Update on Federal Legislation - FDA Tobacco Authority and Cigarette Tax

 
from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
July 11, 2007

As Congress returns from its Fourth of July recess, two important issues will be considered - legislation to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products (S. 625/H.R. 1108) and the first increase in the federal cigarette tax in 10 years.

On the FDA bill, we have received the good news that Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has scheduled a July 18 mark-up (committee consideration and vote) of the legislation by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). Senator Kennedy chairs the HELP Committee and a majority of the Committee members have co-sponsored the legislation, so we expect that Senator Kennedy will be able to defeat weakening amendments and gain the votes needed to approve the legislation and move it to the full Senate.

House and Senate committees are also considering increasing the federal cigarette tax to help fund reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Below we provide some additional details on these two issues.

FDA Authority Over Tobacco

As you know, identical FDA tobacco authority bills were introduced in the Senate and House on February 15 by Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA). You can find information about what the legislation would do at: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/fda/summary.shtml.

Public health advocates around the country have worked hard to build support and encourage members of Congress to co-sponsor the legislation. It's working.

The legislation has also been endorsed by nearly 400 public health, faith and other organizations. You can find the list of endorsing groups or add your group to the list at http://tfk.grassroots.com/FDA2007/Signers/.

In the Senate, a 51-member majority has sponsored the Kennedy-Cornyn legislation, including 12 Republican members and two Independents.

It is exciting news that Sen. Kennedy has scheduled a HELP Committee mark-up of S. 625 on July 18. The Committee has 21 members, and 12 are supporting the legislation, so we expect that Sen. Kennedy will be able to fight off weakening amendments, such as those expected by opponent Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.

In the House, nearly 190 members have co-sponsored the legislation, easily the strongest House support ever for FDA legislation. The list includes 31 Republican members and 158 Democrats. Critically, we have a majority of the committee and subcommittee of jurisdiction - the Energy and Commerce Committee and its Health Subcommittee, respectively - as co-sponsors.

The Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee has yet to hold a hearing on H.R. 1108. However, the schedule is still being set and we hope a hearing will be held in July.

Federal Tobacco Tax

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids are supporting efforts to raise the federal cigarette excise tax to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Our organizations believe this is a win-win for public health: a cigarette tax increase would provide much needed medical care for our nation's youth, and, as you know, a substantial cigarette tax increase reduces smoking, especially among kids.

On July 17, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to mark up a bill that would increase the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents a pack, totaling $35 billion over 5 years - an amount that would cover an additional 2 million children.

The SCHIP program was established in 1997 and paid for with a 15-cent per pack cigarette tax. The program pays for health care for children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but do not receive health insurance through their jobs or are unable to afford it on the private market. SCHIP is now up for re-authorization, and some in Congress are looking to expand the program to cover more kids.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has estimated that expansion of SCHIP to the millions of kids who are eligible for coverage but not enrolled in the program would cost an additional $50 billion over 5 years. Congress is operating under "pay-as-you-go" rules that require any additional federal spending be offset by cuts elsewhere or from additional revenues.

On behalf of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Mellman Group conducted a poll of 1000 likely voters to test support for increasing the federal tobacco tax to pay for an expansion of children's health coverage. They found voters overwhelmingly support a 75-cent per pack federal cigarette tax increase to provide health care coverage to uninsured children. Two-thirds (67 percent) favor such an increase, while only 28 percent oppose it.

This support is evident among virtually every political and demographic subgroup of voters across the country, with large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, men and women, urban and rural voters supporting the cigarette tax to fund children's health care. The 75-cent increase garners virtually the same level of support as a 30-cent increase (70 percent), but the larger increase would result in significantly larger public health benefits.

On June 19, Families USA, the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids held a press conference to report on the broad support for a cigarette tax increase. Families USA's press release is available online at http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/newsroom/press-releases/2007-press-releases/survey-americans.html

Further data about support for the cigarette tax increase is available here: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/index.php?CategoryID=11

On June 25, representatives from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and American Lung Association briefed senior staff from the Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, and the Energy & Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over SCHIP program, to share these findings.

The tobacco companies and their allies are bringing to Congress the same misleading arguments against cigarette taxes that they have long used at the state level. Our public health organizations are ready with hard evidence to rebut these false claims. Raising the tobacco tax helps poor families by helping them quit this expensive addiction; it will not create a black market; it is a reliable source of revenue; and it will prevent kids from starting to smoke and give addicted smokers a powerful incentive to quit.

 

Source:
Danny McGoldrick
Vice President, Research
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
1400 I Street, NW Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20005
www.tobaccofreekids.org