Jan. 7, 2008

Dear Mr. Linn,

Thank you for contacting me about community-based drug and alcohol prevention programs. I am honored to represent you, and I appreciate your active participation in our legislative process.  Your involvement makes democracy work better by helping me more effectively represent you and Illinois' Eighth District.

As a mother of teenage daughters, I understand the importance of reducing alcohol and drug use by young people. Drug use among teens continues to be a nationwide problem. Programs like the Drug Free Communities and Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities programs are essential to helping curb this disturbing trend.

The Drug-Free Communities program targets children and teens with drug, tobacco and alcohol related problems through community-based competitive grants. Thanks in part to these programs, alcohol use by eighth graders in Illinois has decreased by 19.8 percent, putting Illinois below the national average for alcohol use in this age group. Nationwide, 600,000 fewer teens are using drugs today than in 2001.

To help ensure that these important programs receive the funding they deserve, I joined many of my colleagues to send a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary and District of Columbia in support of $80 million for the Drug-Free Communities grant program in their Fiscal Year 2006 appropriations bill.

Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue. I am proud to be serving the Eighth District of Illinois and I am here to serve you. Please do not hesitate to write, call or email if I can ever help you in any way.

Sincerely,

Melissa L. Bean

Member of Congress

P.S. To stay informed on this and other important topics, visit my website at www.house.gov/bean to subscribe to e-news updates.