House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) today called for the lowering of the legal drinking age in the United States to 18.

"It's high time we lowered the age to 18," said McCarthy who was sipping on a dram of Jameson 18yo as he spoke "and bring ourselves into line with much of the rest of the civilized world. Hell, we allow 18-year-olds to vote, marry, serve in our Armed Forces, buy automatic weapons, enter into legally binding contracts, own a car, and much more."

In doing so he is looking to repeal the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, a federal law that set the legal drinking age at 21. When this law was passed during Ronald Reagan's time in the Oval Office, states were made to comply with the threat of having some of their federal highway funding withheld if they didn't.

McCarthy credits his Irish ancestry for this common sense legislative move, being the great-grandson of a laborer from Co. Cork, and believes that the craic that the Irish have while enjoying a drink at an earlier age would be good for the divisive America that we currently live in.

He will however have to do some deal-making to get this through Congress as McCarthy holds the ignominious record of having to have waited longer to become House Speaker than it takes for Irish whiskey to legally mature. Well almost!

In addition to the United States, the following countries also don't allow alcohol consumption for Under 21's - Indonesia - Kiribati - Marshall Islands - Micronesia - Mongolia - Nauru - Oman - Pakistan - Palau - Qatar - Samoa - Solomon Islands - United Arab Emirates.

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