I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1562 
To provide for programs and activities with respect to the prevention of 
underage drinking. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 14, 2011 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Mr. WOLF, and Ms. DELAURO) 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sober Truth on Pre-
venting Underage Drinking Reauthorization Act’’ or the 
‘‘STOP Act’’. 
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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 orga-
nizations in any grade of school, kindergarten 
through 12th grade. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘youth’ means persons under the 
age of 21. 
‘‘(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 drink-
ing in the United States. A coordinated approach to 
prevention, intervention, treatment, enforcement, 
and research is key to making progress. This section 
recognizes the need for a focused national effort, 
and addresses particulars of the Federal portion of 
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that effort, as well as Federal support for State ac-
tivities. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall continue to conduct 
research and collect data on the short and long- 
range impact of alcohol use and abuse upon adoles-
cent 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) science-based strategies to reduce un-
derage drinking. 
‘‘(4) Public health groups, consumer groups, 
and the alcohol beverage industry should continue 
and expand evidence-based efforts to prevent and re-
duce underage drinking. 
‘‘(5) The entertainment industries have a pow-
erful impact on youth, and they should use rating 
systems and marketing codes to reduce the likeli-
hood that underage audiences will be exposed to 
movies, recordings, or television programs with un-
suitable alcohol content. 
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‘‘(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. 
‘‘(8) The age-21 minimum drinking law, en-
acted in 1984, has been a remarkably effective pub-
lic health and safety policy, as evidenced by the fact 
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that the percentage of 12th graders who have drunk 
alcohol in the past month has fallen by one-third 
since the enactment of such law. 
‘‘(9) The age-21 minimum drinking law has 
also has been significantly effective in reducing 
drinking and driving traffic fatalities, as the Na-
tional 
Highway 
Traffic 
Safety 
Administration 
(NHTSA) estimates that the law has saved over 
17,000 lives since its inception. 
‘‘(10) Community awareness, support, and mo-
bilization provide an important context for the effec-
tive enforcement of the age-21 minimum drinking 
law. 
‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE; AN-
NUAL REPORT ON STATE UNDERAGE DRINKING PREVEN-
TION AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE 
ON THE PREVENTION OF UNDERAGE DRINKING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in col-
laboration with the Federal officials specified in 
subparagraph (B), shall continue to support 
and enhance the efforts of the interagency co-
ordinating committee, that began operating in 
2004, focusing on underage drinking (referred 
to in this subsection as the ‘Committee’). 
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‘‘(B) OTHER AGENCIES.—The officials re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) are the Secretary 
of Education, the Attorney General, the Sec-
retary of Transportation, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Sur-
geon General, the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of 
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Al-
coholism, 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 Chil-
dren and Families, the Director of the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy, the Adminis-
trator of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, the Administrator of the Office 
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commis-
sion, and such other Federal officials as the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services deter-
mines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(C) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall serve as the chair of 
the Committee. 
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‘‘(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 Agen-
cy to the Coordinating Committee. 
‘‘(E) CONSULTATIONS.—The Committee 
shall actively seek the input of and shall consult 
with all appropriate and interested parties, in-
cluding States, public health research and inter-
est 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 sum-
marizes— 
‘‘(I) all programs and policies of 
Federal agencies designed to prevent 
and reduce underage drinking, focus-
ing particularly on programs and poli-
cies that support the adoption and en-
forcement of State policies designed to 
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