Clinton Vows Tobacco Bill, Tries To Reassure Farmers
President Bill Clinton tried on Thursday to convince skeptical farmers that tobacco legislation would not bankrupt them but did not give an inch on his vow to enact it whether or not cigarette makers go along.
Clinton traveled to a lush swath of northern Kentucky dotted with small tobacco farms to make the case directly to farmers that congressional plans for broad legislation will not throw them out of business.
But he was met with skepticism from dozens of protesters bused in by the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. who carried signs like Dont tax us out of our jobs and from farmers who told him the legislation would end their way of life.
My four children do not smoke. I dont smoke. My husband dont smoke and were against children smoking, Mr. President, but we shouldnt be penalized on account of children smoking, Mattie Mack, the owner of a 100-acre (40-hectare) farm, told Clinton in a round-table discussion at the Kentuckiana Tobacco Warehouse.
Its very easy to talk about punishing the big tobacco companies for their evil doings, added Bill Sprague, a fifth generation farmer. What we want to show you is that this gets back to the people.
While expressing sympathy for the plight of farmers, the president brushed aside the concerns of the countrys major cigarette manufacturers who announced on Wednesday they would oppose tobacco legislation in Congress.
I hope they will reconsider because I am determined to get this done this year, Clinton told students at Carroll County High School across the street from the warehouse. I dont want to put the tobacco companies out of business. I want to put them out of the business of selling cigarettes to teenagers.
Clinton argued that the legislation would help farmers by buying out the farms of those who wish to leave the business, providing money for retraining and maintaining price supports for those who wish to remain tobacco growers.
I know that its family work, small farms, hand work, Clinton said in the earlier round-table discussion. There is a lot of uncertainty now among people in this community as I saw up and down the road all the way in here.
The Senates $500 billion bill is far tougher on the industry than the $368.5 billion deal they agreed to with 40 state attorneys general on June 20 and would deprive them of most of the legal protections they seek.
Five big tobacco companies revved up their public relations campaign against the legislation on Thursday, running full-page newspaper advertisements against it. We agreed to change the way we do business ... not to go out of business, said the advertisement, which ran in major dailies.
The Senate tobacco legislation, which is scheduled to be taken up in May, aims to raise cigarette prices by $1.10 a package over the next five years, compared to an increase of 62 to 73 cents envisaged in last years deal.
White House domestic policy adviser Bruce Reed said the administration estimated it would cut U.S. cigarette demand from 24 billion packs a year at present to 17 billion by 2003.
The bill included legislation written by Sen. Wendell Ford, a Kentucky Democrat, that would offer $28.5 billion to help buy out tobacco growers, offer their communities aid to develop new industries and fund worker retraining and higher education.
But tobacco companies now seem intent on fighting it tooth and nail and sent busloads of workers from surrounding states to protest against Clintons Kentucky speech.
I think its wrong. I think the politicians are trying to drive us out of business, said Sheila Meredith, 41, a brand coordinator for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., which brought her from Indiana to protest against Clintons speech.
I think its excessive. I think its punitive and I think its politicians playing politics, added Frank Fain, who stood along the roadside with Meredith about 100 yards (metres) from where the president spoke. Its all about money and taxes.