House Passes Rep. Osborne's Initiative to Prevent Underage Drinking

Press Release

House Passes Rep. Osborne's Initiative to Prevent Underage Drinking

The House of Representatives passed the STOP (Sober Truth on Preventing) Underage Drinking Act today. Introduced by Rep. Tom Osborne (NE-03), the legislation builds on key recommendations included in a report released by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, (NAS): "Reducing Underage Drinking--A Collective Responsibility."

"Children are our most precious resource as a country and providing for their protection has been a driving force of my service in the House of Representatives. The STOP Underage Drinking Act will help to protect our young people from the dangers of underage drinking by educating them about its effect and by working to prevent underage drinking," said Rep. Osborne.

The STOP Underage Drinking Act establishes federal coordination and reporting among agencies involved; authorizes a national media campaign against underage drinking; provides additional resources to prevent underage drinking; and expands research and collects new data on underage drinking. Rep. Osborne played a key role in developing the legislation with Senators Mike DeWine, Christopher Dodd, and Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Lucille Royball-Allard, Zach Wamp, and Frank Wolf.

Rep. Osborne added, "Nebraska's young people are putting themselves and others at risk by drinking. The 2003 State and National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) disclosed that Nebraska continues to have some of the highest reported rates of high risk and underage alcohol use in the nation. We must work together to fight the dangers of underage drinking, and this bill is an important step in the right direction for our young people."

According to the survey, Nebraska ranks near the top in the nation for the percentage of youth riding with a drinking driver and for driving after drinking alcohol. Nebraska youth ranked third in the nation in binge drinking, with 32 percent of the state's high school students reporting they had engaged in binge drinking in the previous 30 days. The survey also notes that more than one-fourth of Nebraska youth reported having their first drink of alcohol prior to age 13, and 78% of Nebraska youth surveyed reported having used alcohol.

H.R. 864 awaits consideration by the Senate.

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