Chris Pappas: “just a few weeks ago, several of my colleagues and I came to the floor to discuss the increasingly growing problem of…”

“just a few weeks ago, several of my colleagues and I came to the floor to discuss the increasingly growing problem of juvenile crime in our Nation. All too many of the stories and statistics that I heard my colleagues discuss stemmed from alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse among our Nation's youth has indeed become a very serious problem. According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News survey of teens and parents, alcohol abuse was identified as the biggest drug problem facing young people today. I have also seen several studies and reports that reveal that possibly more than half of the country's population that is over the age of 12 is currently using alcohol. Let me just repeat that: more than 50 percent of the Nation's teenagers use alcohol. We are talking about 8th, 9th, and 10th graders. Among other things, this is the same age when many young people are first learning to drive. Simply stated, the two do not mix. We cannot begin to tackle the problems of drunk driving without at the same time addressing underage drinking.”