[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 61 (Thursday, May 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3298-H3299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ORIGINAL COSPONSORSHIP OF H.R. 3868, THE BIPARTISAN NO TOBACCO FOR KIDS 
                              ACT OF 1998

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California, Mr. Bilbray, is recognized five minutes.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support 
for H.R. 3868, the Bipartisan No Tobacco for Kids Act of 1998. This 
legislation, which was authored by my colleagues, Representatives James 
Hansen and Marty Meehan, is aimed exclusively at preventing kids from 
smoking and reducing the adverse health effects of tobacco on children.
  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 3,000 kids each 
day become regular cigarette smokers. In light of recent statistics 
that shows youth smoking on the rise, I believe it is imperative that 
we act assertively here in Congress to crack down on youth smoking and 
access to tobacco.
  Before I came to Washington, D.C., I served on the San Diego County 
Board of Supervisors and was responsible for passing one of the most 
stringent anti-smoking ordinances in the country. Because of my prior 
commitment to and involvement with this issue at the local level, and 
the startling statistics that show youth smoking on the rise, I am only 
too glad to support H.R. 3868 as an original cosponsor. H.R. 3868 is 
the only anti-tobacco bill in Congress (including the Senate) which has 
received the endorsement of former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and 
former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler. 
In fact, Koop and Kessler stated that other bills in both the House and 
Senate do not go far enough to reduce and prevent youth smoking.
  This legislation establishes strong financial disincentives for 
tobacco companies that do

[[Page H3299]]

not reduce tobacco consumption by minors by specified target dates. It 
has the stated goal of reducing tobacco use by children by 80 percent 
over the next ten years. This provision allows each tobacco 
manufacturer to determine the manner in which it will reach this 
mandatory goal. Federal requirements will apply only if the 
manufacturers are unable to achieve the reduction goals on their own.
  H.R. 3868 includes an increase of $1.50 per cigarette pack, which 
will provide a financial disincentive for youth tobacco consumption. In 
addition, H.R. 3868 codifies the FDA provision from last summer's 
tobacco settlement that provides the FDA authority to regulate nicotine 
as a drug or a drug delivery device. This provision of the bill also 
contains added restrictions on advertising and marketing to youth.
  H.R. 3868 contains a provision to prohibit smoking in public 
buildings and facilities, and it authorizes funding for essential 
federal tobacco education and prevention programs. In addition, the 
majority of the revenue generated from this legislation will be used to 
pay down the federal debt. While H.R. 3868 does not provide any special 
liability protections for the tobacco industry, it does offer to settle 
pending state tobacco lawsuits, such as the one recently settled in 
Minnesota.
  I believe that this legislation will help to create an adequate 
``firewall'' to protect public health and discourage and prevent youth 
tobacco smoking and possession. I feel very strongly that we should not 
tolerate youth smoking in our society with a ``wink and a nod.'' We 
should treat teenage smoking as harshly as we would teenage drinking. 
As the father of two young children, I have a personal stake in passing 
this important legislation and helping to ensure that our kids do not 
develop this deadly habit. Statistics by the American Journal of Public 
Health show that minors illegally purchase 256 million packs of 
cigarettes each year. Our findings show that only 20 states have laws 
prohibiting tobacco possession by minors. We need to encourage states 
and localities to adopt and comply with strong anti-possession laws. 
The need for minor possession laws is illustrated by a CDC finding that 
62 percent of minors who smoke say they buy their own cigarettes. In 
fact, I would support legislative efforts to require states to outlaw 
tobacco possession by minors as a condition of receiving federal funds.
  Mr. Speaker, my father died of lung cancer at the age of 53 due to 
his smoking habit. All three of my brothers smoke. There is little I 
can do to change that; however, I can do something to prevent my five 
children from starting to smoke. H.R. 3868 accomplishes these goals. 
Congress cannot afford to sit idly by and do nothing while thousands of 
children pick up their first cigarette every day and begin this deadly 
habit.
  I commend Representatives Hansen and Meehan for initiating this 
legislation, and I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 3868, and build 
upon the bipartisan coalition of Members committed to preventing and 
reducing youth smoking.

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