Source: Reuter

Chances slip for quick action on U.S. tobacco pact

By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuter) Chances of swift U.S. government
approval of the landmark tobacco settlement are receding because
the White House has yet to take a strong stand on the deal and
Congress appears ready to delay action into next year,
government sources said.
More than two months have passed since major tobacco
companies agreed with U.S. states to pay some $368.5 billion
over 25 years and make health and marketing concessions in
exchange for limits to future legal liability.
The deal requires the blessing of President Clinton and
legislation approved by Congress to take effect.
White House tobacco policy experts plan to brief Clinton
soon after he returns from his vacation Sunday, and a spokesman
said Clinton will take ``the next couple of weeks'' to mull over
his tobacco task force's report.
``Sometime in short order, the president ... will articulate
his view and vision of the tobacco settlement,'' White House
spokesman Joe Lockhart said Friday.
Clinton criticized elements of the accord, notably calling
for stronger guarantees of the Food and Drug Administration
power to regulate nicotine. The White House is also widely
expected to seek tougher penalties if tobacco companies fail to
reach targets for reducing youth smoking.
Proponents of the deal, like lead negotiator for the states
Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, expect Clinton to
embrace the proposal with few additional caveats.
``It is my opinion that the president of the United States
will come on board,'' the everoptimistic Moore told reporters
recently.
But other administration sources and public health advocates
say there is a great deal of skepticism and ambivalence about
the proposal within the administration. There is uncertainty in
Clinton's inner circle about whether to take a strong lead to
create momentum for the proposal or shift that responsibility
back to Congress.
The longer the proposal languishes, the more opportunities
critics have to attack it. And the political fate of the
settlement could still be affected by lawsuits pending against
cigarette makers.
The proposal has come under a barrage of criticism from
leading public health groups, including former Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop and former FDA Commissioner David Kessler.
Opinion polls have shown public doubt about the agreement,
and a core group of Clinton's fellow Democrats in the Senate
have been holding a stream of news conferences to highlight
their latest objections to the tobacco companies, which they
refer to as ``Big Tobacco.''
The Republican congressional leadership has not embraced the
proposal, which originated with the state attorneys general and
has no real roots within the federal legislative process.
Senate committees have begun holding hearings but the House
has not, and no one in either chamber has introduced legislation
based on the proposal. Leaders of the Republican majority have
said action is unlikely until next year.
Several Democrats are also urging a goslow approach, saying
Congress should not act before getting access to confidential
industry papers, some of which could become public early next
year through Minnesota's tobacco lawsuit.
``There's no need to do this pellmell,'' said New Jersey
Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
Said Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa: ``This is beginning
to look more like a real sweetheart deal for the tobacco
industry. It makes me wonder whether we have a foot on their
(industry) neck or a feather.''
But most lawmakers have not rushed to judgment, and many are
trying to figure out if on balance the proposal is in fact a
onceinalifetime opportunity to forge a national tobacco
policy and make a serious assault on teenage smoking or a
sellout to the industry.
``I haven't really reached a final conclusion,'' said Maine
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, echoing the views of many of her
colleagues.

^REUTER@