Lucille Roybal-Allard: “I rise today to talk to my colleagues about an important subject that has a significant impact on our national public…”

“I rise today to talk to my colleagues about an important subject that has a significant impact on our national public health and on our children: underage drinking. My interest in this topic began as a member of the subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations with jurisdiction over ONDCP, the Office of National Drug Control Policy. During my first year on the committee, I was surprised to discover that although Congress had appropriated $2 billion to conduct a media campaign directed at the illegal use of drugs by children, ONDCP had inexplicably left out their illegal use of alcohol. I was surprised by that because while drinking under the age of 21 is illegal in all 50 States, over 10 million kids in the United States consume alcohol illegally, starting on average at age 13. The research on the damage caused by underage drinking is dramatic, and let me cite just two examples: The first is based on research by the National Institutes of Health that found that young people who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who begin drinking after the age of 21.”