Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

By Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. HARKIN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. DODD, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. REED, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. CHAFEE, and Mr. SPECTER):

S. 666. A bill to protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. DEWINE. Mr. President, today I join our colleagues Senators KENNEDY, LUGAR, COLLINS, SMITH, CORNYN, MCCAIN, SNOWE, HARKIN, DURBIN, DODD, LAUTENBERG, REED, MURKOWSKI, CHAFEE and SPECTER to introduce a bill designed to help protect consumers--especially children--from the dangers of tobacco. Simply, our bill would finally give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority it needs to effectively regulate the manufacture and sale of tobacco products.

I say finally, because there are some tobacco proponents who would have you believe that the Master Settlement Agreement, which was signed in 1998 by 46 states, resolved the issue of tobacco use by imposing advertising restrictions.

I say finally, because my colleagues--first Senator MCCAIN, then Senator FRIST, then Senator GREGG, and then Senator KENNEDY and I--have been seeking FDA regulation of tobacco products since the mid- to late-1990's.

And, I say finally, because the bill that we are introducing today is the product of long and hard discussions and negotiations that I have had with Senator KENNEDY and public interest groups and industry. Our bill has the support of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Philip Morris, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, and the American Cancer Association. It is a bill that I am proud of--one that is worthy of the Senate's consideration, and one that will provide the FDA--finally--with strong and effective authority over the regulation of tobacco products.

The introduction of this bill couldn't come at a better time. The budget is on the Floor, and people anticipate the slowed-spending in Medicaid, and the economic burden of cigarettes is enormous. According to the 2004 Surgeon General's Report entitled The Health Consequences of Smoking, from 1995 to 1999, smoking-related costs totaled $157.7 billion each year. This figure includes more than $75 billion in direct medical costs for adults (things like ambulatory care, hospital care, prescription drugs, nursing homes, and other care), about $82 billion in indirect costs from lost productivity, and $366 million for neonatal care. This equals an estimated $3,000 per smoker, per year.

In a budget year when Congress is looking to find savings in Medicaid--in the ballpark of $15 billion over 5 years--Congress should look at the cost savings that would be made possible by FDA regulation of tobacco. We already know that doing nothing costs our country, our taxpayers, and our employers and employees $157 billion a year. Isn't it time that the federal government consider that it has a responsibility to find savings through the regulation of tobacco?

Not having access to all the information about this deadly product makes no sense and it is something that needs to change. By introducing this bill, we are saying that. we are not going to let tobacco manufacturers have free reign over their markets and consumers any more. We are taking a step toward making sure the public gets adequate information about whether to continue to smoke or even to start smoking in the first place. With this bill, we are not just saying ``buyer beware.'' We are saying ``tobacco companies be honest.'' We are saying ``tobacco companies stop marketing to innocent children and tell consumers about what they are really buying.''

Ultimately, our bill would give consumers the information they need to make healthier and better choices about tobacco use. I have faith that informed consumers make better choices, and those choices could lead to cost-savings for the society overall.

Our bill would give the FDA the authority to regulate a product that has gone unregulated for far too long--a product that for the past century has not revealed its ingredients to the consumer--a product whose manufacturing facilities are not inspected or accountable for following good manufacturing practices--a product that is never reviewed or approved before reaching the hands of 40 million consumers, many of whom are just children. Mr. President, Congress should put an end to this. Congress should put an end to the marketing of tobacco products to our children. Congress should put an end to the ability of tobacco companies to make claims, whether they are implied claims or direct claims, about their products. Congress should put an end to tobacco companies putting any ingredient they want into their products without disclosing it to the consumer. It is time Congress gives the FDA authority to it needs to fix these problems.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

http://thomas.loc.gov/