109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 864
AN ACT 
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. Definitions. 
TITLE I—SENSE OF CONGRESS 
Sec. 101. Sense of Congress. 
TITLE II—INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE; ANNUAL 
REPORT ON STATE UNDERAGE DRINKING PREVENTION AND 
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES 
Sec. 201. Interagency coordinating committee on the prevention of underage 
drinking. 
Sec. 202. Annual report on State underage drinking prevention and enforce-
ment activities. 
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 preventing and reducing alcohol abuse at institu-
tions of higher education. 
TITLE V—ADDITIONAL RESEARCH 
Sec. 501. Additional research on underage drinking. 
Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(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 orga-
nizations 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 Re-
search Council, Institute of Medicine, and entitled 
‘‘Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Respon-
sibility’’. 
TITLE I—SENSE OF CONGRESS 
SEC. 101. 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 drink-
ing 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 ac-
tivities.
(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices 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 com-
prehensive prevention approaches, including—
(A) evidence-based screening, programs 
and curricula; 
(B) brief intervention strategies; 
(C) consistent policy enforcement; and 
(D) environmental changes that limit un-
derage 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 power-
ful impact on youth, and they should use rating sys-
tems 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 Associa-
tion, its member colleges and universities, and ath-
letic 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 pri-
mary 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 regula-
tion and licensing of the manufacture, importation, 
sale, distribution, transportation and storage of alco-
holic 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-commer-
cial sources, maintaining industry integrity and an 
orderly marketplace, and furthering effective State 
tax collection.
TITLE 
II—INTERAGENCY 
CO-
ORDINATING 
COMMITTEE; 
ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE 
UNDERAGE DRINKING PRE-
VENTION AND ENFORCEMENT 
ACTIVITIES 
SEC. 201. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 
THE PREVENTION OF UNDERAGE DRINKING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, in collaboration with the Federal officials 
specified in subsection (b), shall formally establish and en-
hance the efforts of the interagency coordinating com-
mittee, that began operating in 2004, focusing on under-
age drinking (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Com-
mittee’’). 
(b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The officials referred to in 
subsection (a) are the Secretary of Education, the Attor-
ney General, the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Sur-
geon General, the Director of the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, the Director of the National Institute 
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Administrator of the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra-
tion, the Director of the National Institute on Drug 
Abuse, the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families,