Tom Harkin: “What it is about is whether this Senate wants to effectively fund an ongoing program to enforce the rules that keep kids…”

“What it is about is whether this Senate wants to effectively fund an ongoing program to enforce the rules that keep kids from illegally buying cigarettes. That is all it is. We voted on this last September. Seventy Senators voted for it--$34 million. We are bumping it up to $100 million, that is right. Where are we getting it from? The tobacco companies. Yes, it is an assessment. But they do not have to pass it on. They do not have to have it as a tax or whatever. But they have to pay it based upon their market share. So don't get all caught up in whether this is going to be a tax on tobacco companies or this budget point of order. That is nonsense. This is a vote on whether or not we will fund the FDA's program to effectively cut down on teenage smoking in this country. That is all it is. And it pays for it by getting an assessment from the tobacco companies based upon their market share. Tobacco companies would have to put in $150 million, of which they get a tax deduction, so we get the $100 million to fund it. That is a drop in the bucket to what the tobacco companies make every year.”