[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16602]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY ON HOUSE PASSAGE OF FALEOMAVAEGA'S BILL TO COMBAT 
     TOBACCO SMUGGLING IN AMERICAN SAMOA AND OTHER U.S. TERRITORIES

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                      HON. ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 3, 2014

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to include, for 
historical purposes, information about a bill I introduced to combat 
tobacco smuggling in American Samoa and other U.S. Territories.

                     [Press Release, June 14, 2012]

  Faleomavaega Introduces Legislation to Combat Tobacco Smuggling in 
               American Samoa and Other U.S. Territories

       Congressman Faleomavaega today announced that he has 
     introduced the Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act 
     of 2012 (H.R. 5934) to add American Samoa, the Commonwealth 
     of the Northern Marianas and Guam to the current Contraband 
     Cigarette Trafficking Act which makes it illegal to knowingly 
     ship, transport, receive, possess, sell, distribute, or 
     purchase 10,000 or more contraband cigarettes that do not 
     have a state or territorial tax stamp. Violators of the act 
     will face fines and criminal penalties.
       ``This legislation will provide law enforcement an 
     additional tool to combat tobacco smuggling in American 
     Samoa. According to a 2011 Feasibility Study commissioned by 
     American Samoa Community Cancer Network on a Cigarette Tax 
     Stamp Program in American Samoa, an estimated 5.8 million 
     cigarettes were smuggled into American Samoa in 2010; this 
     represents an estimated revenue loss of over $724,000 to the 
     American Samoa government.'' Faleomavaega said.
       ``Furthermore, the study reported that cigarettes are 
     smuggled into American Samoa by individual travelers, who do 
     not declare cigarettes that are in excess of the amount of 
     tax-free cigarettes allowed for personal use (up to 200 per 
     trip) and also by boats that evade Customs inspections. 
     Contraband cigarettes are also obtained when a purchaser buys 
     them at the Post Exchange (PX) in Tafuna and sold to local 
     merchants who in turn resell them to members of the public. 
     The purchase of cigarettes at a PX is only legal when they 
     are purchased for personal consumption and not for resale.''
       ``Besides depriving American Samoa of much needed tax 
     revenues, cigarette smuggling contributes to a growing health 
     crisis on our island. There are many health risks associated 
     with cigarette smoking. Smoking causes many different types 
     of cancer such lung, pancreatic, bladder, kidney and throat 
     cancer. Smoking also causes coronary heart disease and is a 
     factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).''
       According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     (CDC), ``The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking 
     cause an estimated 443,000 deaths or nearly one of every five 
     deaths, each year in the United States. Additionally, tobacco 
     related illnesses cost nearly $100 billion in health care 
     costs each year in the United States.''
       ``Currently, on the federal level there are only civil 
     penalties that can be enforced on smugglers in American Samoa 
     pursuant to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (the 
     PACT Act). The PACT Act only applies to internet and mail 
     order cigarette smuggling and it only imposes civil penalties 
     while the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act imposes 
     criminal penalties.''
       ``As cigarette smuggling continues in American Samoa, the 
     Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2012 will 
     help local authorities combat the growing cigarette smuggling 
     in our territory,'' Faleomavaega concluded.

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