[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 77 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6309-S6311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE TOBACCO BILL

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, we are getting into the tobacco wars again 
today. I know we have made some progress. I have seen in the last week 
several amendments adopted which I think are very important. As a long-
time advocate of assuring full deductibility for

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health insurance for the self-employed, I was delighted that, and the 
marriage penalty provision, survived a vote in the Chamber, and also 
what we called the Bond-Kerry amendment directing that some of the 
money paid out to the States be used at the very essential early stages 
of a child's development through early childhood development, parent 
education to make their children better students, better people, to 
accept responsibility for them, and providing child care to assure that 
children in elementary school are not left alone without supervision 
before and after school.
  These are steps in the right direction. I understand that one of my 
colleagues, for whom I have great respect, later on today will come to 
the floor and seek to strike all mandates on States in this bill.
  Generally, I have taken the position as a former Governor that we 
should not be mandating what States do with all of the money that is 
collected by the Federal Government from our State constituents. In 
this case, however, I think the situation is a little different because 
we have been asked by the States to come in and legislate. These 
actions started off as lawsuits, and it came to the point where they 
believed that a Federal law was necessary to implement the objectives 
that the States have and that we share, which is to assure discouraging 
of teenage smoking. I think that once we go down that path of imposing 
a major legislative solution--and we are going to be the ones who have 
to take the responsibility for imposing the fees, for setting up the 
smoking cessation programs and other things--that there is every reason 
for us to pose responsible legislative provisions which will have to be 
agreed to by a majority of both Houses.

  I would mention the fact that there has been some controversy. I 
regret we were not able to place a limit on the amount of fees the 
lawyers for the States would receive. It seems to me we missed an 
essential ingredient here. We are talking about imposing a settlement 
or directing a distribution of sums that is not really a settlement of 
a lawsuit. We are developing a major proposal which is going to raise 
large amounts of money, provide some tax relief, send some money back 
to the States. I think we have every reason to say how much money that 
lobbyists, who are essentially the attorneys who brought the suits--the 
lobbyists pushing this legislation--should be able to achieve. Some of 
the figures that have been expressed on the floor about $80,000 to 
$90,000 an hour are unconscionable. And the people of my State--and I 
believe the people of the United States--are very much concerned about 
what is going to be done with all this money. I share that concern.
  I think before this measure passes, or is finally adopted, there 
ought to be some limitation. Sure, let the people who worked on it get 
a reasonable return. But there is no reason to give a small group of 
people, selected by attorneys general, a windfall of literally 
potentially billions of dollars from our legislative action. The people 
who are going to have to be paying the higher fees for cigarettes, I 
think, have a right to ask us not to permit States to go through with 
the contracts which give essentially judicial contingent-fee-type 
rewards to people who are, in essence, coming to us, lobbying for us to 
pass legislation.
  I think we ought to be able to establish some conditions on some of 
the money that goes back to the States. I have said that smoking 
cessation is important. The educational element is important in 
ensuring young people at least know the message that smoking can be 
harmful and that they should not start. I think we need to inform them.
  I think, second, It is right and proper that, as we did last week, we 
support the concept in the Bond-Kerrey proposal, that funds going back 
to the States should be utilized for expanding child care, for assuring 
adequate early childhood development to ensure that every family takes 
responsibility for its child's behavior. We ought to be talking about 
parental responsibility, about family responsibility, about adult care-
giver responsibility.
  I will tell you one other thing. There is something that is lacking 
in this bill, and I intend to offer--I hope it will be tomorrow--an 
amendment which will deal with one of the areas that this bill, in my 
view, wrongfully ignores. We are trying to get teenagers to stop 
smoking. Where is the responsibility on the teenagers themselves? I 
know teenagers. I happen to have one in my family. Mine is a fine young 
man. We have these wonderful, bright-eyed, aggressive, intelligent 
young people here who are working as pages. Yet we are saying we are 
going to protect them from everybody else--from the sellers, from the 
tobacco companies--but we are not saying they have to take any 
responsibility. Young people are old enough to begin taking 
responsibility. If they drive a car illegally and they get caught, they 
get sanctioned. If they drive and they are drinking, or if they are 
using drugs, in my State they can lose their licenses. Young people 
ought to know they have some limits and some responsibilities. So I am 
going to offer an amendment to say to the States: If you want to 
receive money under these block grants, you ought to set up a system 
for sanctioning teenagers who purchase cigarettes illegally.
  We are raising the price, we are providing education, but, as one 
teenager I talked to said: ``Hey, if all they are doing is saying it's 
bad and the store that sells it to me is going to be in trouble or the 
people who make it are going to be in trouble but I can walk scot-
free--that's worth a try.'' There are some teenagers who, 
unfortunatley, in their rebellious teen-age ways--and most of us can 
still recall when we were teenagers and remember those days--will say, 
``That's worth a try.'' If we want to discourage teenage smoking, then 
there need to be some sanctions on the teenagers.

  I would lay out a string of sanctions and say, for the first offense, 
either a $50 fine or a day's worth of community service. A $50 fine 
might be really heavy on one teenager, but for another teenager it 
might not make any difference. But if that young man has to spend a day 
picking up trash along the highway as part of a community service 
sanction imposed on him for purchasing cigarettes illegally, I don't 
think he is going to want to be out there in broad daylight in the hot, 
broiling sun, with all his buddies going by honking and waving at him 
picking up trash on the highway.
  I would even go so far as to say parents out to get sanctioned, too. 
We want to hold parents responsible. We want parents to recognize it is 
not just Government's responsibility, it is their responsibility as 
parents. Sure, we have all kinds of sanctions on the sellers, mom-and-
pop stores that sell a whole range of things, including a legal 
product, tobacco, saying: You are really going to get it if youi sell 
to a teenager.
  But is it fair to have that penalty only on one side? The amendment I 
am going to offer, and I hope both sides of the aisle will support, 
will say: States, you have to come up with a graduated system of 
sanctions so teenagers will know it is not a risk-free endeavor to try 
to lure a convenience store operator or a grocery store operator to 
sell you cigarettes that you should not be buying. Some States are 
moving ahead and they have sanctions, so they would be in compliance. 
But I think this bill would be sadly lacking if we set out a system of 
penalties and tried some educational efforts to convince teenagers they 
should not do what is illegal, and left them without sanctions.
  So I hope we can adopt, tomorrow, a measure which does impose 
sanctions on teenagers or encourages States to say they must set up a 
reasonable graduated system of sanctions for anybody who purchases--
acquires cigarettes illegally. Thus, I would say, when we come to the 
point about debating whether this bill should have no sanctions or no 
limitations or restrictions on the States, I think we have gone past 
that. Once the States came here and asked us to get involved and to set 
up a scheme to discourage teenage smoking, to raise the price of 
cigarettes to provide smoking education, provide research, provide 
health care benefits, we ought to continue down that road and provide 
the one element which is lacking in the current scheme, and that is 
strong incentives for States to punish and to impose a reasonable, 
graduated system of penalties on those who purchase illegally.
  So I ask my colleagues not to support a removal of all requirements 
on

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the States. I ask them--I hope it will be tomorrow when we come forward 
with our amendment--to support the amendment. My amendment will simply 
provide incentives for States to impose sanctions on youth who buy or 
possess tobacco products illegally. We are taking all kinds of steps in 
the bill to keep cigarettes out of the hands of teens. We are creating 
new boards and agencies, we are seeking that the tobacco industry limit 
advertising, we are planning ad campaigns to discourage teens from 
smoking, we are holding convenience stores accountable for selling 
cigarettes to teens illegally. About the only people we are not holding 
responsible are the teens themselves. I ask support for my amendment 
that will do that.
  Teen smoking is on the rise at a time when older adults are reducing 
tobacco consumption. there is more information out there than ever 
before about the risks of smoking, but teens continue to smoke. Some of 
that may be rebelliousness. How should we handle that rebellion? Quite 
simply, by holding teens accountable for their actions. Teens need to 
know that their actions have consequences. If they purchase tobacco 
illegally, they should have a penalty to pay--perform community service 
or kick in with some money to the General Treasury of the entity 
involved.
  Mr. President, I ask support for my amendment. If others want to 
cosponsor the amendment, I welcome having them contact us. We are 
already working with several Members who are interested. I hope we can 
get this amendment accepted on both sides. I think it is a responsible 
and appropriate response to the problem that this measure seeks to 
address.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and, seeing no other Senator present 
wishing to speak, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Allard). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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