[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORT A BILL TO PROTECT KIDS AGAINST TOBACCO USE

  (Mr. BISHOP asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, today we will introduce a bill to protect 
our kids against tobacco use. It is called the Tobacco Use by Minors 
Deterrence Act and it will stop access by children to tobacco. It is a 
model law tying health funds for States to their efforts to keep 
tobacco away from our kids. It outlaws the sale to or possession by 
kids of tobacco products. It requires parental notification of 
violations by kids. It provides civil fines and loss of driver's 
license for kids who are caught. It provides loss of license to sell by 
retail outlets for repeated infractions. It requires training of 
employees, posting of notices, lock-out devices for vending machines. 
In short, it provides for a shared responsibility by kids, families, 
law enforcement, and retailers to protect the health, safety, and 
welfare of our kids against tobacco use while protecting the right of 
informed adults to make a choice.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to consider supporting this. It is 
a win-win situation. It protects our kids against tobacco but at the 
same time it protects a legal product with adult choice.

                          ____________________