[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ALCOHOL LABELING ACT

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, today I and my colleagues are 
reintroducing the Alcohol Labeling Act, which would require makers of 
alcoholic beverages to label each beverage container with a list of the 
ingredients and calories, as well as the alcohol, it contains.
  This low-cost proposal establishes the unit of serving size called 
the drink. One drink contains 0.6 ounces of alcohol--the amount usually 
found in one beer, one shot of distilled spirits, or one glass of wine.
  The only cost to U.S. taxpayers will be $500,000 for a toll-free 
number, which would provide referral help for those with a drinking 
problem. This number and the required information would be legibly 
printed on each container.
  Labeling for alcoholic beverages was not part of the nutrition 
labeling requirements mandated for food products in 1990. As a result, 
we are still burdened with an alcohol labeling law that dates from the 
Prohibition era. It is inconsistent that the alcohol contents of wine 
and distilled spirits must be disclosed, while producers of beer and 
malt liquor have the option of listing their ingredients on their 
labels.
  This bill would correct that inconsistency, while providing young 
consumers, diabetics, and others with diet-sensitive conditions with 
information on what they are consuming.
  I am especially concerned about the increasing problem of teenage 
binge drinking. This bill would give young, inexperienced drinkers 
user-friendly information on beverage potency and a standard gauge of 
the impairment caused by an alcoholic beverage. Informed teens are more 
likely to avoid death from overdose.
  In the 103d Congress, this legislation received the support of groups 
ranging from the Academy of Pediatrics, to the General Conference of 
Seventh-Day Adventists, to the National Parent Teacher Association, to 
the Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco.
  Providing consumers with the information they need to make informed 
decisions about drinking is a sound first step in reforming our 
national alcohol policy.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting ingredient labeling on 
alcoholic beverages. As individuals, we need this information to be 
more responsible in our use of alcohol. As a nation, we must end 
marketing practices that mislead and target our youth.

                          ____________________