[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 21 (Monday, May 25, 1998)]
[Pages 932-933]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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:
<bullet>    Raising the price of cigarettes by $1.10 a pack over 5 years 
            with additional surcharges on companies that continue to 
            sell to kids;
<bullet>    Affirming the FDA's full authority to regulate tobacco 
            products;
<bullet>    Getting companies out of the business of marketing and 
            selling tobacco to minors;
<bullet>    Promoting public health research and public health goals; 
            and
<bullet>    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

[[Page 933]]

pleased that the bill contains significant improvements which will help 
reduce youth smoking and protect the public health:
<bullet>    Tough industry-wide and company-specific lookback surcharges 
            that will finally make reducing youth smoking the tobacco 
            companies' bottom line;
<bullet>    Protection for all Americans from the health hazards of 
            secondhand smoke;
<bullet>    No antitrust exemption for the tobacco industry;
<bullet>    Strong licensing and anti-smuggling provisions to prevent 
            the emergence of contraband markets and to prosecute 
            violators;
<bullet>    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
<bullet>    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.