    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [June 17, 1998]
    [Pages 979-980]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 979]]

    Remarks on Senate Action on Tobacco Legislation and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    June 17, 1998

        The President. Good afternoon. The vote that was just completed in
    the Senate clearly shows that a bipartisan majority of 57 clearly
    supports tough legislation to protect the children of this country from
    tobacco. Needless to say, I am very disappointed that a Republican
    minority blocked the legislation from being voted on.
        Today, like every other day, 3,000 young children start to smoke,
    and 1,000 of them will have their lives shortened because of it. If more
    Members of the Senate would vote like parents rather than politicians,
    we could solve this problem and go on to other business of the country.
        I have been working for 3 years now to protect our children from the
    dangers of tobacco. I want the tobacco lobby and its allies on Capitol
    Hill to know that, from my point of view, this battle is far from over.
        Q. Sir, what's your strategy, what do you do now?
        The President. Well, the Senate has to come back to it, but they
    have to do it in a hurry if we're going to act. After all, we only have
    6 weeks until the August recess--not quite that--and then we have only a
    month or so when they come back, the month of September, because they
    will doubtless want to go home in October to campaign.
        So the parameters of this bill are well-known--what has to be done
    to get a bill that can not only pass but can actually be effective, not
    only in raising the price of cigarettes but in limiting advertising and
    having smoking cessation programs and giving the public health money out
    there, the research money we need--everybody knows what has to be done.
        We showed a lot of flexibility here in trying to work with the
    Members of the Senate. We had a tax cut in there to deal with the
    marriage penalty for people with incomes under $50,000. We had some more
    antidrug money in there. The lawyer fee issue was addressed in the
    amendment most recently adopted. We can do this, and we need to do it
    and do it promptly.
        There is not a lot of time, but I think it would be a great mistake
    for those who believe that because of the $40 million ad campaign by the
    tobacco industry, which has gone unanswered and which has a lot of
    things in it which are just false, that they can now have a free ride on
    this to walk away from 1,000 lives a day. We don't have a free ride to
    walk away from 1,000 lives a day. And I believe we can do it.
        Q. Is it really dead? Isn't it really dead, Mr. President?
        The President. No, I don't think it is dead.
        Q. You were depending on it for a lot of tax revenue, Mr. President.
    If you don't get it, where do you find that revenue?
        The President. That's not entirely true. It is true that a lot of
    the things that I think should be funded in terms of giving this money
    back to the States, who are out a lot of money because they spent a
    fortune treating people on tobacco-related illnesses, could be used to
    help children and families with things like child care. The Senate voted
    for that, and I thought it was a good amendment.
        But the most important thing here is not that. The most important
    thing is to protect children from the dangers of tobacco. And that is at
    the nub of this and that is what needs to be put front and center. And
    if they will do it, we can still do this. But they have to hurry.
    There's not a lot of time.
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. Mr. Bowles is handling
    all the details of this, and I think I should let him come up and talk
    about it.
        Q. Mr. President, do you think there will be political consequences
    for the people if this bill fails?
        The President. I certainly hope there will be, and there should be.
    I think that there are those who believe there won't be because the
    public has been treated to $40 million of unanswered advertising by
    their allies. And they believe that the opinion that may be held in
    certain selected districts or whatever today is the one that will hold
    at election day. I don't believe that's true. I think when the American
    people understand fully what has been going on, they won't like what
    they see, and they will be worried about these children. They nearly
    always--the public

    [[Page 980]]

    almost always gets it right when they have enough time, and they've got
    plenty of time.
        So I think we need to do this.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:15 p.m. in the Briefing Room at the White
    House. The transcript made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary also included the remarks of Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.