Friday, February 05, 1999
Clinton urged to reconsider tobacco suit
Kentucky congressmen say farmers at risk
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kentucky's congressional delegation has asked President Clinton to reconsider suing tobacco companies to pay for smoking-related illnesses.
The eight congressmen, including Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning of Southgate and Democrat U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas of Boone County, sent Mr. Clinton a letter this week saying “federal litigation will only serve to further harm tobacco farmers.”
The congressmen said even though a federal lawsuit would be directed at cigarette manufacturers, it would be the tobacco growers who would be harmed.
“At a time when we need real and concrete action to prevent the growers of a legal crop from paying the price for the alleged misdeeds of the companies who purchased their produce, your decision to order federal litigation is diametrically opposed to the best interests of our constituents and the nation,” the congressmen wrote to Mr. Clinton.
In his Jan. 19 State of the Union address, Mr. Clinton proposed recouping hundreds of billions the federal government has spent caring for sick smokers.
Without elaborating, Mr. Clinton said Justice Department lawyers were “preparing a litigation plan to take the tobacco companies to court and, with the funds we recover, to strengthen Medicare.”
“You know, the states have been right about this. Taxpayers shouldn't pay for the cost of lung cancer, emphysema and other smoking-related illnesses — the tobacco companies should,” Mr. Clinton told Congress in his State of the Union address.
“We believe that such an action is ill-advised and can only further harm tobacco farmers who are already feeling the devastating effects of the proposed settlement between the states and these manufacturers,” the congressmen said in their letter.
The letter was released by Mr. Lucas' Washington office.
“The tobacco community has really been through the wringer recently (with) state litigation, tax increases (and) cigarette manufacturers increasing pack prices by 45 cents after the recent settlement,” Mr. Lucas said.
“Piling on with yet another tobacco tax ... excise increase and more litigation is really a double-whammy to our tobacco farmers,” he said.
Mr. Clinton has also floated a plan to increase the excise tax on cigarettes by 55 cents a pack to pay for initiatives to reduce teen smoking.
Mr. Lucas and congressmen from the tobacco states of North Carolina and Virginia sent wrote House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt seeking his help in lobbying Mr. Clinton not to raise the cigarette tax.
“We implore you to reject the administration's request for such a tax increase,” the congressmen wrote to Mr. Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat.
“We understand the president's desire to reduce underage tobacco use, and we and our farmers support reasonable policies to reach this goal. However, our rural communities depend on tobacco for their livelihoods,” they said.
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