STOP Act

Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act or the STOP Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act with respect to underage drinking. Expresses the sense of Congress with regard to addressing the problem of underage drinking. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to formally establish and enhance the efforts of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking that began operating in 2004. Requires the Committee to guide policy and program development across the federal government with respect to underage drinking. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Secretary to issue an annual report on each state's performance in preventing or reducing underage drinking. Requires the Secretary to develop a set of measures to be used in preparing the report on best practices and to consider including measures on whether a state: (1) has comprehensive anti-underage drinking laws; (2) encourages and conducts comprehensive enforcement efforts to prevent underage access to alcohol at retail outlets; (3) encourages training on the proper selling and serving of alcohol as a condition of employment; (4) has programs or laws to deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors; and (5) has programs targeted to youths, parents, and caregivers to deter underage drinking. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to continue to fund and oversee the production, broadcasting, and evaluation of the national adult-oriented media public service campaign, if the Secretary determines that such campaign is effective in achieving the media campaign's measurable objectives. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, subject to the availability of appropriations, to award enhancement grants to eligible entities to design, test, evaluate, and disseminate effective strategies to maximize the effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing and reducing underage drinking, if the Administrator determines that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not currently conducting duplicative activities. Requires the Secretaryof Education to: (1) award grants to eligible entities to prevent and reduce the rate of underage alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, among students at institutions of higher education; and (2) publish achievement indicators for the program. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, subject to the availability of appropriations, to collect data and conduct or support research that is not duplicative of research currently being conducted or supported by HHS, on underage drinking with respect to: (1) comprehensive community-based programs or strategies and statewide systems to prevent and reduce drinking from early childhood to age 21; (2) obtaining and reporting more precise information on the scope of the underage drinking problem and patterns of underage alcohol consumption; and (3) compiling information on the involvement of alcohol in unnatural deaths of persons age 12 to 20 in the United States. Requires the Secretary to carry out activities to: (1) obtain epidemiological data within the national or targeted surveys that identify alcohol use and attitudes about alcohol use during pre-and early adolescence, including harm caused to self or others as a result of adolescent alcohol use; and (2) develop or identify successful clinical treatments for youth with alcohol problems. Requires such research to meet current federal standards for scientific peer review. Authorizes appropriations.

Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act or the STOP Underage Drinking Act - Title I: Sense of Congress - (Sec. 101) Expresses the sense of Congress with regard to addressing the problem of underage drinking. Title II: Interagency Coordinating Committee; Annual Report on State Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement Activities - (Sec. 201) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to formally establish and enhance the efforts of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking that began operating in 2004. Requires the Committee to guide policy and program development across the federal government with respect to underage drinking. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 202) Requires the Secretary to issue an annual report on each state's performance in preventing or reducing underage drinking. Requires the Secretary to develop a set of measures to be used in preparing the report on best practices and to consider including measures on whether a state: (1) has comprehensive anti-underage drinking laws; (2) encourages and conducts comprehensive enforcement efforts at retail outlets; (3) mandates or encourages training on the proper selling and serving of alcohol as a condition of employment; (4) has programs or laws to deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors; and (5) has programs targeted to youths, parents, and caregivers to deter underage drinking. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Media Campaign - (Sec. 301) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to continue to fund and oversee the production, broadcasting, and evaluation of the Ad Council's national adult-oriented media public service campaign. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Interventions - (Sec. 401) Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to award enhancement grants to eligible entities to design, test, evaluate, and disseminate effective strategies to maximize the effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing and reducing underage drinking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary of Education to: (1) award grants to eligible entities to prevent and reduce the rate of underage alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, among students at institutions of higher education; and (2) publish achievement indicators for the program. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Additional Research - (Sec. 501) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect data and conduct or support research on underage drinking with respect to: (1) comprehensive community-based programs or strategies and statewide systems to prevent and reduce drinking from early childhood to age 21; (2) obtaining and reporting more precise information on the scope of the underage drinking problem and patterns exhibited in underage alcohol consumption; and (3) compiling information on the involvement of alcohol in unnatural deaths of persons age 12 to 20 in the United States. Requires the Secretary to carry out activities to: (1) obtain epidemiological data within the National Epidemiological Study on Alcoholism and Related Conditions and other national or targeted surveys that identify alcohol use and attitudes about alcohol use during pre-and early adolescence, including harm caused to self or others as a result of adolescent alcohol use; and (2) develop or identify successful clinical treatments for youth with alcohol problems. Requires such research to meet current federal standards for scientific peer review. Authorizes appropriations.

Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act or STOP Underage Drinking Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish an interagency coordinating committee to guide policy and program development across the Federal Government on underage drinking; (2) issue an annual report card to rate the performance of each State in enacting, enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and programs to prevent or reduce underage drinking; (3) develop a set of outcome measures to prepare report cards, including the strictness of the minimum drinking age laws and the number of compliance checks conducted; (4) fund and oversee the Ad Council's national adult-oriented media public service campaign; (5) award grants to reduce the rate of underage alcohol use and binge drinking among students at institutions of higher education; and (6) collect data on, and conduct or support research on, underage drinking, including the impact alcohol use and abuse has upon adolescent brain development, the scope of the underage drinking problem, and progress in preventing and treating underage drinking. Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to award grants to design, test, evaluate, and disseminate strategies to maximize the effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing and reducing underage drinking. Requires the Secretary to carry out activities toward the objectives of: (1) testing every unnatural death of persons ages 12 to 20 for alcohol involvement; (2) obtaining new epidemiological data that identifies alcohol use and attitudes about alcohol use during pre- and early adolescence; and (3) developing or identifying successful clinical treatment for youth with alcohol problems.