As you reach for your favorite adult beverage on the Fourth of July to celebrate our nation's birthday, make sure you enjoy it while you can, as President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra are trying to ruin your holiday spirit.
In January 2023, the World Health Organization declared that there is no “safe level” (NSL) of alcohol. Now, a six-person committee from HHS, working with the USDA, is set to release the 2025 Dietary Guidelines, which will recommend that Americans not drink any alcohol at all.
The NSL is no joke. The same HHS bureaucrats who screwed up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the healthcare.gov website are pushing the alcohol restriction guidelines. With $144.3 billion in discretionary spending and $1.7 trillion in mandatory budget authority in fiscal year 2024, HHS should prioritize urgent crises like the opioid epidemic, mental health services, and rural health care access instead of cracking down on Americans' alcohol consumption. And are we prepared for what's next? The committees making these decisions (all six of them) include three members from the WHO and the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out.
If we take a “no safe level” approach, we risk slipping into prohibition. If you think about it, NSL basically means “we, the government, believe that alcohol should not be consumed in any place at any level.” What does this lead to? Prohibition in the 21st century. And if you think that's going too far, just look at the Joe Biden administration, which has weaponized the Department of Justice and empowered the Deep State to exert an astonishing level of control over American lives. Now they are trying to take away our right to safely consume any amount of alcohol, even in the comfort of our own home or while grilling in our backyard.
As a former Governor of Mississippi, I understand the impact of these policies firsthand. Restrictive policies like these have a negative economic impact on industries and communities that depend on responsible alcohol consumption. In my state, I have witnessed firsthand the vital role that restaurants and entertainment venues play in our economy and communities. In 2023 alone, these establishments employed more than 122,000 people and generated significant revenue of $5.2 billion. These are more than just businesses; they are essential to our social fabric and economic prosperity.
As Governor, I have always supported the nation's minimum drinking age and implemented some of the nation's toughest laws against drunk driving. That's responsible government. But I believe in moderation and education, not prohibition. The decision to consume moderate amounts of alcohol should be a personal one, with medical advice. To leave that up to Joe Biden, Xavier Becerra, a few Canadians, and the leaders of the WHO is just plain absurd.
So this Fourth of July, as we raise a glass to celebrate our nation's independence, let us remember that our freedom to make responsible choices is at stake. Let's toast to moderation, not abstinence.
Phil Bryant is a founding member of BSS Global, a firm providing strategic advisory and business development services to some of the world's largest industry leaders. Governor Bryant served two terms as the 64th Governor of Mississippi from 2012 to January 2020. He also served as Mississippi's Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, and Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.
