and recovery field. joining us in our panel today are dr. h. westley clark, director, center for substance abuse treatment, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland. marco e. jacome, chief executive officer, healthcare alternative systems incorporated, chicago, illinois. john de miranda, president and ceo, stepping stone, san diego, california. william lossiah-bratt, board of directors, southeastern regional representative, faces and voices of recovery, cherokee, north carolina. dr. clark, why should we be concerned about ethnic and racial differences within the addiction and recovery field, as well as other differences? well, one of the things that we want to make sure is that people who have substance use problems are able to recover and that materials that we use can assist them in that process. and so, you know, there are differences associated with cultural values and beliefs, starting from how one physiologically responds to a particular substance misuse to how certain substances are used in a cultural context. so if we're going to facilitate recovery, we need to understand

our panel today are frances harding, director, center for substance abuse prevention, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland; monique bourgeois, executive director, association of recovery schools, fort washington, pennsylvania; greg williams, co-director, connecticut turning to youth and families, danbury, connecticut; dr. mark godley, director, research and development, chestnut health systems, bloomington, illinois. fran, what is the extent of the problem with youth in america? our most recent survey from samhsa is that around 10 million, a little over 10 million of our young people, are using alcohol and substances. that actually breaks down to 26 percent of them are drinking and another 17 percent of them are binge drinking, which is having more than five drinks in a row at one setting. so it's a concern of ours that our young people are really starting to accelerate drinking and drugging than they have in the past. and mark, it's really...as fran has mentioned, alcohol is really the main problem. what other substances are youth taking

joining us in our panel today are mark weber, director of communications, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland; ron tannenbaum, president and co-founder, intherooms.com, fort lauderdale, florida; dr. w. douglas evans, professor and director, public health communication and marketing program, george washington university, washington, dc; sandra de castro buffington, director, hollywood health & society, usc annenberg norman lear center, beverly hills, california. the media obviously influences how people create their opinions, particularly about addiction and treatment issues in behavior health. and doug, why don't we review what we mean about media today. some time ago, marshall mcluhan said that the medium is the message and that is more true today than ever. media have proliferated and they now permeate our society. we're surrounded by it constantly 24/7 and users increasingly are defining what the media are and what those media mean to the rest of us. and mark, why is it important for the media to really understand addiction

entertainment industries council incorporated in collaboration with the substance abuse and mental health services administration. the entertainment industries council has really been very fortunate in our ability to partner with samhsa on a number of different projects. the prism awards is probably the most high profile project that we do at samhsa. it's a good collaboration because our goals are very compatible, getting sound information to the general public in the areas of treatment, addiction, recovery, and also in the area of mental health. i've never struggled with anything myself. i do know from delving into this man, orrin hunt, who is dealing with his, you know, disorder, there is a lot of hope. it's not a thing you're stuck with;

health and human services, national institutes of health, buildings and facilities $22,700,000. the department for health and human services substance and administration substance abuse and mental health services. >> madam chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: will the gentleman specify the number on your amendment, please? >> number 565. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 565 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. bass of new hampshire. the chair: the gentleman from new hampshire is recognized for five minutes. mr. bass: i thank the gentlelady. my amendment adds $50 million to the low-income energy assistance program otherwise as liheap. winters in the northeast are long and hard and especially this year, it's been difficult. it's been a tough year. in january, we saw twice the average amount of snow, temperatures have been well below average in some parts of the country and there are similar stories not only in new hampshire, but elsewhere in the northeast and around the nation. . the problem with reducing the contingency fund and the low nrnl plan, we are in the middle of winter now. what my amendment doe

and recovery field. joining us in our panel today are dr. h. westley clark, director, center for substance abuse treatment, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland. marco e. jacome, chief executive officer, healthcare alternative systems incorporated, chicago, illinois. john de miranda, president and ceo, stepping stone, san diego, california.

joining us in our panel today are mark weber, director of communications, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland; ron tannenbaum, president and co-founder, intherooms.com, fort lauderdale, florida; dr. w. douglas evans, professor and director, public health communication and marketing program, george washington university, washington, dc; sandra de castro buffington, director, hollywood health & society, usc annenberg norman lear center, beverly hills, california. the media obviously influences