[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8901-H8904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SOBER TRUTH ON PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING ACT

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 864) to provide for programs and 
activities with respect to the prevention of underage drinking.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Sober Truth on Preventing 
     Underage Drinking Act'' or the ``STOP Act''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

       Section 519B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     290bb-25b) is amended by striking subsections (a) through (f) 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
       ``(1) The term `alcohol beverage industry' means the 
     brewers, vintners, distillers, importers, distributors, and 
     retail or online outlets that sell or serve beer, wine, and 
     distilled spirits.
       ``(2) The term `school-based prevention' means programs, 
     which are institutionalized, and run by staff members or 
     school-designated persons or organizations in any grade of 
     school, kindergarten through 12th grade.
       ``(3) The term `youth' means persons under the age of 21.
       ``(4) The term `IOM report' means the report released in 
     September 2003 by the National Research Council, Institute of 
     Medicine, and entitled `Reducing Underage Drinking: A 
     Collective Responsibility'.
       ``(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that:
       ``(1) A multi-faceted effort is needed to more successfully 
     address the problem of underage drinking in the United 
     States. A coordinated approach to prevention, intervention, 
     treatment, enforcement, and research is key to making 
     progress. This Act recognizes the need for a focused national 
     effort, and addresses particulars of the Federal portion of 
     that effort, as well as Federal support for State activities.
       ``(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
     continue to conduct research and collect data on the short 
     and long-range impact of alcohol use and abuse upon 
     adolescent brain development and other organ systems.
       ``(3) States and communities, including colleges and 
     universities, are encouraged to adopt comprehensive 
     prevention approaches, including--
       ``(A) evidence-based screening, programs and curricula;
       ``(B) brief intervention strategies;
       ``(C) consistent policy enforcement; and
       ``(D) environmental changes that limit underage access to 
     alcohol.
       ``(4) Public health groups, consumer groups, and the 
     alcohol beverage industry should continue and expand 
     evidence-based efforts to prevent and reduce underage 
     drinking.
       ``(5) The entertainment industries have a powerful impact 
     on youth, and they should use rating systems and marketing 
     codes to reduce the likelihood that underage audiences will 
     be exposed to movies, recordings, or television programs with 
     unsuitable alcohol content.
       ``(6) The National Collegiate Athletic Association, its 
     member colleges and universities, and athletic conferences 
     should affirm a commitment to a policy of discouraging 
     alcohol use among underage students and other young fans.
       ``(7) Alcohol is a unique product and should be regulated 
     differently than other products by the States and Federal 
     Government. States have primary authority to regulate alcohol 
     distribution and sale, and the Federal Government should 
     support and supplement these State efforts. States also have 
     a responsibility to fight youth access to alcohol and reduce 
     underage drinking. Continued State regulation and licensing 
     of the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, 
     transportation and storage of alcoholic beverages are clearly 
     in the public interest and are critical to promoting 
     responsible consumption, preventing illegal access to alcohol 
     by persons under 21 years of age from commercial and non-
     commercial sources, maintaining industry integrity and an 
     orderly marketplace, and furthering effective State tax 
     collection.
       ``(c) Interagency Coordinating Committee; Annual Report on 
     State Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement 
     Activities.--
       ``(1) Interagency coordinating committee on the prevention 
     of underage drinking.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the 
     Federal officials specified in subparagraph (B), shall 
     formally establish and enhance the efforts of the interagency 
     coordinating committee, that began operating in 2004, 
     focusing on underage drinking (referred to in this subsection 
     as the `Committee').
       ``(B) Other agencies.--The officials referred to in 
     paragraph (1) are the Secretary of Education, the Attorney 
     General, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of 
     the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Surgeon General, 
     the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol 
     Abuse and Alcoholism, the Administrator of the Substance 
     Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Director 
     of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Assistant 
     Secretary for Children and Families, the Director of the 
     Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Administrator of 
     the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 
     Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
     Delinquency Prevention, the Chairman of the Federal Trade 
     Commission, and such other Federal officials as the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services determines to be appropriate.
       ``(C) Chair.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall serve as the chair of the Committee.
       ``(D) Duties.--The Committee shall guide policy and program 
     development across the Federal Government with respect to 
     underage drinking, provided, however, that nothing in this 
     section shall be construed as transferring regulatory or 
     program authority from an Agency to the Coordinating 
     Committee.
       ``(E) Consultations.--The Committee shall actively seek the 
     input of and shall consult with all appropriate and 
     interested parties, including States, public health research 
     and interest groups, foundations, and alcohol beverage 
     industry trade associations and companies.
       ``(F) Annual report.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Secretary, on behalf of the 
     Committee, shall annually submit to the Congress a report 
     that summarizes--

       ``(I) all programs and policies of Federal agencies 
     designed to prevent and reduce underage drinking;
       ``(II) the extent of progress in preventing and reducing 
     underage drinking nationally;
       ``(III) data that the Secretary shall collect with respect 
     to the information specified in clause (ii); and
       ``(IV) such other information regarding underage drinking 
     as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

       ``(ii) Certain information.--The report under clause (i) 
     shall include information on the following:

       ``(I) Patterns and consequences of underage drinking as 
     reported in research and surveys such as, but not limited to 
     Monitoring the Future, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance 
     System, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the 
     Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
       ``(II) Measures of the availability of alcohol from 
     commercial and non-commercial sources to underage 
     populations.
       ``(III) Measures of the exposure of underage populations to 
     messages regarding alcohol in advertising and the 
     entertainment media as reported by the Federal Trade 
     Commission.

[[Page H8902]]

       ``(IV) Surveillance data, including information on the 
     onset and prevalence of underage drinking, consumption 
     patterns and the means of underage access. The Secretary 
     shall develop a plan to improve the collection, measurement 
     and consistency of reporting Federal underage alcohol data.
       ``(V) Any additional findings resulting from research 
     conducted or supported under subsection (f).
       ``(VI) Evidence-based best practices to prevent and reduce 
     underage drinking and provide treatment services to those 
     youth who need them.

       ``(2) Annual report on state underage drinking prevention 
     and enforcement activities.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, with input and 
     collaboration from other appropriate Federal agencies, 
     States, Indian tribes, territories, and public health, 
     consumer, and alcohol beverage industry groups, annually 
     issue a report on each State's performance in enacting, 
     enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and programs to 
     prevent or reduce underage drinking.
       ``(B) State performance measures.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall develop, in 
     consultation with the Committee, a set of measures to be used 
     in preparing the report on best practices.
       ``(ii) Categories.--In developing these measures, the 
     Secretary shall consider categories including, but not 
     limited to:

       ``(I) Whether or not the State has comprehensive anti-
     underage drinking laws such as for the illegal sale, 
     purchase, attempt to purchase, consumption, or possession of 
     alcohol; illegal use of fraudulent ID; illegal furnishing or 
     obtaining of alcohol for an individual under 21 years; the 
     degree of strictness of the penalties for such offenses; and 
     the prevalence of the enforcement of each of these 
     infractions.
       ``(II) Whether or not the State has comprehensive liability 
     statutes pertaining to underage access to alcohol such as 
     dram shop, social host, and house party laws, and the 
     prevalence of enforcement of each of these laws.
       ``(III) Whether or not the State encourages and conducts 
     comprehensive enforcement efforts to prevent underage access 
     to alcohol at retail outlets, such as random compliance 
     checks and shoulder tap programs, and the number of 
     compliance checks within alcohol retail outlets measured 
     against the number of total alcohol retail outlets in each 
     State, and the result of such checks.
       ``(IV) Whether or not the State encourages training on the 
     proper selling and serving of alcohol for all sellers and 
     servers of alcohol as a condition of employment.
       ``(V) Whether or not the State has policies and regulations 
     with regard to direct sales to consumers and home delivery of 
     alcoholic beverages.
       ``(VI) Whether or not the State has programs or laws to 
     deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors; and the 
     number of adults targeted by these programs.
       ``(VII) Whether or not the State has programs targeted to 
     youths, parents, and caregivers to deter underage drinking; 
     and the number of individuals served by these programs.
       ``(VIII) Whether or not the State has enacted graduated 
     drivers licenses and the extent of those provisions.
       ``(IX) The amount that the State invests, per youth capita, 
     on the prevention of underage drinking, further broken down 
     by the amount spent on--

       ``(aa) compliance check programs in retail outlets, 
     including providing technology to prevent and detect the use 
     of false identification by minors to make alcohol purchases;
       ``(bb) checkpoints and saturation patrols that include the 
     goal of reducing and deterring underage drinking;
       ``(cc) community-based, school-based, and higher-education-
     based programs to prevent underage drinking;
       ``(dd) underage drinking prevention programs that target 
     youth within the juvenile justice and child welfare systems; 
     and
       ``(ee) other State efforts or programs as deemed 
     appropriate.
       ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
     $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $1,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
       ``(d) National Media Campaign To Prevent Underage 
     Drinking.--
       ``(1) Scope of the campaign.--The Secretary shall continue 
     to fund and oversee the production, broadcasting, and 
     evaluation of the national adult-oriented media public 
     service campaign if the Secretary determines that such 
     campaign is effective in achieving the media campaign's 
     measurable objectives.
       ``(2) Report.--The Secretary shall provide a report to the 
     Congress annually detailing the production, broadcasting, and 
     evaluation of the campaign referred to in paragraph (1), and 
     to detail in the report the effectiveness of the campaign in 
     reducing underage drinking, the need for and likely 
     effectiveness of an expanded adult-oriented media campaign, 
     and the feasibility and the likely effectiveness of a 
     national youth-focused media campaign to combat underage 
     drinking.
       ``(3) Consultation requirement.--In carrying out the media 
     campaign, the Secretary shall direct the entity carrying out 
     the national adult-oriented media public service campaign to 
     consult with interested parties including both the alcohol 
     beverage industry and public health and consumer groups. The 
     progress of this consultative process is to be covered in the 
     report under paragraph (2).
       ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, 
     $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and $1,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
       ``(e) Interventions.--
       ``(1) Community-based coalition enhancement grants to 
     prevent underage drinking.--
       ``(A) Authorization of program.--The Administrator of the 
     Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Office of National Drug 
     Control Policy, shall award, if the Administrator determines 
     that the Department of Health and Human Services is not 
     currently conducting activities that duplicate activities of 
     the type described in this subsection, `enhancement grants' 
     to eligible entities to design, test, evaluate and 
     disseminate effective strategies to maximize the 
     effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing and 
     reducing underage drinking. This subsection is subject to the 
     availability of appropriations.
       ``(B) Purposes.--The purposes of this paragraph are to--
       ``(i) prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth in 
     communities throughout the United States;
       ``(ii) strengthen collaboration among communities, the 
     Federal Government, and State, local, and tribal governments;
       ``(iii) enhance intergovernmental cooperation and 
     coordination on the issue of alcohol use among youth;
       ``(iv) serve as a catalyst for increased citizen 
     participation and greater collaboration among all sectors and 
     organizations of a community that first demonstrates a long-
     term commitment to reducing alcohol use among youth;
       ``(v) disseminate to communities timely information 
     regarding state-of-the-art practices and initiatives that 
     have proven to be effective in preventing and reducing 
     alcohol use among youth; and
       ``(vi) enhance, not supplant, effective local community 
     initiatives for preventing and reducing alcohol use among 
     youth.
       ``(C) Application.--An eligible entity desiring an 
     enhancement grant under this paragraph shall submit an 
     application to the Administrator at such time, and in such 
     manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
     Administrator may require. Each application shall include--
       ``(i) a complete description of the entity's current 
     underage alcohol use prevention initiatives and how the grant 
     will appropriately enhance the focus on underage drinking 
     issues; or
       ``(ii) a complete description of the entity's current 
     initiatives, and how it will use this grant to enhance those 
     initiatives by adding a focus on underage drinking 
     prevention.
       ``(D) Uses of funds.--Each eligible entity that receives a 
     grant under this paragraph shall use the grant funds to carry 
     out the activities described in such entity's application 
     submitted pursuant to subparagraph (C). Grants under this 
     paragraph shall not exceed $50,000 per year and may not 
     exceed four years.
       ``(E) Supplement not supplant.--Grant funds provided under 
     this paragraph shall be used to supplement, not supplant, 
     Federal and non-Federal funds available for carrying out the 
     activities described in this paragraph.
       ``(F) Evaluation.--Grants under this paragraph shall be 
     subject to the same evaluation requirements and procedures as 
     the evaluation requirements and procedures imposed on 
     recipients of drug free community grants.
       ``(G) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph, the 
     term `eligible entity' means an organization that is 
     currently receiving or has received grant funds under the 
     Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (21 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.).
       ``(H) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 6 percent of 
     a grant under this paragraph may be expended for 
     administrative expenses.
       ``(I) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph 
     $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $5,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
       ``(2) Grants directed at preventing and reducing alcohol 
     abuse at institutions of higher education.--
       ``(A) Authorization of program.--The Secretary shall award 
     grants to eligible entities to enable the entities to prevent 
     and reduce the rate of underage alcohol consumption including 
     binge drinking among students at institutions of higher 
     education.
       ``(B) Applications.--An eligible entity that desires to 
     receive a grant under this paragraph shall submit an 
     application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
     and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
     require. Each application shall include--
       ``(i) a description of how the eligible entity will work to 
     enhance an existing, or where none exists to build a, 
     statewide coalition;
       ``(ii) a description of how the eligible entity will target 
     underage students in the State;
       ``(iii) a description of how the eligible entity intends to 
     ensure that the statewide coalition is actually implementing 
     the purpose of this section and moving toward indicators 
     described in subparagraph (D);
       ``(iv) a list of the members of the statewide coalition or 
     interested parties involved in the work of the eligible 
     entity;
       ``(v) a description of how the eligible entity intends to 
     work with State agencies on substance abuse prevention and 
     education;
       ``(vi) the anticipated impact of funds provided under this 
     paragraph in preventing and reducing the rates of underage 
     alcohol use;
       ``(vii) outreach strategies, including ways in which the 
     eligible entity proposes to--

       ``(I) reach out to students and community stakeholders;
       ``(II) promote the purpose of this paragraph;
       ``(III) address the range of needs of the students and the 
     surrounding communities; and
       ``(IV) address community norms for underage students 
     regarding alcohol use; and

       ``(viii) such additional information as required by the 
     Secretary.

[[Page H8903]]

       ``(C) Uses of funds.--Each eligible entity that receives a 
     grant under this paragraph shall use the grant funds to carry 
     out the activities described in such entity's application 
     submitted pursuant to subparagraph (B).
       ``(D) Accountability.--On the date on which the Secretary 
     first publishes a notice in the Federal Register soliciting 
     applications for grants under this paragraph, the Secretary 
     shall include in the notice achievement indicators for the 
     program authorized under this paragraph. The achievement 
     indicators shall be designed--
       ``(i) to measure the impact that the statewide coalitions 
     assisted under this paragraph are having on the institutions 
     of higher education and the surrounding communities, 
     including changes in the number of incidents of any kind in 
     which students have abused alcohol or consumed alcohol while 
     under the age of 21 (including violations, physical assaults, 
     sexual assaults, reports of intimidation, disruptions of 
     school functions, disruptions of student studies, mental 
     health referrals, illnesses, or deaths);
       ``(ii) to measure the quality and accessibility of the 
     programs or information offered by the eligible entity; and
       ``(iii) to provide such other measures of program impact as 
     the Secretary determines appropriate.
       ``(E) Supplement not supplant.--Grant funds provided under 
     this paragraph shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, 
     Federal and non-Federal funds available for carrying out the 
     activities described in this paragraph.
       ``(F) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
       ``(i) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a 
     State, institution of higher education, or nonprofit entity.
       ``(ii) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     `institution of higher education' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
       ``(iii) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the 
     Secretary of Education.
       ``(iv) State.--The term `State' means each of the 50 
     States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico.
       ``(v) Statewide coalition.--The term `statewide coalition' 
     means a coalition that--

       ``(I) includes, but is not limited to--

       ``(aa) institutions of higher education within a State; and
       ``(bb) a nonprofit group, a community underage drinking 
     prevention coalition, or another substance abuse prevention 
     group within a State; and

       ``(II) works toward lowering the alcohol abuse rate by 
     targeting underage students at institutions of higher 
     education throughout the State and in the surrounding 
     communities.

       ``(vi) Surrounding community.--The term `surrounding 
     community' means the community--

       ``(I) that surrounds an institution of higher education 
     participating in a statewide coalition;
       ``(II) where the students from the institution of higher 
     education take part in the community; and
       ``(III) where students from the institution of higher 
     education live in off-campus housing.

       ``(G) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 5 percent of 
     a grant under this paragraph may be expended for 
     administrative expenses.
       ``(H) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph 
     $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $5,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
       ``(f) Additional Research.--
       ``(1) Additional research on underage drinking.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, subject to the 
     availability of appropriations, collect data, and conduct or 
     support research that is not duplicative of research 
     currently being conducted or supported by the Department of 
     Health and Human Services, on underage drinking, with respect 
     to the following:
       ``(i) Comprehensive community-based programs or strategies 
     and statewide systems to prevent and reduce underage 
     drinking, across the underage years from early childhood to 
     age 21, including programs funded and implemented by 
     government entities, public health interest groups and 
     foundations, and alcohol beverage companies and trade 
     associations.
       ``(ii) Annually obtain and report more precise information 
     than is currently collected on the scope of the underage 
     drinking problem and patterns of underage alcohol 
     consumption, including improved knowledge about the problem 
     and progress in preventing, reducing and treating underage 
     drinking; as well as information on the rate of exposure of 
     youth to advertising and other media messages encouraging and 
     discouraging alcohol consumption.
       ``(iii) Compiling information on the involvement of alcohol 
     in unnatural deaths of persons ages 12 to 20 in the United 
     States, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional 
     injuries such as falls, drownings, burns, poisonings, and 
     motor vehicle crash deaths.
       ``(B) Certain matters.--The Secretary shall carry out 
     activities toward the following objectives with respect to 
     underage drinking:
       ``(i) Obtaining new epidemiological data within the 
     national or targeted surveys that identify alcohol use and 
     attitudes about alcohol use during pre- and early 
     adolescence, including harm caused to self or others as a 
     result of adolescent alcohol use such as violence, date rape, 
     risky sexual behavior, and prenatal alcohol exposure.
       ``(ii) Developing or identifying successful clinical 
     treatments for youth with alcohol problems.
       ``(C) Peer review.--Research under subparagraph (A) shall 
     meet current Federal standards for scientific peer review.
       ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
     $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $6,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Burgess) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the 
bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 864, as amended, 
the STOP Underage Drinking Act. This legislation takes crucial steps to 
address the problem of underage drinking at the national level. The 
Senate-passed version of H.R. 864 contains several beneficial changes 
to the House bill which I am pleased to support.
  At this time I would like to recognize Representative Roybal-Allard, 
lead sponsor of the bill, as well as Representative Tom Osborne of 
Nebraska for their hard work on this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 864, the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage 
Drinking Act, the STOP Act. The STOP Act is being reintroduced today 
with technical changes to further clarify the intent of this important 
legislation. When originally brought to the House floor on November 14 
of this year, H.R. 864 passed by a vote of 373-23.
  Underage drinking is a major public health concern in communities 
throughout our Nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
has estimated that annually there are over 142,000 emergency room 
visits by youth, ages 12 to 20, for unintentional injuries and other 
health-related concerns caused by alcohol consumption. H.R. 864 is a 
great start in moving our Nation toward the goal of decreasing youth 
access to, and consumption of, alcohol.
  This bill authorizes coalitions on the issue of underage drinking, 
funds national media campaigns about the dangers of underage drinking, 
and creates grant programs for preventing and reducing alcohol abuse in 
institutions of higher education and surrounding communities.
  The STOP Act has the endorsement of key public health advocates, as 
well as the alcohol beverage industry. Both endorse this legislation on 
the basis that it recognizes that a multifaceted national effort is key 
to making progress in curbing underage alcohol consumption.
  The issue of underage drinking deserves our immediate consideration 
and support. So I urge my colleagues to support this bill for a second 
time.
  But I particularly want to thank Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and the 
other lead sponsors of this bill, and I know she is here to speak.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska, the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, underage drinking currently costs the 
United States $53 billion annually, according to one study. According 
to the American Medical Association that figure should be $61 billion. 
And in the State of Nebraska, which I represent, that translates to 
over $2,000 per youth in the State of Nebraska, is what the cost to the 
United States is.
  But the cost is really counted in more than financial aspects. The 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of 
underage deaths due to excessive alcohol is roughly $4,500 a year, 
which is six times the death rate that we are experiencing annually in 
Iraq. An estimated 3 million teenagers are full-blown alcoholics and 
several million more have severe drinking problems. Alcohol kills six 
times more young people than all other illegal drugs combined. Let me 
say that again: it kills

[[Page H8904]]

six times what cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana does 
combined. And yet the Federal Government considerably underfunds the 
efforts to combat underage drinking. We currently spend $1.8 billion on 
hard drugs and only $71 million on underage drinking. That is a ratio 
of 25 to 1. That needs to be corrected.
  Recent studies have found that heavy exposure to the adolescent brain 
to alcohol may interfere with brain development. One study found that 
young alcohol-dependent 15 and 16 year olds who drank heavily in early 
and middle adolescents performed worse on both verbal and nonverbal 
memory tasks, and I think it has a tremendous impact on the dropout 
rate in this country, which is about 30 percent. So this is certainly 
an educational academic problem as well.
  According to an analysis performed in 2004, the average age at which 
12- to 17-year-old young people begin drinking is age 13. Young people 
binge drink. Ninety-two percent of the alcohol consumed by 12 to 14 
year olds is consumed when they are having five or more drinks on a 
single occasion. And on and on. So the scope of the problem is truly 
massive.
  And the current bill, the STOP Underage Drinking bill, has been 
sponsored by Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Congressmen Wamp, Wolf, Rosa 
DeLauro, and myself, and then Senators DeWine and Dodd in the Senate. 
And I am sure that there will be others who will explain, but there 
have been some minor technical changes. There has been an offset 
provided so that those who had some heartburn over the funding aspects 
of it should be satisfied at this point. But basically it does three or 
four things. It creates an Interagency Coordinating Committee to 
coordinate underage drinking programs, which now are kind of growing 
like Topsy. It also provides a national media campaign against underage 
drinking which is aimed at parents.

                              {time}  1145

  The fundamental fact as to whether a young person decides to use 
alcohol early in their life is parental attitudes. And so many parents 
think, well, if my young person is only using alcohol, then they will 
be protected from heroin and methamphetamine. And the research is 
exactly the opposite. It simply is a gateway drug.
  The bill also does a number of other things. It provides some grants, 
particularly at the college campus. The number one cause of death on 
the college campus is underage drinking: 1,700 deaths each year. So we 
feel this is a good bill. It was passed before. We think the Senate has 
improved it.
  I would like to thank those who have worked on it for a long period 
of time. We appreciate the bipartisan support.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the lead sponsor of 
this legislation, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard).
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, the STOP Act is a result of an 
enormous commitment to the future well-being of our children by a 
bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans from both Houses who 
have worked in partnership with our public health advocacy groups and 
the alcohol beverage industry.
  I thank my Senate colleagues, Chris Dodd and Mike DeWine, for their 
tireless support of this bill over the past 3 years.
  And I also thank my colleague from the House, Frank Wolf, for his 
early and steadfast support of this issue in the Appropriations 
Committee, as well as my colleagues Tom Osborne, Zach Wamp, and Rosa 
DeLauro for their unwavering perseverance in addressing the problem of 
underage drinking in this country.
  I particularly want to acknowledge Tom Osborne and thank him for his 
friendship and his support on this issue and for his lifetime 
commitment to building a better future for our youth. Tom, your legacy 
here in Congress will not soon be forgotten.
  I would also like to thank my advocacy friends, as well as those in 
the industry, for their efforts to help pass this bill in this 109th 
Congress.
  And finally, and but certainly not least, I would like to thank my 
staffer, Debbie Jessup, and especially my chief of staff, Ellen 
Riddleberger, who has worked with me on this issue for the past 7 
years. Her many talents and knowledge of the issue are greatly 
responsible for this bill being before us today.
  Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago, this House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 864. 
Last night the Senate unanimously passed this bill with an offset and 
language that addresses some of the technical concerns of our Senate 
and House colleagues. The substance of the bill, however, remains the 
same as the bill the House passed on November 14.
  The bill makes permanent the national anti-underage drinking media 
campaign directed at parents. It authorizes research to find effective 
strategies to deter childhood drinking, as well as makes grants 
available for communities and colleges to address this crisis.
  In addition, the STOP Act requires an annual report by the Secretary 
of HHS on the progress States are making to address underage drinking.
  Mr. Speaker, this effort shows what can be accomplished when we put 
our differences aside and work together for the future of our children. 
I ask my colleagues in this House to join me and the sponsors of this 
bill in passing it today so that we can successfully address underage 
drinking and turn this tragedy into a public health success story.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), who was a key sponsor of this bill.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all my colleagues for their 
many years of hard work to ensure that this bill reaches the floor: 
Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Congressmen Osborne, Wolf and Wamp, as 
well as our colleagues in the other body, Senators Dodd and DeWine.
  Passing the STOP Act, Congress has the opportunity to say here, 
enough. Enough to looking the other way when it comes to increasing 
problems of underage drinking. Enough of simply accepting that the 
average age that the kids start drinking is 13; that 7 million young 
people describe themselves as binge drinkers; and above all, we say 
enough to alcohol playing a role in the three leading causes of death 
among young people. It is time we do something about everyday young 
people engaging in behavior that leads to alcoholism.
  So, Mr. Speaker, that is why we need this comprehensive bill. The 
STOP Act will increase resources for drinking prevention coalitions 
like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which we know already have a 
positive impact on teenagers. It will fund additional research and 
create a committee that delivers a report card on the progress we are 
or are not making, and it will review alcohol advertisements targeted 
toward young people.
  And lastly the STOP Act would help us fund a national media campaign 
directed at adults. Too often parents ignore signs in their own 
children. They refuse to believe their own child could have a problem, 
and we need to turn that around.
  So I urge my colleagues, support the STOP Act. As a Member of 
Congress, as someone who has lost a loved one in a drunk driving 
accident, it is time that Congress spoke clearly and decisively about 
reducing underage drinking in our communities. With this bill, we can 
and we will.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would urge support of the bill again, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
  I also would just like to point out what a privilege and an honor it 
has been to serve with Tom Osborne here in my short time in the House. 
And, Coach, we will miss you next year.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) that the House suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 864.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having 
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the Senate 
amendment was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.




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