Hackett, you can respond to that. Because I know in the state
of California, for example, there was a time when we spent a
lot of money trying to reach young couples on unwed pregnancy.
And in fact, you know, young people sat and watched the
commercials and the spot, you know, they responded flatly to
them. They really didn't speak to them. They didn't speak to
what would change their behavior.
And so I'm wondering the extent to which we've really been
able to get at the heart of that, and obviously for different
groups, for different ages, but how much effort goes into
really engaging young people in doing their own ads, what is it
that would speak to them particularly? Obviously using rock
stars and people that they care about make a difference. But
I'm trying to get a sense of how much of that is really going
on, and are we asking those questions about the response of
young people?
Mr. Newton. You know, real quick, Mrs. Davis, I think it's
hard to scientifically evaluate human behavior. I think, you
know, a lot of times these intervention and prevention programs
affect each young person differently at a different time. But
if they don't have the information available, that's what hurts
the most.
With all due respect, I think the efforts by the alcohol
industry in this regard is--and the money spent and the
programs developed--is a minute effort compared to the
promotion of alcohol. So I would like the excise tax, if that
was passed, that those funds would be totally facilitated
through the government, and the alcohol industry wouldn't have
any choice of how that money is used.
Thank you.
Mrs. Katz. If I may, Mrs. Hamilton referred to the drug-
free schools money and the fact that taxpayer funding goes to
pay for these programs. I understand that MADD's programs are
at a cost to the school, but all of our programs are free of
charge. We pay for them. Our wholesalers bring speakers to
schools free of charge. So there is no taxpayer cost.
And I strongly believe that, as Susan Molinari said, that
when you have a speaker addressing high school students, in our
instance we have about, I believe, ten speakers, one of whom is
the cause of a drunk driving accident. He was the driver, and
he killed his younger brother. When you have somebody like that
telling his story to young people, I think it's very powerful.
He's come to my daughter's school. He's spoken to her peers,
and it has a very powerful effect.
And I'm not sure that you can gauge that on a scale. I can
tell you that we get many, many letters commending these kinds
of programs from young people, saying that they're making a
difference. A family talk about drinking program. We actually
independently go out and have people evaluate the families that
have gotten the materials to see whether they think the
materials were helpful, and we've received positive responses.
So we believe we're on the right track. But I hope the
effort here is not to exclude some programs and say that some
are better than others or only certain people should be at the
table. My company has invested with our wholesalers nearly half
a billion dollars in these efforts, and our commitment is
sincere. And we believe that we can be and should be part of
the solution.
Mrs. Hamilton. I'm not saying that they should be excluded.
What I'm saying is that the taxpayer money should be spent on
programs that are scientifically and independently evaluated
that show results. That's what I said.
We've got to educate not only our children on this very
important issue about underage drinking from the time they get
to first grade all the way through high school, every single
year we've got to have a constant funding stream that helps
these programs continue to work. But we've also got to tell
parents and adults in this country the truth about what's going
on with underage drinking, because they do not know. They do
not understand what a child's developing brain looks like when
it's been--when they're using alcohol regularly. They don't
understand that the frontal lobes and the hippocampus are being
affected by underage drinking. Adults do not know that.
We've got to have an adult-focused media campaign so that
parents start learning this. Mr. Newton talked about that. His
dad was an alcoholic. Children in this country are growing up
in families where alcohol is not used responsibly. Those
parents don't understand what kind of a message they're sending
to their children.
Ms. Davis. Thank you. I was going to ask, Ms. Hackett, if
you could respond for a second whether you think that, you
know, as adults, do we ask you enough what you think about the
effort that's going on?
Ms. Hackett. I think there's a pretty wide gap between what
parents think their kids are doing and what their kids are
doing. And that's why I think it's very important that we set a
media campaign targeted toward the parents.
We need to inform the parents of what their kids are doing
and how to help their kids make the right decisions.
Mrs. Davis. Are adults listening to you?
Ms. Hackett. I think the adults would listen if they were
given the right ways, you know. You can affect anyone. We just
have to figure out what media campaign we want to use. The
example that the Anheuser-Busch showed, their ad that is a
prevention ad for underage drinking, isn't being talked about
nearly as much as the ones where you see a dog go and bite the
groin of a man for the alcohol. So we need to figure out what's
targeting who. You know, more of my friends were going in and
quoting that commercial than going in and talking about, you
know, putting on makeup in the car to go to a convenience
store.
Mrs. Davis. And Ms. Molinari?
Ms. Molinari. I just wanted to all say that we have learned
over the years of this program, and perhaps the hard way, and
while we do use the Federal resources, Department of Education,
NIAAA, SAMHSA, in our program development, they have been--
NTSB--extremely helpful in helping us develop our educational
programs.
When we get to the actual implementation of the programs
and how the program looks, we have young people involved now in
every stage of it. We go to the younger children in the middle
school programs, the college students in our Alcohol 101 Plus,
so that at least we design an environment that's reflective of
their environment and speak their language so the door stays
open as long as possible while we try to get our message
through.
Mrs. Davis. I appreciate that. I think we're doing a better
job at that. For a long time we weren't.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mrs. Davis. A little role reversal
here. I'd like to defer to the Chairman of the Committee.
Chairman Castle. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank
you, Mr. Newton, for coaching him well to be a good
Congressman. We appreciate it.
(Laughter.)
Chairman Castle. I'm going to talk from my own experience,
and I've got to tell you right away up front, this is not
scientific and not independent. These are just things I've
observed at home and things that I've done that have worked
pretty well.
And perhaps this is to Mrs. Hamilton and to Ms. Hackett
initially, but it's based--not based on, but Mrs. Katz referred
to it as well, and that is the experience of young people
testifying, or other people, members of MADD and SADD who I've
worked with back as a local official in Delaware, in coming
into schools and talking to them, and frankly, showing
pictures, showing slides, having that discussion, tears, the
whole thing.
That has a galvanizing effect on those young crowds, and
I'm talking about high school kids, 9th through 12th grade,
say, so you're talking about, you know, 15, 16, 17, 14, 18-
year-olds, perhaps. And I'm not sure it's a permanent effect or
a lasting effect, but to me of all the things that I saw in
dealing with kids when they actually had known somebody or knew
of somebody and they saw what had happened, by God, they sat up
and paid attention.
Are your two organizations still doing that on a regular
basis, or is that sort of not proper anymore? Where does that--
where is that on the radar screen?
Mrs. Hamilton. Unfortunately, because we see over 17,000
fatalities and over a half million injuries due to drunk
driving every single year in this country, we get a fresh crop
of victims who come to MADD to look for our services, and
victims who speak on victim impact panels in front of schools
and to offenders all across this country are working.
There is no scientific evaluation that shows that--we know
that those programs do have an immediate impact on those kids.
It is very heart-wrenching to go and listen to that. It's
heart-wrenching to do. I've done it many, many times myself. We
work with a lot of people whose children have killed themselves
in drunk driving crashes, and a lot of people who've driven
drunk and killed other people in crashes.
So we're very experienced at working with all kinds of
people. What we don't know is the long-term range effect of
whether hearing that at that particular time is going to change
somebody's attitudes and behavior way down the line. Of course,
we hope that it's making a difference, but there's more
research that needs to be done on that.
Chairman Castle. How do you look at it, Ms. Hackett? No
research needs to be done in my mind, by the way, but that's
all right.
Ms. Hackett. The way that SADD works is each chapter
decides what initiatives they want to take that would be the
most effective in their school and community environments. And
in a lot of cases, schools will do specific programming that
will reach their students due to something that has happened in
the school of students have been in accidents involving drunk
driving.
So SADD really aims to, you know, target the school, help
the kids where they need it, and, you know, give them something
that they need to hear and something that they can relate to.
Chairman Castle. OK. Well, thank you both for your
interest. Let me go on to another question, and I'm not sure of
the answer, so maybe all of you should just answer briefly if
you can, and that is, the other thing I've seen that had just a
dramatic effect on my friends, among others, and the behavior
of people, are the roadblocks for drunk driving.
But with young people, if you've had so much as any alcohol
whatsoever, you've got a problem. You're going to lose your
license. So it's not just drunk driving. It's also anybody who
is young who is driving. Generally, they're 16. Some may be
cheating on that, too. So you're dealing with individuals who
can get in a lot of trouble. And in Delaware, we've done quite
a bit of radio advertising on that particular subject, which I
think has deterred some young people from getting into cars at
least, and hopefully they're more thoughtful about it.
I mean, I've seen the effect of it at cocktail parties.
People are very careful, because we have quite a few roadblocks
in Delaware, and they're very cautious about it. And I've been
out there with the police on the roadblocks, and I've seen the
reaction of people. They are panicked when this happens, even
if they haven't been drinking, they're probably panicked. But
they are.
And that also has had--I mean, that has had a dramatic
effect on the older population, but also on a younger
population. There are some legal questions about it, none of
which I think have been really sustained in any courts. First
of all, is there any group represented here or that you know of
that's opposed to that for any legal reasons, or anything of
that nature? None of your groups are--
Mrs. Hamilton. Opposed to sobriety checkpoints?
Chairman Castle. Opposed to sobriety checkpoints.
Mrs. Hamilton. No.
Mrs. Katz. Well, we are adamantly opposed to drunk driving,
and to the effective measures that can address drunk driving,
we are whole-hearted supporters. When it comes to teens, for
over a decade we have supported an initiative called graduated
licensing that helps youth get graduated privileges so that
they ease into the driving privilege and they don't from 16
years old get full driving privileges.
But I know that most youth who die in automobile crashes
die in non-alcohol-related fatalities. And so that is the No. 1
leading cause of death among youth, and we also need to get a
message out to young people about not wearing their seat belts,
and driving too quickly.
Chairman Castle. I agree with all that, obviously. And I
couldn't agree with you more. But we're focused on the alcohol,
really, today and the usage of it. Have any of you seen the
effects of it on young people in terms of the sobriety
checkpoints or roadblocks?
Mrs. Hamilton. The NAS report also suggests sobriety
checkpoints as a deterrent for underage drinking as well as for
deterring all impaired driving.
Chairman Castle. So it is recognized by them that there is
an underage aspect?
Mrs. Hamilton. Absolutely.
Mr. Newton. I think those checkpoints are a very--can be a
very helpful tool to intervene on someone that has a problem.
Because it's been shown that legal consequences to drunk
driving or to drinking problems, people respond to that because
they're forced to, and it helps people get well.
I was a little concerned about the message that was
mentioned earlier I think by Mr. Miller about people giving
people rides home that are drunk. With underage drinkers,
that's kind of can be a mixed message. It's OK to drink as long
as you don't drive. It's still an illegal activity. And a lot
of those kids will drive if they drink enough. At some point,
they will not be able to make a decision not to ask somebody
for a ride, and they will get in their car and be a danger.
Ms. Molinari. Well, to that point, one of the programs that
we work with local distributors, retailers, police officers, is
to try and intervene before we get to that point, and that is
the Cops in Shops programs or the point of sale, where we try
and use almost that same fear factor, embarrassment factor to
say don't even try and buy it if you're under 21, because you
know what? You're not just going to get slapped on the wrist
anymore in this area. You're going to get--potentially you can
get arrested. Potentially, you can never get a driver's license
if you continue this behavior. And you know what? That police
officer is going to take you home and stare your parents down
face to face.
So we also like to see a lot of the intervention take place
earlier and the embarrassment so that we don't even get to that
point.
Chairman Castle. Well, my time is up, and I don't think,
Mr. Chairman, that, you know, fear and intimidation is--
obviously education and parental involvement is also
extraordinarily important as well as other things, but I do
think because alcohol usage is basically viewed as something
pleasurable from an early age on. We see it, unfortunately, on
television advertising. We see it because adults drink and that
kind of thing, that a little bit of fear and deterrence is in
order, quite frankly, done legally and done properly. And I
think that has to be part of the agenda of any programs that we
put together as we try to deal with this problem.
So we need to get a balance of various things. I appreciate
your commenting on your views on those points. I yield back,
sir.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think Mr. Case had
a comment that he wanted to make before he had to leave.
Mr. Case. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and again, I
thank you on behalf of my colleagues for holding this hearing.
I thank the witnesses. It was a good, balanced panel. We heard
from a lot of different perspectives.
I think we could probably sit here for another couple of
hours. I certainly could. We didn't even touch some issues that
frankly we should have gotten into.
Just a couple of observations. First of all, from my own
personal perspective, and I believe I speak for several of my
colleagues, I don't think that the answers here are going to
lie outside of Federal Government action exclusively. I don't
believe that we can pull this off by simply deferring to the
industry and to the schools and to the states. We are going to
need coordinated efforts across the board.
We clearly have a continuing problem. I believe it's
getting worse. Perhaps some of the statistics show some
positive developments, but overall, I think the pattern is
pretty clear; that we are exposing our youth to alcohol on a
much more regular basis, and they are in fact consuming alcohol
on a much more regular basis, and something is not working.
Now I think we would all agree that one part of the Federal
Government's efforts should be devoted to funding prevention.
That is a legitimate thing for us to do collectively. So one
place we can certainly start is with the zeroing out of the $30
million in the current President's budget.
One of my colleagues made the comment earlier that there
are going to be some casualties of balancing a budget deficit
that's worsening every day. I totally agree with that. I just
don't think this should be the casualty. I don't think that
this is the right message at all. We've been talking about
messages the whole day. And the message that the Federal
Government doesn't believe that alcohol prevention in K to 12
is important is the wrong message.
Second, we have not talked yet about advertising
sufficiently, I don't believe. Certainly what bothers me as one
member is the low percentage devoted by the alcohol industry to
so-called responsibility advertising. I'm not sure that looking
out over the--fairly over the entire scene we can assume, nor
should we ask of the alcohol industry to fund perhaps a much
higher level perhaps where we'd all like to see it, like 50
percent or something like that. So it seems to me that we've
got to think of some form of getting a lot more of that
responsibility advertising out over the airwaves both to
adults--and I agree that adults have to be very much the
focus--but also to teen drinking. I don't think it's going to
be enough for adults.
The comment by Mr. Davis that we can't just simply focus on
families, when so much of the problem in our country is a
breakdown in families--where families are not effectively
delivering messages, means that we have to find other ways of
reaching children who are not going to be reached through their
families, and oftentimes that is--and by the way, not only
through schools either. Sometimes those teens are operating
outside of the normal school environment. So, clearly, it has
to be advertising at some point, it seems to me.
And I do believe finally that the alcohol industry should
very much be at the table, that they need to be a part of the
discussion, that we all need to be at the table together. So to
you, Mrs. Katz, you said it to me twice, and I heard it--I
heard you say it one more time, so obviously there's some
sensitivity there. I believe that you should be there.
But the bottom line is that to leave this unaddressed or to
leave this to the current kind of approach, which is some level
of minimal effort by the Federal Government, a tremendous
amount of effort by community organizations such as MADD, SADD,
recovering alcoholics such as you, thank you very much for
being here and telling us your story, and to voluntary
appearances by people who have suffered, and to basically trust
in an industry which is still devoted No. 1 to the marketing
and increased consumption of its product, seems to me to be
unrealistic.
So I hope that we would all be able to support a collective
effort, probably through our Federal Government.
Thank you.
Mr. Osborne. Thank you, Mr. Case. I would just like to make
a couple of closing comments, and then we'll let you get on
your way. You've been sitting here a long time. You've been
very patient and articulate, and we appreciate your attendance
today.
The reason that I wanted to have this hearing was that the
National Academy of Science spent a lot of time on this report.
They are an independent, outside, scientifically based agency.
And so we didn't want their recommendations just to go unheard
or forgotten. So often, that's what happens. The Federal
Government says, well, you guys go study it. They produce a
report, and then it stays on a shelf somewhere, nobody pays any
attention.
And I think we've got to pay attention to this, because
when you look at the fact that 25 percent of our eighth graders
are drunk every month, those are the kids that are coming up.
They're 13 and 14 years old. And we've said over and over again
here today, that's a whole different deal than somebody 21 or
22 getting drunk. And so to say that the problem's going away,
or it isn't much of a problem, I don't think is really very
accurate.
Obviously, when the drinking age was raised to 21, we saw a
pretty steep drop. As has been mentioned, since then, it really
hasn't declined much. And so what the National Academy of
Science said, No. 1, they think we ought to have a federally
funded program that's aimed at parents. And I would agree with
that, because I think as Ms. Hackett said, there's a tremendous
gap between what parents think is happening and what is really
happening. They don't have a clue, most of them.
But also, Danny Davis made a good point. We've got 20
million fatherless kids in this country. We have a huge number
of kids who don't have a parent they can turn to. We have a lot
of parents, as Bob mentioned, that are currently alcohol-
dependent, and you can't count on one of those parents to be a
very good adviser to their children. So certainly we've got to
aim at the parents, but we've got a $53 billion problem here.
Second recommendation was that the alcohol industry refrain
from marketing practices that appeal to youth. And I really
appreciate Mrs. Katz being here and what she had to say, and
also Ms. Molinari. I think you both represent your industries
very well and made some very good points. But I think most
people would have to say that maybe the overwhelming majority
of what kids see is not the ad don't drink, but they see young
people having a good time. They're athletic, and they sometimes
make that connection, that if you're going to have a party, if
you win a championship, you've got to have alcohol. And it's
there, very prevalent. So that was their second recommendation.
There were 30 million underage kids that saw the Super
Bowl, and you say, well, what was the overall message that they
got from those Super Bowl ads? Was it pro or anti-underage
drinking? Probably many people would say it was more pro.
And then last, we need a Federal coordination and support,
that the Federal Government is doing a very poor job of
coordinating what they do spend. They're not spending enough.
And as Mr. Castle and I and others here know, the Federal
budget is a real issue right now. I don't know what's going to
happen.
But we appreciate your being here today. We appreciate all
of you for what steps you have taken to prevent, and I think
each one of you here is sincere in what you're doing.
So with that, I will end the hearing. And I'd like to thank
the witnesses and members for their valuable time.
If there's no further business, the Subcommittee stands
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:32 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
Statement of Marilyn N. Musgrave, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Colorado
I have seen in Colorado that young people are susceptible to
substance abuse if they place a low value on education, have weak
attachments to family, school, the community, and have friends who
approve of or engage in substance abuse. Clearly, these are behavior
patterns that are most affected by individual coping skills and close
relationships, e.g., friends, family and the community at large. We
believe children are almost never too young to begin to learn the
resiliency skills that will protect them from substance abuse of any
kind. To that end, we all have a role to play in efforts to support
educational programs and networks that reach youth and their support
system of parents, schools, church and community, industry and the
advocacy community.
The industry has spent enormous resources on community based
prevention and education. Teaching life skills to young people gives
them a foundation for making good decisions, setting a positive path
for their lives.)
Attempts by some to focus on the product rather than the behavior
of the individual are misguided and counterproductive. My belief is
that product- oriented policies do not produce the active involvement
of people, the essential ingredient to a successful program. Command
and control, non-collaborative policies do little to address those who
abuse alcohol and hurt those who use products responsibly.
Some today will call for more government action. With the budget
deficit growing due to the war and protecting homeland security, I
believe our committee will at best be challenged to keep existing
programs intact during this next fiscal year. Therefore, this committee
has a big challenge in its review and assessment of the various Dept of
Education programs and in looking at ways to improve management and
program effectiveness. I am hopeful that after such a Congressional
review there will be a determination to give far greater emphasis to
initiatives that have states and communities determining their unique
needs and fashioning responses to reduce substance abuse and other
destructive behaviors.
Thank you very much Mr. Chairman for allowing me to comment.
______
Letter from Bob Anastas, Founder, Students Against Driving Drunk,
Submitted for the Record
The Honorable Mike Castle
Education Reform Committee
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Dear Representative Castle:
I understand that you recently conducted a hearing on underage
drinking. As the founder of Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD), now
called Students Against Destructive Decisions, I have a long history of
working to address this issue.
While we've seen significant progress on preventing underage
drinking since I began SADD back in the early 1980s, there is much more
work to be done. The creation of SADD came out of my desire to inspire
young people to help solve this problem. We all know parents are most
important in raising our young people, but when the empowerment message
comes from one teen to another, that, too, can have a great impact.
As a high-school hockey coach, I lost two of my students to drunk-
driving crashes in the course of a year. And I saw too many other
students who were ``near misses.'' That's what drove me to begin
speaking out on this subject and to create SADD and the original
``Contract for Life'' between parents and teens. Not only did the
contract encourage young people to make wise choices like not drinking
and not getting into a car with someone who had been drinking, it also
encouraged parents to set a good example for their children.
From the beginning of my efforts to found SADD and speak out on
this issue, Anheuser-Busch has been a partner in helping me reach
students with my prevention message. Over the past 20 years, I have
spoken to literally millions of students, and Anheuser-Busch
wholesalers across the country have been key in making that happen.
Since I began speaking on this subject, I have now expanded my program
to include not only a prevention message on teen drinking and drunk
driving, but one that encourages teens to reject racism and hatred,
while working together to solve societal issues.
If solving underage drinking was easy, we would have conquered it
in the 1980s, but it's not. It will take teamwork, including
individuals like myself and the beer industry, to continue the progress
that's been made. I appreciate the opportunity to share my views on
this important issue with you.
Very truly yours,
Bob Anastas
Founder
Students Against Driving Drunk
______
Letter from Dale & Thomas Baker, Ph.D.s, Family-School-Community
Partnerships, Submitted for the Record
Honorable Michael N. Castle, Chairman
Subcommittee on Education Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Castle and other Subcommittee Members:
Like you, we are deeply concerned about the problems created by
underage drinking. Alcohol abuse at any age is harmful. Underage
drinking is damaging because it prevents healthy development and
sidetracks young people from preparation for the future.
The recent National Academy of Sciences report rightfully
recognizes the crucial role parents and other adults play in the
prevention of underage drinking. Parents are the most important
protective factor and a powerful force in halting the use of alcohol by
young people. Parents who clearly and frequently tell their children
they do not want them to drink are less likely to have children who
drink. Most young people do not want to experience disapproval from
their parents nor violate their trust.
Unfortunately, many young people lack guidance from the adults in
their lives. Many parents believe that the consumption of alcohol by
adolescents is a right of passage over which they have little control.
Other parents are inattentive or distance themselves from their teenage
children. Public policy that reinforces the family leadership role of
parents is the most effective strategy for the prevention of underage
drinking. Mentoring services are essential for those children who are
``raising themselves''.
Comments from scores of parents attending our ``Parenting Your
Teenager'' workshops confirm that underage drinking is reduced when
they make it clear they expect their kids not to drink. We receive the
same feedback during our ``Parent University'' and our ``Responsibility
Building Workshop for Parents & Kids'' programs. Our conclusion is that
parents need to be reminded and educated regarding their vital role in
the prevention of underage drinking.
A useful model in this regard is ``Family Talk About Drinking''
produced by Anheuser-Busch. This video, available in both English and
Spanish, helps parents understand how to explain to their kids that
underage drinking is illegal and inappropriate. Parents need to know
they are responsible for teaching their kids how to make good
decisions. Not all parents understand this obligation. We are pleased
to have served on the advisory group during the creation of this video.
``Caring Connections: Helping Young People From Troubled Homes''
was also funded by a grant from Anheuser-Busch. The publication
suggests practical ways educators can connect with young people who
face adversity. One key to understanding why some young people thrive
while others fail is the concept of resilience--the capacity to
overcome the odds. Big classes and large guidance loads spreads the
talents of teachers and counselors impossibly thin. Yet, every student
needs the direct encouragement of at least one trustworthy adult at
school who reinforces the young person's resiliency. This suggests the
importance of school-based and agency-based programs that train and
assign adult mentors. We should mention that while generous in its
funding, Anheuser-Busch did not request nor have any control over the
content in this publication. Dr. Terrel Bell, President Reagan's
Secretary of Education, was executive editor of the publication. We
were the lead writers.
As you consider public policy regarding the prevention of underage
drinking, please consider the value of programs that educate parents
and guardians regarding their leadership role with their children.
Parenting education and mentoring programs are valuable tools in this
regard.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration.
Dale & Thomas Baker, Ph.D.s
Family-School-Community Partnerships
A nonprofit organization serving families and youth.
La Jolla, California
----
Dale Baker is a clinical psychologist in private practice in La Jolla,
CA. Thomas Baker writes parenting education publications and produces
videos relating to youth issues.
______
Statement of David K. Rehr, PhD, President, National Beer Wholesalers
Association
Chairman Castle and members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of the
members of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) I
appreciate the opportunity to submit this testimony in connection with
the Subcommittee's hearing on what programs and efforts are effective
in helping to reduce and prevent illegal, underage purchase and
consumption of licensed beverages. I would also like to thank the
Chairman for convening this forum and allowing us the opportunity to
share our thoughts on this important topic, provide the committee with
an industry perspective and inform its members of just a few of the
valuable responsibility programs being implemented nationwide by beer
wholesalers.
INDUSTRY PROGRAMS
Through national, state and local efforts, beer wholesalers and the
beer industry in general actively participate in a broad array of
highly successful prevention programs that effectively address illegal
underage consumption. As a result, the beer industry has become a
recognized leader in the fight against illegal underage concerns.
The beer industry has successfully engaged in the effort to reduce
illegal underage purchase and consumption. Beer wholesalers have
exhibited a genuine commitment to addressing underage concerns and have
implemented countless programs in their respective territories and
across the nation to communicate a message of legal and responsible
consumption of their products. To highlight just a few of the programs,
wholesalers currently sponsor identification verification programs at
the point-of-sale, retailer education and server training programs,
public service announcements, educational speakers in schools, and
alcohol-free post prom events. Wholesalers also participate in
responsibility messages through advertising and support efforts at the
state level for stricter penalties on retailers and consumers engaged
in illegal underage purchase and consumption.
Specifically, Golden Eagle Distributors of Tucson, Arizona has
implemented a number of youth programs locally. For many years, Golden
Eagle has sponsored two unique programs--an essay contest on safety and
the ``You Auto Buckle Up'' seat belt poster contest.
The Golden Eagle Driver's Education Safety Essay Contest is held in
area high schools, with one student winner from each high school being
awarded a one-year auto insurance policy. The ``You Auto Buckle Up''
seat belt use poster contest is open to all school levels--elementary
through college--with one winner chosen at each level who receives a
cash award and is honored at an awards luncheon with their parents. In
particular, this program is a good example of involving parents,
students, schools and the community in the efforts to address underage
concerns.
Another example of proactive wholesaler involvement can be found in
El Dorado, Kansas where Demo Sales, Inc. has worked to promote a
dialogue between city council members and local licensed beverage
retailers. A few years ago the city council voted to establish a Youth
Initiative Committee to help deter illegal underage consumption and
promote zero tolerance. The group was instrumental in initiating
discussions with council members that highlighted retailer concerns and
their commitment to preventing illegal underage drinking. Through
attendance at city council meetings, the group was invited to propose
positive policy initiatives toward the common goal of stopping underage
drinking.
Additionally, NBWA members have adopted a Marketing and
Communications Code to provide guidance on beer wholesaler marketing
and related promotional activities. For example, the NBWA Code states
that beer wholesaler promotional activities and marketing should
reinforce the legal purchase age. Beer wholesaler marketing is directed
to adults of legal purchase age who choose to drink. The Code guides
decisions that each wholesale company makes regarding where and how to
advertise, promote or make related public statements.
NBWA's Code is further based in principles that are intended to
communicate responsibility, legal purchase and consumption, and candor.
Specific directives include the avoidance of depicting illegal activity
and the avoidance of encouraging or condoning drunk driving,
intoxication, or excessive, irresponsible consumption.
NBWA members are committed to abiding by the NBWA Code. We are
pleased that these efforts are making a real difference. In fact,
illegal purchase and consumption among high school seniors has dropped
30 percent over the last two decades, according to a study sponsored by
the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Additionally, thanks to the
industry's prevention programs and the efforts of parents, teachers and
others, 82% of the nation's youth are now making the right decision to
not drink alcohol illegally, according to research from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
EFFORTS TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT WORKS
Taking into consideration the topic of the hearing-``Preventing
Underage Drinking: What Works''-it bears mentioning that Congress has
recently taken notice of the fact that there are a myriad of government
funded programs at work today and has instructed federal agencies and
government panels to inventory the programs. There have been several
attempts to provide some accounting of programs to prevent illegal
underage consumption.
As an initial effort, a 2001 General Accounting Office report
``Underage Drinking Information on Federal Funds Targeted at
Prevention,'' concluded, among other things, that:
Twenty-three federal agencies have program efforts that
address underage alcohol prevention, and for fiscal year 2000 an
estimated $71 million was specifically allocated to efforts designed to
reduce underage drinking.
SAMHSA and approximately 16 other federal agencies
identified about $1 billion of fiscal year 2000 combined funding that
addressed alcohol prevention and illegal drug use. A breakdown of how
that funding was allocated could not be determined.
An estimated additional $769 million out of $2.2 billion
of block, formula and incentive grant funds may have been used by
states to address prevention of drug and alcohol use by youth.
The federal government spends substantial resources on
prevention of underage drinking, with no real means of accounting for
these resources or the effectiveness of these efforts, questioning the
way in which federal agencies are spending taxpayer dollars.
Following up on the GAO report, a comprehensive National Academy of
Sciences
(NAS) study was mandated in the 2002 Labor, Health and Human
Services appropriations bill. This effort, as it was originally stated,
was intended as a study of existing federal, state, and non-
governmental programs aimed at reducing and preventing illegal underage
drinking.
NBWA initially supported Congress's decision to appropriate
$500,000 to the National Academy of Sciences to review such programs.
The beer wholesaling industry has many successful, effective underage
responsibility programs that it was anxious to share with the National
Academy.
Regretfully, the National Academy and the advisory committee that
was selected to carry out its task missed an opportunity to evaluate
programs and failed to follow Congress's mandate, which was to ``review
existing federal, state, and non-governmental programs, including
media-based programs, designed to change the attitudes and health
behaviors of youth.'' Many organizations, including NBWA, submitted
documents, articles, videotapes and other materials on a broad range of
established responsibility programs designed to address underage
issues; however, the National Academy and the committee ignored
outright the industry programs submitted and never removed the
materials submitted on approximately 125 wholesaler responsibility
programs from their shrink-wrapped packaging.
Time, revenue and resources were expended with the National Academy
to determine an adequate accounting of existing programs, their
effectiveness and the effective use of taxpayer dollars supporting
various programs; however, there is still no answer.
More recently, language was included in the 2004 Omnibus
Appropriations bill (P.L. 108-199) to direct the Secretary of HHS to
establish an interagency committee on the prevention of illegal
underage drinking and issue an annual report summarizing all federal
agency activities concerning the issue, issue key surveillance data and
progress being made in reducing illegal underage drinking. The
Secretary is tasked with taking immediate steps to implement the
recommendations of the panel and to prepare a plan for combating
underage drinking.
I am encouraged that the Secretary's efforts will allow for
progress and also hopeful that this most recent instruction from
Congress for an accounting for current programs and an annual progress
report comes to fruition. NBWA looks forward to playing a role in this
process and stands ready to provide the Secretary with documentation of
our members' programs.
CONCLUSION
The beer industry remains committed to the fight against illegal
underage drinking. While real progress has been made, there is more
that remains to be done. We must focus on real solutions, such as the
programs that are working in our communities, and not untested programs
and misguided tax policies. Parents, teachers, community leaders, law
enforcement and the industry should continue to work together to keep
alcohol out of the hands of our children, and available for adults of
legal drinking age to enjoy safely and responsibly. By working
together, we can continue to make a difference in the fight against
illegal underage drinking.
______
Letter from Diane Riibe, Executive Director, Project Extra Mile,
Submitted for the Record
The Honorable Thomas Osborne
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515-2703
Dear Congressman Osborne:
On behalf of the Project Extra Mile network of community coalitions
across Nebraska, thank you for the opportunity to provide input into
the hearings in the Education and the Workforce Committee of the House
of Representatives set for Wednesday, February 11th. We appreciate this
critical review of underage drinking and, in particular, your and
Congress' support of the findings of the National Academy of Sciences
and Institute of Medicine's report unveiled this past September.
As you may know, Congressman Osborne, Project Extra Mile's
community efforts span the state, from Omaha to Scottsbluff. Our
efforts began in Omaha in 1995. We know the passion of community folks
to create change in their environments regarding underage drinking, to
make long-lasting change for generations to come. The challenge is
enormous; communities simply cannot do it alone.
We respectfully request that you urge your colleagues to continue a
solid funding base for community level environmental prevention
activities. We know so many things that work--policy changes at the
local and state level; enforcement of youth alcohol laws, ordinances,
and school policies; media advocacy around those issues; and education
for adults and youth alike--but we need to know that Congress will
provide the leadership on a continued basis. Federal funding of
underage drinking prevention efforts has been outpaced by virtually
every other prevention program, whether it is tobacco prevention or
illicit drug use prevention programs. Alcohol use by persons under age
21costs the nation $53 billion each year while thousands of lives are
lost in automobile crashes, homicides, suicides, drownings, falls, and
other unintentional and intentional injuries.
Schools have a unique opportunity to implement or work for
effective strategies with young people and within the community. Some
of these include:
Providing service learning opportunities to connect
students with community coalitions to actively engage in changing their
environment;
Enacting effective school alcohol policies that allow for
swift and certain response by school officials;
Restricting alcohol advertisements associated with
athletic contests;
Working with local community leaders, businesses, and
others to remove alcohol sponsorship of community events and cultural
celebrations;
Restricting where advertising and promotions are located
near schools;
Working with radio and television stations in the
community to restrict alcohol ad placement when youth are a significant
portion of the listening or viewing audience.
Providing media literacy learning opportunities within
the curriculum.
We work within Nebraska to bring schools into our community efforts
in each of the communities; they are vital partners. Their leadership
can effect real change. Thank you, Congressman Osborne, for looking at
some of those ways in which schools can involve themselves within the
community to continue their long-standing commitment to the future of
children.
Thank you, also, for your perserverance on this issue. Our
communities need just such leadership. The result in the future is
worth the struggle today. Thank you for bringing our concerns and ideas
forward.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Riibe
Executive Director
Project Extra Mile
______
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