[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 84 (Monday, June 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6243-S6244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FAMILY SMOKING PREVENTION AND TOBACCO CONTROL ACT

  Mr. DODD. Madam President, I further ask--and this has been cleared 
on both sides--unanimous consent that the vote occur at 5:35 instead of 
at 5:30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DODD. I thank the Presiding Officer.
  Madam President, I wish to take a few minutes to first thank my 
colleague from Wyoming, Senator Enzi. We have had a very productive 
couple of weeks. We had a good markup in our committee. We were able to 
accommodate some of the concerns that Senator Enzi has had. He has been 
involved with this issue for a long time. I am filling in for my 
colleague from Massachusetts who obviously would be standing where I am 
at this moment and managing this proposal. As we all know, Senator 
Kennedy is dealing with a health issue himself and would love to have 
been here to manage this bill, but I am confident we can get this 
matter done.
  Let me say to my colleagues, I know we ended up in sort of a little 
bit of a knot here as we finished business last week. Having spoken 
with the majority leader--and I always hesitate to speak for him, but 
he told me that we want to inform our colleagues that there are a 
number of amendments that are either germane or close to being germane 
that the majority leader wishes to accommodate, including I believe the 
substitute offered by our colleague from North Carolina--both of our 
colleagues from North Carolina, the Presiding Officer as well as 
Senator Burr--and our hope is to be able to do that as well. I am told 
they might not be quite germane, but the majority leader wishes to do 
that. They have offered an amendment in committee. A case has been made 
for it and they ought to have the ability to make the case here as 
well. So our hope would be to get cloture and then deal with the 
germane and close-to-germane amendments as well so we can have a full 
debate on this issue, the substance of this debate and issue, which has 
been about 10 years, I think 10 years--my colleague may correct me--8 
or 10 years that this matter has been kicking around.
  This is a matter of substantial import. I know I have said this 
repeatedly over the last several weeks, but maybe the significance of 
it can't be repeated often enough. That is the number of children every 
day who start smoking, somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 a day, and 
400,000 people who perish every year as a result of smoking-related 
illnesses. Thousands more live very debilitated lives as a result of 
their use of tobacco, cigarettes, or other tobacco products.
  This is a matter for which it is absolutely essential to have Food 
and Drug Administration regulation. We know the Food and Drug 
Administration has the ability to regulate virtually every product we 
consume, including the irony of every product our pets consume, and yet 
does not have the power or the right to regulate tobacco products. This 
is the 21st century. With 400,000 people a year losing their lives, 
millions more in jeopardy of grave illness or death as a result of this 
self-inflicted health hazard, this must be addressed. It will give them 
the ability to deal with sales and marketing, as well as the production 
of cigarettes, particularly to children. Ninety percent of the adults 
in this country who smoke started as child smokers. Of the 3,000 to 
4,000, as I mentioned a moment ago, 1,000 become addicted and about 
one-third of that number end up dying as a result of that addiction. 
Those are numbers that are unacceptable. They ought to be, particularly 
on the eve of a health care debate, in talking about how to prevent 
illness, how to make sure we don't end up with more people in hospitals 
and doctors' offices in dealing with these issues. What stronger step 
could this body take with a strong bipartisan vote?
  The reason this legislation has been around 10 years is because every 
time this body has acted, the other body has not or when they have 
acted, we have not. So we have had these ships passing in the night for 
10 years. The House has now acted and we have an opportunity to join 
them in that action for the first time since the court ruled that 
tobacco products did not have to be regulated by a court order, and 
clearly, congressional action was necessary. Well, here is the action. 
We urge our colleagues to support cloture. To accommodate our 
colleagues on matters they still wish to raise in debate as part of 
this bill, I will support them in doing that. I may disagree with the 
substance they are offering, but they ought to have the right to do 
that and I will do everything I can to see that those opportunities are 
available.
  At any rate, I thank my colleague from Wyoming, who cares deeply 
about this issue as well. We end up disagreeing on this matter, but no 
one brings more passion than the Senator from Wyoming, Senator Enzi. So 
I thank him and his staff for the terrific work they have done on this 
matter.
  I yield the floor to my colleague from Wyoming, and then we will see 
if others wish to be heard.

[[Page S6244]]

  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I thank the 
chairman, but from the speeches, one can tell that the Senator from 
Connecticut has more passion than I do. Nobody is more passionate than 
the Senator from Connecticut, and I appreciate his passion, 
particularly on this issue.
  I am very hopeful we can get something done. It has been at least 10 
years--I know I have worked on this all the time I have been here, and 
it is true in the Senator's explanation that sometimes it makes it 
through the House and sometimes it makes it through the Senate but it 
never makes it through both Houses at the same time. I think to get it 
done, though, it is going to take a little bit longer. I appreciate the 
offer the leader is making that he wishes to have votes on the relevant 
and arguably germane amendments that are before us, but there isn't any 
assurance of that if there is cloture on the bill, and that is the 
difficulty.
  It seems to me as though we ought to be able to work out some kind of 
an agreement so we can quickly get into the couple of amendments that 
have already been debated and debated extensively, and that we would be 
assured of at least those two, but we haven't had a vote on anything.
  I appreciate the cooperation we have had from Chairman Dodd in 
working out a couple of the provisions, but there are some other people 
who have some provisions they think ought to be debated and brought up 
and perhaps included, but if we invoke cloture, there is no assurance 
they get to do that. So I have been asked to suggest that we not invoke 
cloture at this point in time and then do it quickly another time if it 
can be brought up again.
  One of the amendments is Senator Burr's alternative. Even though he 
represents a tobacco State, he has a substitute amendment that takes 
major steps to restrict tobacco. It takes a tougher stance than some of 
the things we have in the bill. It creates a new office within HHS to 
regulate tobacco. I spoke about the difficulties of having the FDA do 
it, as they are supposed to take poisonous materials and get them off 
the market. Instead of giving that kind of a seal of approval, this new 
office would regulate the tobacco industry. It puts in place a 
realistic, science-based standard for the approval of new and reduced 
risk products. It also requires States to do more on tobacco control--
something we can all support. The Burr amendment makes it more 
difficult for kids to get tobacco and start smoking, and that is the 
most important thing of all, and that is what Senator Dodd has 
concentrated on in his remarks.
  But we won't be considering that amendment, nor will we consider my 
amendment to ensure that the FDA continues to have the resources to 
carry out this program, or any amendments on smoking cessation. We 
won't have an opportunity to improve the bill and attack the root of 
the problem, which is tobacco use.
  For example, I had an amendment to reduce smoking by 1 percent a 
year. That is a 100-year phaseout that ought to be fairly reasonable, 
but we aren't going to get to debate that at all or have a vote on that 
amendment if we invoke cloture. So I hope we can find a way to give 
germane amendments serious consideration over a short period of time.
  I have to oppose cloture at this point in time, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  I yield the floor, reserve the remainder of the time, and suggest the 
absence of a quorum, with the time to be divided equally.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, there has been some misunderstanding. I 
announced this on Thursday, and Senator Dodd followed me and also said 
the same thing. Right now, there is a question with the minority on 
whether there would be a vote on Burr on the substitute. We said 
Thursday, and we say today, we are happy to allow Senator Burr to have 
a vote on that amendment. We have never said anything to the contrary. 
We still believe that should be the way it is. It is important to him, 
it is important to Senator Hagan, and we are going to allow a vote on 
that unless there is some objection from the minority. Over here, even 
though cloture is invoked and technically it may not be in order, we 
would be happy to arrange a vote on that. We have said it for the last 
many hours we have been on this legislation. My point is, anybody who 
is not going to vote for cloture because of that is misguided and 
doesn't understand the facts.

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