Barbara Boxer: “I thank Senator Merkley for his leadership. This is an issue which is not getting the attention it should be getting…”

“I thank Senator Merkley for his leadership. This is an issue which is not getting the attention it should be getting, and we hope today, with the series of speeches we will start to make now, to wake up America to this threat. I have a bill that would ban the advertising of these cigarettes to children. Senator Merkley showed you and told you the names. Let's take a look at that again. Can anyone really tell you with a straight face that these marketers are not going after children? Cotton candy, gummy bear, and popsicle--those are the flavors. I mean, we really were not born yesterday. This is what they are doing. This is a moment for us--parents, grandparents, loving aunts and uncles--to stand up and say no to this. There are ways to do it. Before I get into those ways, I thank Senators Corker and Cardin for their extraordinary leadership on the underlying bill in Iran that is on the floor. I express my thanks to the entire committee, both sides of the aisle of the Foreign Relations Committee. I have been on that committee the longest of anyone else, and this was a tough time. Everyone had a different position, and everyone was in a corner. We all came together, and we crafted a delicate compromise that essentially allows the Senate and the House to vote on whatever agreement may emerge. I say ``may.'' We don't know if there will be one from the administration on Iran's nuclear weapons.…”