Senate Proceeding on Jun 3rd, 2009 :: 4:15:50 to 4:25:25
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4:15:42 to 4:16:04( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: quorum a senator: is the senate in a quorum the presiding officer: y is. a senator: i request that the quorum the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: thank you, madam president. i rise today to support the family smoking prevention and

4:15:50 to 4:25:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Tom Udall

4:16:05 to 4:16:25( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: tobacco control act. and i want to start by thanking senator kennedy and all those who have fought for this legislation over the years. watching that debate, i can't help but think of the movie, "groundhog day." mr. udall: in that movie, bill murray has to live the same day over and over again. like him, i have been here before.

4:16:26 to 4:16:47( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: we have all been here before. the f.d.a. first attempted to regulate tobacco products in august 1996, almost 13 years ago. in 2000, a narrow majority on the supreme court ruled that the congress had not given the f.d.a. authority to regulate tobacco. but even as the court struck

4:16:48 to 4:17:08( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: down the f.d.a. rules, it noted that tobacco poses -- and i quote -- "one of the most troubling public health problems facing our nation today." immediately after that decision, this body considered legislation to provide the needed authority. that legislation was introduced by the senator from rhode island

4:17:09 to 4:17:29( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: and our senior senator from new mexico. they argued that the f.d.a. regulation of tobacco was long overdue. they pointed out that every day we delay, more kid would start smoking and more citizens would face disease and death. that was almost a decade ago.

4:17:30 to 4:17:50( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: since the f.d.a. first tried to regulate tobacco, more than 20.6 million american kids smoked their first cigarette and more than 2.6 million of those kids will die because they did. almost $1 trillion has been spent on health care costs associated with smoking, and 4.6 million americans have lost

4:17:51 to 4:18:11( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: their lives to cigarettes. we do not know how many young people would not be addicted today if these companies had been prevented from advertising their products to our children. we do not know how many cases of lung cancer and heart disease could have been prevented if tobacco companies had not boosted nicotine

4:18:12 to 4:18:32( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: marketed light cigarettes as if these cigarettes weren't killers. we don't know how many les were lost while congress failed to act, but we do know that number is too high -- much too high. i first became involved with this issue when i was new mexico's attorney general.

4:18:33 to 4:18:53( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: in may of 1997, we joined a lawsuit that would eventually involve 46 states and six territories. in some ways, this lawsuit was just like any other. my client, the state of new mexico, had lost thousands of lives and billions of dollars because of the defendant. our suit simply demanded

4:18:54 to 4:19:14( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: restitution and damages. but on a broader level, the tobacco cases were unprecedented unprecedented. we were responding to a threat that impacts every american. the suit began in mississippi and it spread to almost every state, regardless of politics or geography. we were addressing a national problem because the congress had

4:19:15 to 4:19:37( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: failed to act. in 1998, we negotiated a master settlement agreement that was an important step forward, but we knew there was more to be done. some have claimed that the settlement makes f.d.a. regulation of the tobacco industry unnecessary. as somebody who helped negotiate that agreement, let me tell you that nothing could be further

4:19:38 to 4:19:58( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: from the truth. the settlement was not intended as a substitute for adequate federal regulation. in fact, the original agreement called for f.d.a. regulation as an integral part of efforts to protect the public. and the national association of attorneys general recently filed an amicus brief saying that the settlement has not stopped

4:19:59 to 4:20:21( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: tobacco companies from marketing to kids. in fact, tobacco company memos demonstrate that tir business depends on recruiting what they call "replacement smokers." companies used to strategize about how to attract customers as young as 13, and evidence suggests that this strategy has not changed even after the 1998

4:20:22 to 4:20:42( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: settlement agreement, one tobacco company noted -- and i quote -- "market renewal is almost entirely from 18-year-old smokers." they don't say they are targeting minors. that would be illegal. but somebody's going to have to explain to me how you can focus

4:20:43 to 4:21:04( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: your business mod on 18-year-olds without marketing to 17-year-olds. when i came to congress after my servic as an a.g., i strongly supported f.d.a. regulation of tobacco. i knew then that the settlement did not provide the kind of flexibility needed to effectively control tobacco industry actions.

4:21:05 to 4:21:25( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: and since the sejtsment was signed, the tobacco companies have shown us that they will evade it at every opportunity. on may 22, the d.c. circuit court of appeals affirmed a 2006 ruling that found tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud. the original ruling contained

4:21:26 to 4:21:46( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: 1,300 pages describing tobacco company efforts to endanger the public health and to cover up their activities. many of these actions were taken after the settlement agreement. the court found that the tobacco companies -- qte -- "began to evade and at times even violate the settlement agreement's

4:21:47 to 4:22:07( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: prohibitions almost immediately after signing the agreement." after disbanding a research program according to the terms of the agreement, the companies initiated a new research program with the same office, the same board, and even the same phone numbers. so given the obvious dangers of tobacco products and the

4:22:08 to 4:22:28( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: behavior of the tobacco companies' executives over the years, why isn't this product already regulated by the f.d.a.? this question was answered implicitly by the supreme court in000 and the answer is instructive. the court found that unlike other regulated f.d.a.

4:22:29 to 4:22:49( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: drurksz has no health -- drugs, has no health benefits. in oth words, tobacco is too unhealthy to be regulated. whatever you think of that ruling, it poses to poses a serious question. should an agency that regulates tylenol be unable to regulate a substance that kills 440,000

4:22:50 to 4:23:11( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: americans every year? more than -- and think about this for a minute -- more than alcohol, aides, car crashes, illegal drugs -- aids, car crashes, illegal drugs, murder and suicides combined, tobacco kills more than all of those combined. is it really possible that one of the world's most deadly addictive substances should be

4:23:12 to 4:23:33( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: immune from the rules that govern almost every other addictive substance that can be legally sold in this country. some of those who have spoken on this bill have pointed out that the f.d.a. cannot solve the most significant problem with tobacco, that when used as directed, it kills the user. but the f.d.a. can stop tobacco

4:23:34 to 4:23:55( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: companies from adding ingredients that make their products more addictive and more deadly. it can stop them from lying to consumers about the health impact of their products and it can stop them from marketing to our children. in fact, the f.d.a. is particularly qualified to do these things. as i was preparing to come to

4:23:56 to 4:24:16( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: the floor today, i got an e-mail from one of my constituents in hobbs, new mexico, and she reminded me why this bill is so important. she had received an e-mail from a tobacco company. the company thought she was one of their customers and they asked her to send my a form e-mail opposing this

4:24:17 to 4:24:37( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: legislation. she forwarded their e-mail, and at the beginning of the e-mail, she wrote: "they strongly urged me to copy the following message to you and to vote against it what they don't know is i don't smoke but my 12-year-old and seven-year-old do because they

4:24:38 to 4:24:58( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: have to go visit their dad smokes around them. not only do they get a lot of secondhand smoke but my oldest one idealizes her father and will probably end up smoking because of him. by all means, pass the bill."

4:24:59 to 4:25:21( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: madam president, congress has waited too long to protect this woman and her children. it's time to get this done. in "groundhog day," bill murray wakes up to a different day when he finally does the right thing. i'm hoping we will all wake up after this vote to a new day -- a day when our citizens have the health protections they should

4:25:22 to 4:25:26( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: expect from their government. i would ask you to join me in