I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4888
To provide for programs and activities with respect to the prevention of 
underage drinking. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2004
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. OSBORNE, Ms. DELAURO, 
and Mr. WAMP) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for programs and activities with respect to the 
prevention of underage drinking.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act’’, or 
the ‘‘STOP Underage Drinking Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—SENSE OF CONGRESS 
Sec. 101. Sense of Congress. 
TITLE II—INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE; ANNUAL 
REPORT CARD 
Sec. 201. Establishment of interagency coordinating committee to prevent un-
derage drinking. 
Sec. 202. Annual report card. 
Sec. 203. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE III—NATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN 
Sec. 301. National media campaign to prevent underage drinking. 
TITLE IV—INTERVENTIONS 
Sec. 401. Community-based coalition enhancement grants to prevent underage 
drinking. 
Sec. 402. Grants directed at reducing higher-education alcohol abuse. 
TITLE V—ADDITIONAL RESEARCH 
Sec. 501. Additional research on underage drinking. 
Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Drinking alcohol under the age of 21 is ille-
gal in each of the 50 States and the District of Co-
lumbia. Enforcement of current laws and regulations 
in States and communities, such as minimum age 
drinking laws, zero tolerance laws, and laws and reg-
ulations which restrict availability of alcohol, must 
supplement other efforts to reduce underage drink-
ing. 
(2) Data collected annually by the Department 
of Health and Human Services shows that alcohol is 
the most heavily used drug by children in the United 
States, and that—
(A) more youths consume alcoholic bev-
erages than use tobacco products or illegal 
drugs; 
(B) by the end of the eighth grade, 45.6 
percent of children have engaged in alcohol use, 
and by the end of high school, 76.6 percent 
have done so; and 
(C) the annual societal cost of underage 
drinking is estimated at $53 to $58 billion. 
(3) Data collected by the Department of Health 
and Human Services and the Department of Trans-
portation indicate that alcohol use by youth has 
many negative consequences, such as immediate risk 
from acute impairment; traffic fatalities; violence; 
suicide; and unprotected sex. 
(4) Research confirms that the harm caused by 
underage drinking lasts beyond the underage years. 
Compared to persons who wait until age 21 or older 
to start drinking, those who start to drink before 
age 14 are, as adults, four times more likely to be-
come alcohol dependent; seven times more likely to 
be in a motor vehicle crash because of drinking; and 
more likely to suffer mental and physical damage 
from alcohol abuse.