[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 29 (Thursday, March 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E362-E363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TOBACCO LIVELIHOOD AND ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FARMERS ACT OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2002

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be an 
original cosponsor of the Tobacco Livelihood and Economic Assistance 
for our Farmers Act of 2002. This bill couples my legislation, the 
National Youth Smoking Reduction Act--which would allow the Food and 
Drug Administration to regulate tobacco--with legislation to end the 
current tobacco marketing quota program. I would also like to thank my 
colleague Mr. McIntyre, the sponsor of this bill, for his hard work and 
leadership.
  For someone who never touched a cigarette, I now know a great deal 
about tobacco. It is an extremely complex issue in which the public 
health, the needs of farmers, and the rights of Americans must all be 
taken into consideration. Often, it appears an impossible task to bring 
the stakeholders together; nevertheless, I am convinced there is a 
solution. When I introduced the National Youth Smoking Reduction Act 
last June, it was my intent to put forward the idea that we could 
devise a regulatory scheme to keep tobacco products away from those too 
young to legally purchase them while simultaneously maintaining the 
rights of adults to make their own decisions regarding tobacco use. 
This bill expands upon that concept by demonstrating that a solution 
for our farmers is complementary to the other elements of this debate.
  For centuries, tobacco has been a cornerstone of the agricultural 
economy of the Commonwealth of Virginia and other tobacco growing 
states. American tobacco has always been regarded as the highest 
quality tobacco available. Despite this fact, American growers are 
increasingly vulnerable to lower quality--but less expensive--foreign 
leaf. While the quota marketing system has been a valuable tool to 
support and stabilize the income of the tobacco farmer, it has also 
created an artificial cost that has made it all the more difficult for 
the American grower to compete. Growers and their communities are 
dependent on tobacco for their economic survival; however they now find 
themselves trapped--forced to continue growing an increasingly 
unprofitable crop without the necessary resources to transition away 
from the current dysfunctional system.
  Ending the quota is something we must do in order to save the 
economic viability of our tobacco farmers. We must also recognize that 
the quota system has created an asset--the quota itself--the value of 
which must be compensated to those who own or use it. Farmers have been 
increasingly supportive of the idea of a buy-out, as was the 
President's Commission on Improving Economic Opportunity in Communities 
Dependent on Tobacco Production While Protecting Public Health in its 
report published last year. Until now, the question of how to fund a 
buy-out was always a major obstacle. This bill, however, takes an 
innovative approach by proposing to fund the buy-out through the 
imposition of user-fees. These user-fees will initially provide the 
resources to fund both FDA regulatory actions and the buy-out. Once the 
buy-out has been completed, the user-fees will be used to fund FDA 
actions and other tobacco-related programs.
  I realize it is a mistake to consider tobacco growers as a 
homogeneous lot. The needs and concerns of flue-cured growers differ 
from the needs and concerns of burley growers. The needs and concerns 
of Virginia growers are not the same as the needs and concerns of North 
Carolina growers. However, a vital concern to all growers is the 
question--what will the post buy-out world hold for me? We have taken 
steps in this bill to ensure fair compensation so that those who choose 
to stop growing tobacco can do so. For those that choose to continue to 
grow tobacco, not only will they be compensated for their quota's loss 
of value, but they are guaranteed that tobacco production will remain 
in those areas where it has been traditionally grown.
  I have no tobacco farmers in my district, but I am a Virginian. 
Tobacco is a part of our culture--it was this crop that made the Colony 
of Virginia economically viable almost four hundred years ago. As we 
transitioned from colony to commonwealth, tobacco remained a keystone 
to our way of life. To this very day, the golden leaf adorns our 
statehouse. With this in mind, I say to the small farmers and rural 
communities whose fortunes have been tied to tobacco for generations, I 
will continue to work with you to ensure tobacco can remain a viable 
option for you. I recognize more may be necessary to keep all 
production from transferring to large farms. I am confident that by 
working with the other members of the Virginia delegation, the Virginia 
Farm Bureau, and all organizations dedicated to the well being and 
prosperity of tobacco growers in the

[[Page E363]]

Commonwealth of Virginia that our small tobacco farms can survive and 
prosper in a post buy-our world.
  In closing, let me state that I am eager to start the debate on 
tobacco. I hope my colleagues will join in so that a constructive, 
beneficial solution can be crafted.

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