Providing For Congressional Disapproval Of A Rule Submitted By The National Labor Relations Board -- Veto

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I echo the voices of my friends and colleagues, the Senators from Oregon, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Rhode Island in calling on the FDA to act with all possible speed to issue final rules on regulating e-cigarettes. I want to thank especially my friend from Oregon, Senator Merkley, and my friend from California, Senator Boxer, who have been real leaders on this issue.

The Federal Government has an imperative to protect the public from dangerous products with commonsense restrictions. E-cigarettes are no exception. Their use among middle schoolers and high schoolers has skyrocketed--tripled among high schoolers according to a recent National Youth Tobacco Survey--and their risks are numerous.

E-cigarettes contain liquid nicotine, an addictive chemical which can impede brain development when consumed at a young age.

And these liquid nicotine containers are often sold without child protection caps in many parts of the country--and there have been far too many tragedies already of young children accidentally ingesting liquid nicotine. In Fort Plain, in upstate New York, a toddler of 18 months lost his life in such an accident--a terrible tragedy for two young parents. It is what propelled my home State to pass a requirement that all these liquid nicotine bottles be sold with child protection caps.

But, as my colleagues pointed out, the companies that sell these e-cigarettes are largely unregulated at the Federal level. In terms of Federal policy, e-cigarette companies are not even barred from selling to minors under the age of 18. So they market to children--on TV and on billboards and with child-friendly labels and flavors. According to a 2014 study, e-cigarette marketing exposure to children from 12 to 17 years old increased by 256 percent between 2011 and 2013. The FDA needs to be the adult in the room and put an end to these cynical marketing ploys. The FDA, including the new commissioner, seem ready and eager to use the Tobacco Deeming Rule to regulate e-cigarettes under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. We strongly support their posture, but we need them to strengthen and finalize these rules. It is time for the FDA to put our children first and promulgate these rules.

Just yesterday, 31 prominent national organizations including, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Trust for America's Health, the American Lung Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, sent a letter to the President asking the FDA to finalize these regulations. Cigarette use has drastically declined in the last decade and we have made great strides in educating children about their harmful effects. E-cigarettes, with their misleading and trendy marketing, are threatening to set back that progress. Now it is time to snuff out the tactics that try to put kids on the path to smoking.

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