Andrea Joy Campbell: “I came from an alcoholic family. Believe me, I know firsthand the devastating effects of what it does in a family. I…”

“I came from an alcoholic family. Believe me, I know firsthand the devastating effects of what it does in a family. I have had over a dozen relatives, uncles, cousins and so on, including a sister, who have died from some form of alcohol-related abuse. I know the devastating effects on a whole community; on society as a whole. I know the cost and I do not think anybody detests it more than I do. As my colleague, Senator Dorgan, knows, coming from a State in which there are many Indian reservations, fetal alcohol syndrome, which is an effect on children from mothers drinking too much, is literally hundreds of times worse on those reservations. On one reservation in America, 1 out of 4 children is born with some degree of fetal alcohol syndrome as opposed to the national average of 1 out of 500. I am concerned, but the question for this body is not whether we want to reduce the use of alcohol by youngsters. Of course all of us want to do that. The question here is whether the ONDCP is the right vehicle or not. My view is it is the wrong vehicle.”