#Legislate Responsibly

At the end of each year, the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility gives awards to members of Congress, Attorneys General and state legislators to recognize their work to stop drunk driving and prevent underage drinking. As 2015 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to recognize the elected officials we honored for their dedication and leadership on these issues this year.

Throughout the year, the members of Congress we honored promoted responsibility through communications efforts on Capitol Hill and in their districts and states with their constituents and followers on social media. They championed resolutions that were adopted in both the House and Senate and made our annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day event on Capitol Hill possible. They also pushed for language in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act encouraging states to screen and assess drunk drivers for mental health and substance abuse issues in order to prevent recidivism. The 2015 recipients of our member of Congress awards are:

Senator Kelly Ayotte, (R-NH)

Senator Heidi Heitkamp, (D-ND)

Senator Dean Heller, (R-NV)

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, (R-WA)

Congressman Rodney Davis, (R-IL)

Congressman Jim Himes, (D-CT)

Congressman Richard Nolan, (D-MN)

Congressman GT Thompson, (R-PA)

Congresswoman Dina Titus, (D-NV)

For years, state Attorneys General have worked tirelessly in their efforts to educate the public about the influence parents have on their kids’ decisions to drink or not drink alcohol underage, and have led efforts to stop impaired driving. This year we recognized the following state Attorneys General for their efforts:

Marty Jackley (R), South Dakota

George Jepsen (D), Connecticut

Karl Racine (D), District of Columbia

Sean Reyes (R), Utah

Also at the state level, state legislators were very involved in preventing drunk driving and underage drinking. Ignition interlock laws were introduced or strengthened, Medical Amnesty (sometimes called Good Samaritan) bills were passed, penalties were enhanced for repeat DUI offenders and for people driving drunk with children in their cars, and the importance of assessment for drunk drivers was recognized. In other states, legislators fought off efforts to weaken DUI laws. We honor these legislators for their efforts in 2015:

Senator Terry Rice, (R-Arkansas, District 09)

Senator Jimmy Hickey, (R-Arkansas, District 11)

Representative Lori Saine, (R-Colorado, District 63)

Representative John M. Mizuno, (D-Hawaii, District 28)

Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland, (D-Hawaii, District 13)

Representative Scott Drury, (D-Illinois, District 58)

Representative Dennis Keene, (D-Kentucky, District 67)

Senator Morgan McGarvey, (D-Kentucky, District 19)

Senator C. Anthony Muse, (D-Maryland, District 26)

Delegate Will Smith, (D-Maryland, District 20)

Representative Keith Regier, (R-Montana, District 5)

Representative Daniel Zolnikov, (R-Montana, District 45)

Senator Adam Morfeld, (D-Nebraska, District 46)

Senator John Rafferty, (R-Pennsylvania, District 44)

Representative Keith Greiner, (R-Pennsylvania, District 43)

Representative Edward Redd, (R-Utah, District 4)

Senator Scott Jenkins, (R-Utah, District 20)

Delegate Betsy Carr, (D-Virginia, District 69)

Senator Chap Peterson, (D-Virginia, District 34)

Representative Tim Armstead, (R-West Virginia, District 40)

Lt. Governor and Senate President William Cole III, (R-West Virginia, District 06)

We are proud to lead the fight against underage drinking and drunk driving with the help of these members of Congress, Attorneys General and State Legislators. We thank them once again for all their efforts, and would like to remind everyone to #HolidayResponsibly to help continue the great work of these leaders.