There has been a huge amount of effort to stop underage drinking in this country in the last 10 years. It's made some impact with the boys. We are not getting anywhere with the girls.

They are not only drinking more than their male peers, but they are now more likely to drink more heavily than their male peers.

At the end of the day we know how to reduce and prevent underage drinking. What is lacking is the will to put what we know to work on behalf of our youth.

Underage drinking costs the United States more than $62 billion each year. At this crucial time when research shows that girls are binge drinking with alarming regularity, more must be done to reduce youth access to alcohol, and the appeal of alcohol to our youth.

We've really made an effort to look at the historical aspects of the region and put together a plan that the majority of citizens will be pleased with.

This change would leave 79 percent of television programming available for alcohol advertising and would reduce youth exposure to alcohol advertising by 20 percent.