    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 20, 1998]
    [Pages 812-813]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 812]]

    Remarks on Proposed Tobacco Legislation
    May 20, 1998

        Thank you very much. First of all, I'd like to thank Tara and Emily. There's really
    nothing much more to say after their presentations. They weren't so
    muted and shy; I think we all got the point. Didn't you think they were
    terrific? Give them another hand. [Applause] I thought they were great.
        I'd like to thank all the Members of Congress who are here. I think
    they were all mentioned except we missed Congressman Borski who is in the first seat. No minister would do that
    in a congregation. [Laughter] Thank you for being here, all of you.
    Thank you, Reverend Jackson. I thank the
    public health advocates who are here. I thank the young people who are
    here, both behind me and a few out there in the audience. I thank the
    parents of our speakers who came and other parents who are here for what
    they have done.
        I can't thank the Vice President enough
    for his longstanding and absolutely passionate, indeed, all-consuming
    interest in this issue. I think it would be fair to say--he talked about
    how we looked at the issue and all the obstacles to it, and I went
    ahead. The people that had the most influence on me were the Vice
    President, the First Lady, and our
    daughter. And that was three--if there were
    300 million on the other side, the three would have a majority. So I
    thank them all, and especially the Vice President, for years and years
    and years of dedicated work on this issue.
        This morning I was thinking that when I was the age of--even younger
    than most of the people here in the audience, most of the children here,
    the biggest public health threat to us was polio. America went to work
    and conquered the disease, and I was actually part of the first group of
    children to be immunized against polio.
        Today, we all know our greatest public health threat to our
    children, and indeed to all Americans, are all the related things that
    can happen to people who are addicted to tobacco. I was a little older
    than most of the children here when the Surgeon General sounded an alarm
    that has grown louder, clearer, and more difficult to ignore every year,
    the warning that smoking kills.
        For a generation, Americans of all ages and walks of life, including
    young people just like those whom we honor here today, have answered
    that alarm by fighting tirelessly to conquer this deadly threat to
    protect the health of our people. In the face of very powerful
    opposition, our Nation has actually won some victories, both large and
    small, requiring all cigarette packages to carry warning labels,
    prohibiting cigarette advertising on the airwaves, banning smoking on
    domestic airline flights. But today, we stand on the verge of passing
    legislation that will do far more than anything we have ever done to
    stop the scourge of youth smoking.
        This week, as all of you know, the Senate is considering historic,
    comprehensive, bipartisan legislation, proposed by Senator
    McCain and Senator Hollings. Over the last few weeks, we have worked very hard with
    Senators in both parties to strengthen this bill, protecting Americans
    from the dangers of secondhand smoke in public buildings, dramatically
    increasing health research, and funding a nationwide advertising
    campaign to tell young people not to smoke, toughening look-back
    surcharges to make reducing youth smoking the tobacco companies' bottom
    line.
        This bill includes a significant price increase to discourage youth
    smoking and affirms the FDA's authority to regulate tobacco products. I
    hope that in the next few days, the Senate will make sure we do
    everything we possibly can, also, to protect tobacco farmers and their
    communities.
        This bill is our best chance to protect the health of our children,
    to keep them from getting hooked on cigarettes ever. It is a good, a
    strong bill. Congress should pass it and pass it now. Let me also say
    that I believe the presence of the young people here and their active
    support of the Tobacco-Free Kids movement is absolutely critical. There
    are still cynics who say, ``Well, this is not the kind of problem that
    requires this sort of solution. After all, nobody forces these people to
    start smoking.'' The young people here wearing their T-shirts, willing
    to look into the eyes of the lawmakers, are a stunning rebuke to that
    kind of cynicism. I thank

    [[Page 813]]

    them for saying no to tobacco and yes to their own bright futures.
        And I want to tell you that you may well be able to have a bigger
    impact on Capitol Hill, than all the things that we say here in the
    White House, on the remaining undecided voters. Our lawmakers must not
    let this historic opportunity slip away under pressure from big tobacco
    lobbying. I want you to go and see them. I know you're going to Capitol
    Hill. When you're up there, I want you to ask every Member of Congress
    to go home tonight and think about how they can look you in the eye and
    say no to your future.
        We now know from the release of previously classified documents that
    for years the tobacco companies looked on you as, and I quote, ``the
    replacement smokers'' of the 21st century. But here we have more than
    1,000 unique children who cannot be replaced, the scientists, the
    artists, the teachers, the Olympic champions, the engineers, the
    leaders, perhaps a future President in the 21st century. The rest of us
    have an obligation to see that these children and all their counterparts
    in every community in our country have a chance to grow and live to the
    fullest of their God-given abilities.
        That is what this bill is all about. This is more than just another
    bill in the legislature. This is more than a culmination of a historic
    fight between powerful political forces. We have no higher obligation
    than to give the young people we see here today the brightest, best
    future we possible can. That's what this bill is about, and we must pass
    it.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:25 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Tara Lipinski, 1998 Olympic figure
    skating gold medalist; Emily Broxterman, 1997 midwest regional winner,
    Youth Advocate of the Year Award; civil rights leader Rev. Jesse
    Jackson; and the late Luther L. Terry, former Surgeon General.