John Kerry: “let me just say quickly, with respect to the chart that was shown, there are almost no new programs in this. Those were…”

“let me just say quickly, with respect to the chart that was shown, there are almost no new programs in this. Those were existing programs. Most importantly, there is only one board. The flimflam artistry of this is really political. The Speaker of the House and the House of Representatives do not want a vote on this bill. They fear this bill. Newt Gingrich has had a contract out on this bill. And the Republicans on this side, this afternoon, are going to be the ``hit people'' for that contract because they fear voting for this bill. They have said they won't take it up. Every amendment that came to the floor that has changed this and that has supposedly weighted it down are by the very Members who today will vote against this bill because it is weighted down. This bill is a bill that sought to do what 19 members of the Commerce Committee approved. We didn't raise the tax; that fact was agreed to in raising the price of cigarettes by the companies themselves. That price wasn't even raised on the floor of the Senate. The Democrat amendment failed. So what we have here is a choice between kids or the tobacco companies--kids or the tobacco companies.”