Q: Context: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. 158) was passed by the United States Congress on July 17, 1984. It was a controversial bill that punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. The law was later amended, lowering the penalty to 8 percent from fiscal year 2012 and beyond.

Question: when was the national minimum drinking age act passed?
Let's give stream of consciousness below
To answer the question, consider the following: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. 158) was passed by the United States Congress on July 17, 1984. So the answer is July 17 , 1984.