    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 20, 1998]
    [Pages 813-814]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders on Proposed Tobacco Legislation
    May 20, 1998

    Dear Mr. Leader:
        I applaud the Senate for taking up comprehensive, bipartisan
    legislation to dramatically reduce teen smoking. Every day, 3000
    teenagers start smoking regularly, and 1000 will die prematurely of
    smoking-related diseases as a result. I urge the Senate to move swiftly
    to pass comprehensive legislation that could save those children's
    lives.
        Last September, and in my budget plan, I set forth five principles
    for comprehensive tobacco legislation:
        Raising the price of cigarettes by $1.10 a pack over 5 years
                with additional surcharges on companies that continue to
                sell to kids;
        Affirming the FDA's full authority to regulate tobacco
                products;
        Getting companies out of the business of marketing and
                selling tobacco to minors;
        Promoting public health research and public health goals;
                and
        Protecting our tobacco farmers and their communities.
        I have made protecting tobacco farmers and farming communities a top
    priority for this legislation, and I believe Senator Ford's LEAF Act fully meets this standard. I am deeply
    troubled by the Senate Leadership's recent attempt to undermine
    protection for tobacco farmers and their communities. I urge the Senate
    to work through this impasse and ensure that small, family farmers are
    protected.
        If that issue can be resolved to my satisfaction, the bill before
    the Senate, as amended by Senator McCain's Manager's Amendment, is a
    good, strong bill that will make a real dent in teen smoking. Congress
    should pass it without delay.
        I applaud Senator McCain and others in both
    parties who have worked hard to strengthen this legislation. I am
    particularly pleased that the bill contains significant improvements
    which will help reduce youth smoking and protect the public health:

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        Tough industry-wide and company-specific lookback surcharges
                that will finally make reducing youth smoking the tobacco
                companies' bottom line;
        Protection for all Americans from the health hazards of
                secondhand smoke;
        No antitrust exemption for the tobacco industry;
        Strong licensing and anti-smuggling provisions to prevent
                the emergence of contraband markets and to prosecute
                violators;
        A dedicated fund to provide for a substantial increase in
                health research funding, a demonstration to test promising
                new cancer treatments, a nationwide counteradvertising
                campaign to reduce youth smoking, effective state and local
                programs in tobacco education, prevention, and cessation,
                law enforcement efforts to prevent smuggling and crackdown
                on retailers who sell tobacco products to children,
                assistance for tobacco farmers and their communities, and
                funds for the states to make additional efforts to promote
                public health and protect children; and
        The elimination of immunity for parent companies of tobacco
                manufacturers, an increase in the cap on legal damages to $8
                billion per year, and changes to ensure that the cap will be
                available only to tobacco companies that change the way they
                do business, by agreeing to accept sweeping restrictions on
                advertising, continue making annual payments and lookback
                surcharges even if those provisions are struck down, make
                substantial progress toward meeting the youth smoking
                reduction targets, prevent their top management from taking
                part in any scheme to promote smuggling, and abide by the
                terms of the legislation rather than challenging it in
                court. Because the First Amendment limits what we can do to
                stop the tobacco companies' harmful advertising practices--
                which lure so many young people to start smoking--we can do
                far more to achieve our goal of reducing youth smoking if
                the companies cooperate instead of tying us up in court for
                decades. If a cap that doesn't prevent anybody from suing
                the companies and getting whatever damages a jury awards
                will get tobacco companies to stop marketing cigarettes to
                kids, it is well worth it for the American people. I,
                therefore, oppose the Gregg Amendment to strike the
                liability cap.
        I strongly support these improvements, and I urge the Senate to pass
    this legislation without delay.
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Trent Lott, Senate majority leader,
    and Thomas A. Daschle, Senate minority leader. An original was not
    available for verification of the content of this letter.