Senate Proceeding on Jun 9th, 2009 :: 1:29:30 to 1:39:09
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1:29:22 to 1:29:43( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: quorum a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from cal quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. boxer: and i unanimous consent that the period for morning business be extended until 12:30 p.m. with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. boxer: thank you, madam president.

1:29:30 to 1:39:09( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barbara Boxer

1:29:44 to 1:30:06( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: i came to the floor to speak in support of the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act and also to express my gratitude to senator kennedy and to my colleagues who have pushed so hard for this important bill. i am so pleased with the vote last night which allowed us to move forward on this bill.

1:30:07 to 1:30:31( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: this would be a historic accomplishment for this united states senate and the house and for the president. and i really am at a loss to understand how senators could stand in opposition to this important legislation. to prove the point i could ask a

1:30:32 to 1:30:54( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: what is the leading cause of preventable death in this country? killing over 400,000 americans a ye the what causes more deathshan from hiv-aids, illegal drug use, alcohol use, more vehicle

1:30:55 to 1:31:17( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: accidents, suicide, and murders combined? and i guess if you would ask people they might not know the answer: it's tobacco. what are the only products on the market that kill one-t of their one-third of their purchasers? madam president, if you had a health device, say any product

1:31:18 to 1:31:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: that killed one-third of the purchasers -- i mean, we outlaw that product in a heartbeat. we're not outlawing tobacco here. we're simply saying that tobacco needs to be controlled by the f.d.a. so rember, the only product on the market that killed one-third

1:31:42 to 1:32:04( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: of its directed. if used as directed -- that's tobacco. so i could go on and on with the rhetorical questions but clearly we know that to be continue is the only product on the market that's advertised and sold withoutty government oversight.

1:32:05 to 1:32:26( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: so i don't understand how 35 or so of our colleagues think the answer to our pushing for this is "no." but, then, answer we get back from the other side of the aisle a lot. i'm very grateful to the eight or nine republicans who joined us. without them we wouldn't be here

1:32:27 to 1:32:50( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: as i did on the stimulus, thanking those these that had the bravery to say yes, i thank those eight or nine who had the bravery to say yes and move to regulate tobacco. food is regulated. drugs are regulated consumer products are regulated.

1:32:51 to 1:33:13( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: tobacco is not the now,e know this bill could save 80,000-tobacco-related deaths sad to thank over the years our failure to address this issue is having the greatest impact on our nation's children: 90% of

1:33:14 to 1:33:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: all new smors are children. 90%! so i have spoken to tobacco executives and i've watched them be interviewed, we just don't want kids to get our products. please, madam president! it's embarrassing they can say that with a straight face when they have invented all kinds of

1:33:36 to 1:33:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: new products including tobacco candy. now, there's an old cliche that is, this is so easy it's like giving candy to a baby. we know that kids love candy. and what happens if you lace that candy with an addictive

1:33:58 to 1:34:19( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: product if well, the answer is, you get a lot of kids hooked on tobacco who can't quit when they get older. now, claims by the tobacco industry these products are safe alternatives to smocking and smoking and in the designed to attract kids, frankly, just don't add up.

1:34:20 to 1:34:42( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: you know what they're doing -- we necessity that adult smokers are finally saying, no, they're quitting. thank goodness. it's very, very difficult. i've watched it up close with family and friends. and some of them who fit for two or three years g right back again, worse than ever. this isn't easy.

1:34:43 to 1:35:04( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: but don't say you're creating more, safer products when you create tobacco candy, smokeless tobacco, we know smokeless tobacco can lead to gum disease, heart attack, heart disease, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the stomach. smokeless tobacco products are only the latest unfortunate by

1:35:05 to 1:35:26( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: tobacco company -- latest effort by tobacco companies to market tobacco they claim poses a reduced risk. cigarettes contain 69 known carcinogens, hundreds of other ingreed ends that contribute to the risk of theiseases mentioned yet the tobacco industry is in the required to list the ingredients of its

1:35:27 to 1:35:48( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: products like all food products so we have a right to know calories,e have a right to know sugar, we know routine, we have a right to know all those things when we eat food. but c they dent have to list these ingredients. the bill will make it so that we

1:35:49 to 1:36:12( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: finally know what's contained in these products. the legislation grants the f.d.a. the authority to ban the most harmful chemicals used in tobacco and even to reduce the amount of nicotine a 2006 harvard school of public health study revealed that the average amount of nicotine in

1:36:13 to 1:36:33( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: cigarettes actually rose 11.8% from now, how can my colleagues on the other side who voted pretty much en masse against this bill, by saying, you know, we should keep it open to amendment, how

1:36:34 to 1:36:55( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: can they explain that? that even all these years after we know the risk of tobacco and there are reasons in the early years where we department know how serious it was. that's one thing. but here where just recently they raised the amount of there's no, no rhyme or reason

1:36:56 to 1:37:19( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: for that. so this bill will give the f.d.a. the authority to require stronger warning labels, prevent industry mislabeling. if you die because you use smokeless tobacco but you die

1:37:20 to 1:37:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: from a heart attack, say, you're dead. you're still dead. this congress and the president have committed to reducing heth care costs n comprehensive reform. and this legislation is such an important step on the way because this is a preventable

1:37:42 to 1:38:03( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: disease, lung cancer. preventible, heart risk and all that associated with smocking. -- associated with smoking. it's an investment in wellness that will enable us to reduce access to quality health care. excuse me, it will help us

1:38:04 to 1:38:25( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: reduce the need to access the health care system. tobacco use results $96 billion in annual health care california alone, my state, will spend $9.1 billion on smoking-related health care costs.

1:38:26 to 1:38:46( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: now, everyone who has beat and a pulse today knows my stated is suffering mightily from terrible budget crisis. a terrible budget crisis. $20 billion -- we don't know where to look, what to do. but people never put together

1:38:47 to 1:39:07( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the fact that smoking is causing our health care system costs to swell. if my state can save $9.1 billion on smoking-related health care costs, well that really saves the education system and a lot of other important things that we do in

1:39:08 to 1:39:14( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: our state. preventive medicine and giving