Senate Proceeding on Jun 4th, 2009 :: 1:43:20 to 2:13:10
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1:43:19 to 1:43:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: quorum call: a senator: the presiding officer: the senator from mr. burri ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burr: mr. president, i understand we're in morning business. the presiding officer: we are. mr. burr: i ask unanimous consent to speak up to 30 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burr: i thank the president.

1:43:20 to 2:13:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Burr

1:43:40 to 1:44:00( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: mr. president, later this morning, today, we'll go back on the tobacco-f.d.a. bill. and as one who has tried educate my members on why this is a flawed bill, let me just state i'm fighting an uphill battle. i have been all week.

1:44:01 to 1:44:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i'd like to thank my friends and colleagues that is come to the floor over the last days to support their belief this misguided -- not the?? regulation -- the fact that we're concentrating this in the food and drug administration, an agency that has the trust and confidence of the american

1:44:24 to 1:44:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: people that the gold standard of proven safety and drugs, devices, biologics and food safety is their number one mission. but my colleagues know this has been an i've tried over the course of those days to highlight for the american public why it's bad

1:44:45 to 1:45:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: policy. i've h bill that i thought were flawed. i haven't come down and sd," this is just the is the federal regulation.

1:45:07 to 1:45:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: for those who say the industry is underregulated it is the department of trapping, department of commerce, department of justice, department of health and human services, department of education, department of general service administration, department of veterans affairs, federal trade department of agriculture, department of defense.

1:45:29 to 1:45:49( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: now, we're going toake all those areas of federal regulation and condense it into the food and drug administration that has a proving the safety and efficacy of every product they have jurisdiction over: 25% of the u.s. economy is currently regulated by the food and drug administration. americans go to bed at nht

1:45:50 to 1:46:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: taking pills prescribed by a doctor, filled by a pharmacist, with the comfort of knowing that they have been approved to be safe and effective. well, we're going to, through this bill, dump on the food and drug administration a product that is not safe and it certainly is not effective. i have tried to point out the

1:46:12 to 1:46:34( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: flaws and, heck, i've tried to point out the good things in the bill. i haven't been one-sided on it but when a colleague from the other side of the aisle comes down to speak, we have either seen charts 10 years old or data that was 10 years old. we've seen product

1:46:35 to 1:46:55( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: have pai didn't even exist 10 years ago. mr. president, i haven't heard a single question that i've asked in this debate, answered; or even their opinion it has all been

1:46:56 to 1:47:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i would like to share with my colleagues a story. this story was a news report. it was a report that cnn ran on a product that is new to the product calld camel orbs. it is not a cigarette. and it is really not smokeless tobacco.

1:47:17 to 1:47:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: it's a dissolvable tablet. and as i pointed out to my colleagues yesterday when i showed the chart for continuum of risk, nonfiltered have 100% risk factor. and as you introduce new products into the marketplace

1:47:42 to 1:48:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: from cigarettes to other products, you reduce the risk of death, disease, and that's one of the three objectives of tobacco legislation. youth usage should go down. death and disease should be reduced from the standpoint of risk. let me come over here to

1:48:03 to 1:48:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: dissolvable tobacco. the risk is 2%. to bring these to market is reduce the risk from 100% to 2%. 98% better. now, cnn ran this article on orbs.

1:48:24 to 1:48:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and it is a smokeless product. but i'll get into that in a few minutes. for now what you need to know is orbs falls under the same age restriction that all tobacco products do. it means that it contains no cartoon images. it must be shelved behind the

1:48:45 to 1:49:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: counter where it is out of reach of children. heck, it's out of reach of adults. they have to physically ask for the product. and you must show to buy tobacco product

1:49:07 to 1:49:27( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: take a guess on the angle they took? they candy even though it is not candy flavored. they said it was candy. they didn't mention death or disease. you'd think a story on tobacco would lead with that. i haven't been shy to come to

1:49:28 to 1:49:50( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: the floor and say, that's the cause of tobacco usage. but they didn' and disease. no, they say it is candy. that's where they label it. even though they mischaracterize the product and took people down the path they wanted to wasn't the bad news of the story. the bad part of this sto

1:49:51 to 1:50:14( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: they took tens -- tins of the product and placed them in the candy aisle at the convenience stort besides the reese's cup and chewing gum and took footage of a young boy, i reaching over and picking up a can of orbs although this is

1:50:15 to 1:50:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: highly illegal, even though the convenience store could be prosecuted, they don't put candy products in the section, but cnn wanted to make their point. what better way to make the point than picture was. let me say that again: what better way to make the point

1:50:38 to 1:50:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: than to "stage" that there is every retailer in the world putting orbs, a tobacco product, in the candy section and portrayed deceptive and luring children. no it is in the tobacco section

1:51:00 to 1:51:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: where smokeless and stick smoke products are. that is why it is so difficult and why the job i'm on a quest for is an uphill battle because no one on that side wants to come down and talk about the policy. the bill that we're considering was written 10 years ago. no wonde 10-year-old charts and 10-year-old statistics.

1:51:22 to 1:51:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: if you look at the statistics today, if you want to address death and disease, except the fact there's got to be an opportunity to reduce the risk. but what my colleagues need to know is that h.r. 1256 gives the f.d.a. full jurisdiction over tobacco products.

1:51:48 to 1:52:08( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and it re and it locks it in. it cements it because it grandfathers f.d.a. from ever doing anything on the existing products that are on the marketplace, filtered cigarettes f.a. is forbidden from changing anything. the products that

1:52:09 to 1:52:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: continue to beold, no new products can be sold. and they say that that's a pathway for these products to come to market. well, it's they have to meet. i won't dwell on the first two prongs. let me dwell on the third one. the third one is this: you have

1:52:30 to 1:52:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: to prove that people that don't use tobacco products aren't likely wn this new product is introduced to actually use this product. but the way the bill is crafted, it says this: you can't communicate with the public

1:52:52 to 1:53:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: unless you've product. so i ask you, mr. president: if you can't communicate with the american people to find out whether they're likely to buy a product that's new to the market until that product is approved, then how can you fill out an application and make the aren't likely to use that product when they don't use

1:53:14 to 1:53:35( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: tobacco products? so, it's disingenuous to suggest there is a pathway for reduced risk product when under the construction you make anybody go through you can't possibly make the claim t make because you can't communicate with nontobacco users as to whether the product

1:53:36 to 1:53:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: so any claim based upon that, that ts is a bill that addresses death and disingenuous at best. what it does, it locks this category. it cements those people that currently use smoke products, cigarettes, the 19.8% of the

1:53:57 to 1:54:20( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: american people that currently smoke. now, i've seen charts like everybody else that would make your and i heard stats that make your head spin and i even heard senator manufacturers wanted to get you

1:54:21 to 1:54:43( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: addicted to h.r. reason. addict -- addicted to h.r. reason. now, i think he misspoke but am not's that. all this follows the same conclusion: that under h.r. 1256, sponsors claim that the f.d.a. will stop everything, that all

1:54:44 to 1:55:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: of this will go away. let me concede for a minute that maybe they're right. then they would have to concede that i'm right. with the exception of locking this product in forever, and if you lock that product in forever you can't make the claim that you are reducing death disease. and i think as i have gone

1:55:07 to 1:55:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: through this debate and pointed out that when you l c.d.c. study of 50 states and you look at the percentage of smoking prevalence in our youth what you find is in 48 states out of 50 the prevalence of marijuana usage is higher than the prevalence of smoking. let me say that again: 48 out of

1:55:29 to 1:55:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: 50 states, the marijuana use is higher than the prevalence of one would conclude fro that, since marijuana is illegal, it is not able age tested -- it is illegal -- that the usage of prevalence among youth would be zero. well, the american people aren't that foolish.

1:55:52 to 1:56:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: they realize nothing goes to but they also realize it's foolish to suggest if you concentrated f.d.a. jurisdiction -- tobacco jurisdiction at the f.d.a. that the smocking prevalenc below that of marijuana because marijuana is illegal.

1:56:14 to 1:56:34( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: putting tobacco regulation at the f.d.a. will not have any impact on youth usage. what will have a actually taking the master settlement dollars from 1998, the $288 billion that the tobacco industry committed to the state, all

1:56:35 to 1:56:55( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: defray health care costs and, two, to fund the programs of cessation to g people to quick smoating; and, three, to fund the program to children never take it up. as i pointed out, we had some states that makes the recommendations spend

1:56:56 to 1:57:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: as little at 3.7% of what the c.d.c. told them they needed to spend of the tobacco money to make sure that kids got an educational message "do not smoke, it kills." and now we're fact that they're not regulated

1:57:17 to 1:57:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: enough today. and that we can concentrate this under one federal agency, the food and drug administration, and by some magical thing that happens, youth prevalence of smoking is going to go down. now, it's going to go down when states take the money the tobacco industry gave them and

1:57:42 to 1:58:04( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: they the youth usage to make they never take up tobacco products and to make sure people switch from some better effect on death or mr. president, i would love to tell you my state of north

1:58:05 to 1:58:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: carolina devotes 100% of what the c.d.c. recommends the on cessation and educational youth education but we only spent recommended of the money we got. when you look at all the states, though, 17% is pretty good. now, i don't know wheth it was

1:58:27 to 1:58:50( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: used in other states for dewalks or for i know one thing for certain: it didn't go people in this country not to use tobacco products. and if you want to get the youth usage down, then, mr. president, you've got to use the tools that

1:58:51 to 1:59:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: education. education. i've listened to my colleagues come to the floor for books and make unbelievable statements. all this has followed conclusion: f.d.a. will stop all this and f.d.a. will put the evil tobacco out of the hands of kids. i think i've made a pretty good

1:59:12 to 1:59:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: case not with this legislation. the sad reality is, maybe congress could pass a bill that does all that. i have offered a substitute and that substitute will be debated over the first half of this afternoon and every member will have

1:59:33 to 1:59:53( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: afternoon is over to vote on that substitute. and i would encourage all, republican, democrat, independent, read the bill. i think you will find that it provides all the regulation that in h.r. 1256, and more, the base bill limit black and white.

1:59:54 to 2:00:14( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: black and white ads. what does our substitute do? it eliminates infantry advertising. that magazine that mom buys, that a 14-year-old daughter might like to afternoon, under our substitute they can't advertise in there.

2:00:15 to 2:00:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: under h.r. 1256 they're allowed to black and white. in some way they think kids can't read in black and white. they can only read in color. that probably tells you more about how misguided the legislation is. it's not really solving problem. death, disease, youth usage.

2:00:37 to 2:00:57( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: the tools are in place. we can enforce or reinforce in a more effective way and that's what the substitute amendment, i believe, will do. my friend from connecticut yesterday stated that i was misguided in my belief that

2:00:58 to 2:01:18( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: f.d.a. was not the right agency to regulate tobacco. he said that the f.d.a. was the only agency in america that had the scientific expertise to do the job. i only have the f.d.a. have the expertise to make tobacco

2:01:19 to 2:01:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: let me say that ain. does expertise to make tobacco safe? i think the answer is no. it doesn't. therefore, it doesn't meet the mission statement of safety and efficacy. but that's what they're vested to do, and that's what the

2:01:40 to 2:02:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: american people believe the f.d.a. accomplishes. and to sgest that we regulate a product that doesn't meet that threshold is to some degree disingenuous to the american people. my friend from connecticut also pointed out that i down played c.b.o.'s estimates of smoking reductions and was misplaced. he said while i kept using the

2:02:03 to 2:02:27( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: 2% figure, which is all the population, over ten years, that c.b.o. had estimated that if we pass this smoking by 2% over ten years, that that was 900 fewer smokers over ten years and that that number was impressive. i agree, it is impresse. i think he said that there would

2:02:28 to 2:02:49( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: savings with 900,000 fewer smokers. and i'm not sure if senator dodd heard the statistics that that were the result from the centers for disease control study. i centers for disease control study said if we do nothing there is a reduction of between

2:02:50 to 2:03:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and 4% per year. not over ten years. per year. i ask my friend from connecticut: what's more impressive? 900,000 or 9 m doing nothing, the c.d.c. said we eliminate 9 passing this legislation, the congressional budget office says

2:03:14 to 2:03:35( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: we eliminate 900,000 smokers. 9 million fewer smokers is what we'd have if we passed the substitute. but it isn't what we'd have if we passed the base bill. i'd like to ask my friend to truly think about the health savings realized without passing the base bill.

2:03:36 to 2:03:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and realize that with the substitute we might actually get more than 9 million. my cleague went on to say that i purposely estimate that youth smoking rates will reduce by 11% over the next ten years. that's the congressional budget office protection. obviously he didn't hear me

2:03:57 to 2:04:18( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: earlier in the morning on the issue. i think it's great smoking rates would decline by 11% over the life of the bill but i think it's much better that they reduce 16% if in fact it wasn't enacted. and disease control said. 16% if you do nothing.

2:04:19 to 2:04:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: 11% if you pass h.r. 1256. we're not saving lives in this bill, mr. president. we're not reducing youth usage. if you truly want to save lives, you need to follo hagan and i are and harm reduction center, o

2:04:40 to 2:05:03( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: will promote harm reduction products. you continuing of risk. if andhe believe that you reduce death and disease. the only way that you can reduce death and disease, if you get people to give up these products

2:05:04 to 2:05:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and you make available some products that are on this chart, but also some products that aren't on this chart. in the absence of doing that, there's no way that you can claim that you've actually affected death or disease or the cost of health care. i listened with great into the extent my friend from oregon

2:05:25 to 2:05:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: yesterday make the statement after statement about those dissolvable tobacco products that i pointed in the cnn expose on tobacco. not sure where he gets his stats from. he rep also, even though you can't buy it unless you're 18 years old. it can't be put in the candy

2:05:46 to 2:06:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: section unless you're cnn and you're doing a story. he said the packaging was intentionally shaped like a cell phone let me say that it was intentionally shaped like a cell phone to attract children. let me assure you, mr. pres doesn't work, children don't want it.

2:06:10 to 2:06:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: pledge to him today, offer an amendment to this bill or outlaw anything that looks like a cell phone and i'll cosponsor it with you. if he was right, i think every manufacturer of anything in the united states would make it look like a cell phone today, if it was that effective. my friend went on to call the

2:06:33 to 2:06:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: camel awards dangerous. but had no scientific bey seus to make the claim. he quoted an eight-year-old surgeon general warning on smokeless tobacco that said it caused cancer, but the last time i checked that product didn't exist eight years ago. it came into market in 2009.

2:06:55 to 2:07:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: he also indicated that orbs safe. mr. president, i've been on the floor for four days. i spoke 2 hours and 37 minutes yesterday. i will be the first to admit i might have slipped. i don't believe i have ever referred to any tobacco as safe. if i did, let me retract

2:07:17 to 2:07:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i have frequently said that there are products that are less harmful. i have constantly strived to make the point that if you don't move people from cigarettes to other tobacco products that allow them to make that transition, that you will not

2:07:42 to 2:08:04( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: reduce death and disease. now, i don't think tobacco's safe. products that are smoking, and i believe for adults that choose to use tobacco products, they should have every make sure that that product is something that they can access.

2:08:05 to 2:08:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: compared to smoking, they do reduce death and disease. camel sticks represents a 99% redu associated with tobacco use compared to cigarettes. they don't cause lung cancer, cardio vascular disease or emphysema.

2:08:27 to 2:08:48( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: e american association of public health physicians states they are the most effective way to fight death or disease associated with current tobacco users. i might remind my colleagues that yesterday, much to my amazement, the american association of public health physicians came out and endorsed theubstitute to h.r. 1256.

2:08:49 to 2:09:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: let yesterday the association of public health physicians endorsed the substitute amendment to this bill. unlike my friend from oregon, mr. president, i've got the scienc i've got the sweden.

2:09:12 to 2:09:33( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i've looked at the documented evidence. alternative products work in harm reduction. i tell you what doesn't work: current cessation especially the ones that aren't funded, that money was supplied to the states to do. but the current cessation programs don't work. they have a 95% failure rate. 95% of the people that use them

2:09:34 to 2:09:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: end of continuing to smoke. why in the world would we continue to support that as a pathway for reducing death and disease? why wouldn't we anowledge the science that currently exists and accept a new polic a policy tha would in fact embrace

2:09:55 to 2:10:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: y i inquire of thehair how much time i have left? the presiding officer: 4 minutes. mr. burr: thank you. senators come to the floor, and they speak about the $13 billion in marketing tobacco industry spends. what the fail to tell you is 95% of t retailers in coupons against the

2:10:17 to 2:10:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: coetition to make them attractively priced in retail. only 3% went to advertising in adult venues. that doesn't make it a good point, but what makes it a good point is that the tobacco industry spends a tremendous amountf money making sure that their industry is protected for

2:10:39 to 2:11:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: those who choose to use it and are you know, last year, mr. president, we taxed this industry to fund the children's health insurance program. we're talng about taxing this industry again for universal health care. senator dodd even admitted yesterday during his speech that the industry would be taxed to

2:11:03 to 2:11:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: pay the bill on health care. that's n a good story. a goo news organization to make a point and then portray to the american people that this is the tactics of the industry. now, mr. president, i have over four days and i've come to the

2:11:24 to 2:11:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: floor to defend the tobacco industry. i have come to defend the f.d.a. because i don't believe that the american people deserve us to discredit that gold standard of product under their jurisdiction and asking them to do something they have never ever, ever when i showed the flowchart of

2:11:46 to 2:12:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: jurisdiction, the one missing out of the current regulatory architecture for tobacco is food and drug administration. nobody can make the claim to me that they've done this before. therefore, this is an appropriate thing for them to do again. simply what i've come to the floor to do for the last four days is to

2:12:08 to 2:12:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: that members of the united states senate will weigh the policy, the points that i've made, the stats that i've produced, the evidence that i brought to the table. and if at the end of the day what you're attempting to do is to reduce death and disease, to reduce usage, i hope i've made

2:12:29 to 2:12:50( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: the shouldn't pass h.r. 1256. this afternoon before there is an opportunity to vote i hope to make the case that you should support the hagan-burr substitute. i hope i've made the case to most that even if the choice come

2:12:51 to 2:13:12( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: 1256 or nothing, that centers for disease control report says if you want to address a reduction disease, the fastest way to get there is fact your only choice is to pass h.r. 1256. mr. president, once again i thank my colleagues f their patience as i come to the floor