American Jobs Creation Act of 2004

AMERICAN JOBS CREATION ACT OF 2004

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I commend and thank my colleague Senator DeWine and my colleague Senator Kennedy for this legislation. They have been in the vanguard for many years of protecting the health of all Americans, but particularly protecting the health of children. I have also been active, along with Senator Durbin and others, in this effort.

Actually, in August of 1996, the FDA promulgated rules to regulate the tobacco industry. But these rules were litigated to the Supreme Court. In a very closely divided decision-5 to 4-the Court essentially said: Congress, you must make it clear that the FDA has the authority to regulate the tobacco industry. That is what the DeWine-Kennedy amendment is doing-making it very clear, very explicit that the Food and Drug Administration may regulate the tobacco industry.

Now, there was a question about the law, but there was no question in the minds of the Justices about the effect of tobacco as a public health issue. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stated, in her majority opinion, that tobacco was "perhaps the single most significant threat to public health in the United States." Justice Breyer, who was in the minority, recognized that the FDA should already have this power because essentially their mandate is "the overall protection of the public health." And this is the gravest crisis in public health we face in terms of a product that is unregulated, certainly in our economy.

The DeWine amendment brings this issue to, I hope, resolution today. I hope we will give authority to the FDA to involve itself in the greatest public health issue that faces the United States; that is, the consumption of tobacco products.

This DeWine-Kennedy amendment also is very timely because less than a month ago a 50-year study was published in the British Medical Journal chronicling the outcomes of almost 35,000 British doctors who smoked.

This detailed, longitudinal study is the first one to clearly link cigarette smoke to lung cancer and show that on average, a life of smoking will be a decade shorter than a life without smoking. Of the 35,000 subjects, epidemiologist Richard Doll reports that almost half of all persistent cigarette smokers died because of smoking, and a quarter died before age 70. Perhaps more striking was a finding that quitting smoking can mitigate or even reverse these effects. For instance, stop smoking by the time you are 30 and you will have the same average life expectancy as a nonsmoker. Stop at 50 and you will lose only 4 years of life instead of 10.

Clearly, there is still time to help, and particularly to help the children of America. But that can only be done if the FDA has the power to regulate the sale and distribution of cigarettes.

That is something at the heart of the Kennedy-DeWine amendment. It will ensure that children will not have easy access to tobacco products by restricting tobacco advertising and limiting the sale of cigarettes to face-to-face transactions where the purchaser's age can be verified. It will provide for stronger warning labels and allow the FDA to change their text over time to keep their impact strong. And it would help the 46 million Americans addicted to cigarettes by authorizing the FDA to reduce or remove hazardous ingredients from cigarettes, as science allows. These are important provisions that will have a real impact on the health of all Americans, and it is no surprise that this legislation has enlisted the strongest possible support of, among others, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the American Lung Association.

We understand the dangers of cigarette smoking. This legislation will empower the Food and Drug Administration to confront those dangers head on, to confront the most significant public health problem that faces America. It will allow them particularly to protect children. It is typical of the concern and the conscientious efforts of the two principal sponsors, Senators DeWine and Kennedy. I thank them for their effort, and I join them in this endeavor.