    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [September 17, 1997]
    [Pages 1179-1182]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Proposed Tobacco Legislation and an Exchange With Reporters
    September 17, 1997

        The President. Thank you very much. Mr. Vice President, Secretary
    Shalala, Secretary Glickman, thank you for your work. Thank you, Bruce
    Reed. I'd like to say a special word of thanks to David Kessler for the
    work he did--historic work he did at the FDA when he was here. Thank
    you, Dr. Koop, and members of the public community who are here. To
    Members of Congress, the attorneys general, the representatives of
    plaintiffs in the private litigation--and we have one of the injured
    parties here representing all of them--we thank all of them for coming
    today.
        This is a time of prosperity and hope and optimism for America, with
    our economy improving, making progress on our social problems, our
    efforts to lead the world to a more prosperous and peaceful future
    making headway. But I think we all know that this country still has some
    significant challenges, especially in the health field. And if we think
    about what we want America to be like in the 21st century, the health of
    our people and especially the health of our children must be paramount
    in our thinking, in our vision, and in our efforts. That's why a year
    ago I worked with the FDA and we launched this nationwide effort to
    protect our children from the dangers of tobacco by reducing youth
    access to tobacco products, by preventing companies from advertising to
    our children.
        The purpose of the FDA rule was to reduce youth smoking by 50
    percent within 7 years. Earlier this year, a Federal judge in North
    Carolina said that the FDA has the authority to regulate tobacco
    products to protect the health of our children. There have also been
    other examples of litigation progress, as you know, brought by private
    plaintiffs and by the attorneys general. Now, these victories for public
    health drove the tobacco companies to the bargaining table. They
    extracted concessions that would have been literally unthinkable just a
    short time ago.
        I want to say a special word of thanks to the attorneys general and
    the other parties who worked hard to negotiate this settlement. Everyone
    knows we would not be here had it not been for their foresight, their
    determination, and their relentless efforts.
        Now we have this unprecedented opportunity to enact comprehensive
    tobacco legislation, working with all the parties involved, the Members
    of Congress, the attorneys general, the representatives of injured
    parties, the public health community, the tobacco farmers, and others.
    We have moved from confrontation and denial and inertia to the brink of
    action on behalf of our children, and that is all to the good.
        Today I want to challenge Congress to build on this historic
    opportunity by passing sweeping tobacco legislation that has one goal in
    mind: the dramatic reduction of teen smoking. In the coming weeks I will
    invite congressional leaders from both parties to the White House to
    launch a bipartisan effort to enact such legislation.
        There are five key elements that must be at the heart of any
    national tobacco legislation. Reducing teen smoking has always been
    America's bottom line. It must be the industry's bottom line. That is
    why I believe the first thing any tobacco legislation must include is a
    comprehensive plan to reduce teen smoking, including tough penalties.
    These penalties should be non-tax-deductible, uncapped, and escalating
    to give the tobacco industry the strongest possible incentive to stop
    targeting children as new customers.
        One of the surest ways of reducing youth smoking is to increase the
    price of cigarettes. Today I call for a combination of industry payments
    and penalties to increase the price of cigarettes by up to a dollar and
    a half a pack

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    over the next decade, as needed, to meet our youth reduction targets.
    And I call upon the House to follow the lead of the United States Senate
    and repeal the provision giving the tobacco industry a $50 billion tax
    credit.
        Second, any legislation must affirm the full authority of the FDA to
    regulate tobacco products. I believe the FDA's jurisdiction over tobacco
    products must be as strong and effective as its authority over drugs and
    devices. In particular, legislation cannot impose any special procedural
    hurdles on the FDA's regulation of tobacco products.
        Third, effective legislation must include measures to hold the
    industry accountable, especially in any efforts to market products to
    children, while insisting on changes in the way it does business. I ask
    the industry again to make a voluntary commitment to stop advertising to
    children. And I call upon Congress to pass legislation providing for
    broad document disclosure so that the public can learn everything the
    tobacco companies know about the health effects of their products and
    their attempts to market to our children.
        Fourth, Federal tobacco legislation must aim not only to reduce
    youth smoking but to meet other health goals as well. These include the
    reduction of secondhand smoke, the expansion of smoking prevention and
    cessation programs, the strengthening of international efforts to
    control tobacco, and the provision of funds for medical research and
    other important health objectives. We must build on the bipartisan
    agreement to fund children's health care in the recent balanced budget.
        And finally, any tobacco legislation must protect tobacco farmers
    and their communities. We know that tobacco farmers are honest, hard-
    working people, most of whom live and work on small, family owned farms.
    In some States, entire communities rely on income from the tobacco crop.
    Any legislation must protect these farmers, their families, and their
    communities from loss of income.
        Let me say in closing, I want to thank the Vice President
    especially, who cares so passionately about this issue. He's played a
    key role in our efforts to protect our children from the dangers of
    tobacco. I've asked him to take the lead in building broad bipartisan
    support around the country for our plan. I also want to thank Secretary
    Shalala, Secretary Glickman, and Bruce Reed, and all those who worked so
    hard on our administration's analysis of the proposed settlement and
    where we are.
        And finally, let me say again, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for
    all the people in this room and the countless others they represent
    around the country. To me, this is not about money. It is not about how
    much money we can extract from the tobacco industry. It is about
    fulfilling our duties as parents and responsible adults to protect our
    children and to build the future of this country. We are doing
    everything we can in this administration to give parents the tools they
    need to raise their children, but parents have to be our partners as
    well. If this is not just about money, we have to recognize that even
    beyond the tobacco companies and all of us in this room, every parent in
    America has a responsibility to talk to their children about the dangers
    of tobacco, illegal drugs, and other things that can hurt them. We know
    if we have strong parental responsibility here, they can make a great
    deal of difference in protecting our children as well.
        If we take responsibility, if we pass this legislation, if we do
    what we should here, if the tobacco industry will work with us, if other
    Members of Congress in both parties will work with us, we will have gone
    a very long way toward creating the state of health for our children
    that will make America an even greater nation in the new century.
        Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President, what are the chances of the Congress adopting your
    policy? And why is the industry so conspicuously absent?
        The President. Well, first of all, I was encouraged by some of the
    comments that were made by some industry representatives. I think that
    they know that they have to have Federal legislation. They have an
    interest in that as well. And I would hope that they would be willing to
    work with us. But we cannot have the FDA crippled here, and we have to
    have real and meaningful penalties if the targets for youth smoking are
    not met. And so I feel very good about that.
        I think the Congress--I think it's highly likely that they will take
    action. When they take action depends, I think, upon when they can work
    through the issues for themselves and how they decide how to divide up
    the work among the committees. But it's not too soon to start. We could
    have hearings on this fairly soon, and I

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    would hope to work with the Congress to develop a bill that would embody
    these principles.
        Q. Mr. President, you haven't said what you're willing to agree to
    for the tobacco industry. Are you willing to agree to immunity from
    future liability?
        The President. Well, I don't think they've asked for future
    liability, I think they've asked for immunity from liability for past
    suits. And the question there would be, what are they willing to agree
    to? They need to come and meet with us. We need to discuss it, and we
    need to see whether we can embody these five principles. These are the
    things I'm interested in.
        To me, I'll say again, this is not primarily about money. This is
    about changing the behavior of the United States, both the behavior of
    the tobacco companies, the behavior of the American people, the future
    behavior of our children. I'm trying to create an environment here with
    these five principles that I believe would achieve that. And if they
    want to be our partners in it, I think we can get there. And I hope they
    will be.
        Q. Are you willing to put your prestige on the line to ensure that
    this becomes law?
        The President. Well, I think my personal prestige on this has been
    on the line for more than a year now. [Laughter] There for a while, I
    thought more than my prestige was on the line. [Laughter] You know, for
    a person involved in public life in Washington today, personal prestige
    may be an oxymoron. [Laughter] But at least you still have your neck
    most days.
        Q. What do you say to the people----
        Q. Mr. President, how do you protect the well-being of tobacco
    farmers--sounds like you're going to take away their livelihood.
        The President. Well, there are a number of things which can be done,
    and I don't want to get into the details. Secretary Glickman can talk
    about it. But we have had farmers in various sectors in our agriculture
    society facing constricted incomes before, and we have done things which
    helped them. There was a--for example, I remember a few years ago
    something that affected dairy farmers in my State. There was a massive
    buyout program for dairy farmers, and in a lot of States like Arkansas,
    there were any number of small farmers that were having a very difficult
    time who had a chance to start their life on a different basis.
        I don't want to minimize this. Tobacco has a very high return per
    acre. So it's not a simple thing. You can't just say to a tobacco farmer
    to go plant soybeans, even if the soil will hold them. This is, from an
    agricultural point of view, economically complex. But nonetheless, we
    have a responsibility to these people. They haven't done anything wrong.
    They haven't done anything illegal. They're good, hard-working,
    taxpaying citizens, and they have not caused this problem. And we cannot
    let them, their families, or their communities just be crippled and
    broken by this. And I don't think any member of the public health
    community wants to do that. And the Agriculture Department and I am
    personally very committed to this part; to me, this is one of the five
    things we have to do.
        We're trying to change America and make everybody whole. And they
    deserve a chance to have their lives and be made whole and go on with
    the future as well, and I'm determined to see that they're a part of
    this.
        Q. What do you say to the attorneys who thought this was a good deal
    and very proudly proclaimed it?
        The President. Well, first of all, they were a part of all these
    ongoing reviews. Everybody was heard in this review process. And
    secondly, they all recognize, too, that this agreement has to be
    ratified by Congress. The tobacco companies recognize that. That means
    that all of us who are part of that process are, in effect, parties to
    this case, too. And that's the way you need to look at this. We're
    building on their deal. We're not rejecting their agreement. We're
    building on it. We're not rejecting what the attorneys general did.
    We're building on it. Look, if it hadn't been for what they did, we
    wouldn't be here.
        I realize that there were two great things that started this. One is
    what Dr. Kessler and what we did at the FDA, and the fact that our
    administration was the first one ever willing to take this on. The other
    was the actions by the attorneys general and the private lawsuits that
    got the disclosure of the documents that created a total change in the
    public attitude and the public efforts here. And then long before that,
    there were the efforts of all of these people here from the public
    health community who have been telling us all this for years. And they
    had the public primed for it. Then the lawsuits brought about the
    disclosures, and then the FDA was moving.

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        Those three things together, I think--and of course, now there have
    been a lot of congressional hearings. Representative Waxman had a full
    head of hair when he came to Congress before he started on tobacco.
    [Laughter] And so I think you've got to give--to me, we're building on
    this progress, and that's the way you have to look at this. We are
    trying to do the best thing for the country in a way that is consistent
    with the agreement they made. We're building on the agreement. We're not
    tearing it down. We're building on it. And I think we can get
    legislation that will reflect it.
        Thank you.

    Military Aircraft Accidents

        Q. What do you think about the string of air crashes, Mr. President,
    that have happened--Bosnia, the German representative that was killed?
        The President. It's a terrible thing. We don't have all the facts
    yet. I was briefed early this morning on it, and obviously I'm
    profoundly concerned for the diplomat and the people that were on the
    aircraft and their families. But I can't comment on the facts of it
    until we absolutely know what the facts are.
        Q. What about the other crashes?
        The President. I must say, we're making--on balance, we're making
    some progress in Bosnia again. The events of the last several weeks are
    hopeful for the peace process and the Dayton accord.
        Q. What about the other air crashes here in this country, this
    string of air accidents? What do you have to say about the air safety,
    and what are you going to be doing about that?
        The President. I had a talk with the Secretary of Defense about them
    the day before yesterday, and I think we have to, first of all, analyze
    each and every one to see whether there is some pattern that would
    require some kind of review by the Air Force or whether it's just an
    unfortunate stream of coincidences that they all happened at the same
    time. I noted one that I learned about this morning involved Air
    National Guard planes, for example. That may or may not have anything to
    do with any problem with planes or anything like that.
        I wouldn't over--jump to conclusions about this. Remember, every
    year--I try to say this once a year, so I want to say it now--it is easy
    for the American people to forget the risks that our men and women in
    uniform undertake. Every year we lose a couple hundred people serving
    the United States in the military in peacetime. It is dangerous work.
    They have to be well-trained. They have to be skilled. They have to be
    brave. It is a difficult thing. I am heartsick about the plane we are
    missing off the coast of Africa that took a demining team in there to
    continue our work against landmines.
        But I don't want you to jump to a conclusion that there is something
    wrong because all these things occurred within a short space of time
    because, if you look over the course of a year, we may go months and
    months and months and nothing happens, but over the course of a year, we
    lose a significant number of people every year who serve our country in
    uniform because of the inherent risks involved in what they do.
        We will do everything we can to make sure that they're as safe as
    possible, and if there is a pattern here that has to be looked into on
    air safety, you can be sure that the Air Force will do that.
        Thank you.

    Chelsea Clinton's Departure for College

        Q. Are you dreading Chelsea leaving home tomorrow?
        The President. Yes. This morning--the first thing I did this morning
    was go look through the boxes and make sure we had all the right things
    in the right boxes. [Laughter] But there's nothing I can do about it
    now. [Laughter] That's what you raise them for. I'm happy and sad at the
    same time.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Bruce N. Reed, Assistant to the
    President for Domestic Policy; David A. Kessler, former Commissioner of
    Food and Drugs; C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General; and the late
    Gerd Wagner, Senior Deputy High Representative for Implementation of the
    Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was killed September 17
    in a helicopter crash in Bosnia.