[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1273-E1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE MINORITY COMMUNITY TOBACCO REDUCTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today more than fifty Members of the 
Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Native American 
Caucus joined with a number of other Members of Congress in introducing 
legislation to address the disproportionate levels of tobacco use and 
tobacco related disease in the minority community.
  The ``Minority Community Tobacco Reduction Act'' was developed to 
address the absence of minority initiatives in national tobacco 
legislation and to reverse the disturbing effects of the tobacco 
industry's targeting of minorities. The three main priorities of the 
bill are: 1. Funding for tobacco-related prevention activities in the 
minority community; 2. Research on

[[Page E1274]]

tobacco's effects on minority populations and the best means to reduce 
tobacco use in the future; and 3. Transition assistance for small, 
community-based events and activities which can no longer be sponsored 
by the tobacco industry.
  Without these provisions, guaranteeing reductions in youth smoking 
among all sectors of the American population will be impossible. 
Moreover, many of the bills introduced in Congress mandate a 
substantial increase in tobacco prices that will result in a regressive 
tax increase on low-income minorities if national tobacco legislation 
does not include efforts to reduce tobacco use among both minority 
youth and adult smokers.
  The Minority Community Tobacco Reduction Act will ensure that new 
cessation, prevention, research, or education programs, administered by 
federal agencies or state health departments (which will be funded 
through federal block grants), are supported in the minority community 
based on the minority group's percentage of the smoking population. In 
addition to funding these initiatives at an adequate level, the 
legislation assures this historic opportunity to prevent tobacco from 
further harming the minority community is not squandered. By providing 
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Minority Health with a role in 
coordinating the minority tobacco activities of the Public Health 
Service and approving state applications for block grant funds, a 
sufficient degree of accountability and organization will be 
established to produce genuine results.
  The minority caucuses' legislation also makes $1 billion of the funds 
made available by national tobacco legislation for conducting badly 
needed biomedical, child health, and tobacco-related research at 
minority education institutions across the nation. Finally, the 
Minority Community Tobacco Reduction Act funds treatment of tobacco-
related diseases at community health centers and provides transition 
assistance to small, community-based events, activities and 
publications sponsored by the tobacco industry in the past but may no 
longer receive advertising dollars as a result of bans included in 
national tobacco legislation.
  Despite last week's defeat of tobacco legislation introduced by 
Senator John McCain, it is imperative that Congress continue to work 
toward enacting comprehensive national tobacco legislation that 
President Clinton will be willing to sign. The bill introduced by 
members of the minority caucuses today offers substantial policy 
initiatives that any genuinely comprehensive national tobacco 
legislation must include.
  Minority populations have suffered from disproportionately higher 
rates of tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases as a direct result of 
the tobacco industry's targeting. The Surgeon General's report released 
last month entitled ``Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority 
Groups'' found that Native Americans and African Americans have the 
highest smoking rates of any ethnic group. Hispanic youth have smoking 
rates which have almost overtaken those of white youth, and many Asian 
American/Pacific Islander sub-populations display frighteningly high 
rates of tobacco use. Minority populations also consistently display 
the highest rates of tobacco-related diseases, particularly lung 
cancer.
  According to a report recently released by the Centers for Disease 
Control, these trends of tobacco use in the minority community are 
likely to worsen. The report found that smoking rates among African 
American and Hispanic high school students increased by 80 percent and 
34 percent, perspectively, from 1991 through 1997.
  While the legislation introduced today by the members of the minority 
caucuses is a standalone bill, its provisions are designed to be 
included in more comprehensive national tobacco legislation.
  The Members of Congress who support the Minority Community Tobacco 
Reduction Act look forward to working with the Republican and 
Democratic leadership as well as President Clinton to enact national 
tobacco legislation this year that will take positive steps toward 
fighting tobacco use in every American household.
  The Minority Community Tobacco Reduction Act is the culmination of 
almost a year of historic cooperation between the minority caucuses. I 
am proud of the final product, and would like to thank the dozens if 
not hundreds of people who have participated in its development. In 
particular, I would like to thank the following congressional staffers 
who have spent countless hours working on this bill: Adam Gluck, Alysia 
Davis, Angela Vincent, Ann Jacobs, Bobby Vassar, Brenda Pillors, 
Charles Dujon, Charles Stephenson, Claudia Pharis, Curt Clinton, Danny 
Cromer, Darlene Taylor, David Sutphen, David Wildes, Deborah Spielberg, 
Edward Jackson, Esther Aguilera, Emilie Milne, Fred Turner, Fredette 
West, Howard Moon, James Williams, Jennifer Leach, Jessica Diaz, John 
Schelble, Jon Alexander, Joyce Brayboy, Heather Hale, Kate Emanuel, 
Keith Stern, Ken Keck, Kenya Reid, Kerry McKenney, Kim Alton, Kim 
Richan, Kimberly McAfee, Kimberly Teehee, Kirra Jarratt, LaTario 
Powell, Larry Dillard, Leah Allen, Liz Powell, Lucy Hand, Marcus Mason, 
Marie McGlone, Marsha Mccraven, Minnie Langham, Oneki Dafe, Paul 
Cunningham, Richard Boykin, Ronnie Simmons, Rory Verrett, Samara Ryder, 
Sean Peterson, Sheila Harvey, Sherry Newton, Susan Rosenblum, Tammy 
Boyd, Tambi McCollum, Terri Schroeder, Todd Gee, Tom McDaniels, Tony 
Vance, Ufo Eric-Atuanya, Walter Vinson, and Yelberton Watkins.
  I would also like to thank Peter Goodloe from the House Legislative 
Counsel's office for his assistance in drafting our seemingly endless 
modifications. Without his expertise, this legislation would never have 
been prepared in time for introduction today.

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