By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer
November 10, 2007
WASHINGTON - Congress is taking new whacks at the cigarette
industry, banning tobacco sales in Senate buildings and more
importantly seeking a significant federal tax increase on
cigarettes.
The industry, once a lobbying behemoth, is quietly working
against the tax bill. But it lacks the clout it once wielded.
Several key lawmakers said they have had no recent contacts
with tobacco lobbyists. And both houses have signaled a willingness
to raise the cigarette tax if other provisions of a children's
health bill can be resolved.
"I think the industry has tried to do things more quietly,
largely because they obviously know how popular a tobacco tax
is," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families
USA. The health advocacy group supports a proposed $35 billion
increase in the State Children's Health Insurance Program,
which a higher cigarette tax would finance.
House and Senate negotiators are trying to craft a veto-proof
version of the bill. President Bush says he would veto it because
it calls for a 61 cents-per-pack increase in the federal excise
tax on cigarettes, taking it to $1.
The House came within about a dozen votes of overriding Bush's
veto of a similar bill last month. The bill's supporters are
offering to change program eligibility rules in hopes of picking
up enough Republicans to make the revised bill veto-proof.
The proposed cigarette tax increase is not at issue, leaders
of both parties said.
Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker, sponsors
a Web site, mailings and a toll-free number urging people to
ask Congress to sustain Bush's veto. "Taxing smokers is
unfair," the materials say, adding that states have increased
sales taxes on cigarettes 73 times since 2000.
"We are sharing our position with legislators," Philip
Morris spokesman Bill Phelps said in an interview. The company
also has encouraged tobacco growers, retailers and wholesalers
to get involved, he said.
But tobacco's critics say health concerns have deeply eroded
the industry's influence in Congress.
"The country and elected officials have really made a
turn," said Bill Corr, executive director of the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids. Cigarette companies, he said, "don't
have the opportunity to go in and push members as much."
The tobacco industry gave $3.5 million to federal campaigns
and candidates in the 2006 election cycle, ranking 64th among
major industry groups, according to the Center for Responsive
Politics. Ten years earlier, it gave $10.5 million, ranking
26th.
Some Democratic lawmakers have groused that House Minority
Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., is married to a lobbyist who has worked
for Philip Morris' parent company. Blunt, who is monitoring
the children's health negotiations, says his wife no longer
lobbies on tobacco issues.
In a landmark 1998 settlement of many lawsuits, four major
tobacco companies agreed to help states pay for smoking-related
health care costs. They paid $52.6 billion from 2000 to 2005,
the government reported.
In some ways, tobacco's presence on Capitol Hill is literally
waning. The Senate Rules Committee recently ordered shops in
the Capitol and all Senate office buildings to end cigarette
sales by Jan. 1.
Cigarettes are still sold in the Longworth House Office Building.
But last January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., banned
smoking in the ornate Speaker's Lobby, just off the House floor.
"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States
Capitol are over," she said, citing the risks of cancer
and respiratory diseases.
Other congressional actions could have a far greater impact
on the industry. A Senate committee recently approved legislation
that would, for the first time, allow federal regulation of
cigarettes. The bill, also pending in the House, would require
the Food and Drug Administration to restrict tobacco advertising,
regulate warning labels and remove hazardous ingredients.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. BadConcress.com has no affiliation
whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is BadCongress.com
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.
|
