[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HOUSE SHOULD REPEAL GIVEAWAY TO BIG TOBACCO INTERESTS

  (Mrs. ROUKEMA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, 95 to 3. That was the vote in the United 
States Senate yesterday to repeal that special midnight multi-billion 
dollar windfall for the big tobacco companies.
  Mr. Speaker, the handwriting is on the wall here. It is now time for 
the House to follow suit. I would be willing to bet that my colleagues 
did not know that that provision was in the final version of the bill. 
We had no idea that it was there. In fact, we had to read about it in 
the newspapers.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my colleagues that I am circulating a 
letter to Speaker Gingrich asking that he schedule an up-or-down vote 
on repeal of this onerous provision. If my colleagues oppose this 
secret giveaway to big tobacco, sign my letter. They should go on 
record now and show their constituents that they certainly do not 
support the middle-of-the-night, under-the-table procedure that was 
used to enact this provision.
  I ask the Speaker to right that wrong now. The handwriting is on the 
wall. Let us follow the action in the Senate.

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