Jeff Bingaman: “let me just say a few words about the tobacco bill which we have been on here for a couple, 3 weeks now in the Senate.…”

“let me just say a few words about the tobacco bill which we have been on here for a couple, 3 weeks now in the Senate. In my opinion, this tobacco bill is a historic piece of legislation. And I have complimented personally the Senator from Arizona, Senator McCain, for his leadership in the Commerce Committee and here on the Senate floor in bringing this bill here and pushing for its enactment. I believe very strongly that when historians look back on the 105th Congress and ask, What did the 105th Congress accomplish? if we are able to pass tobacco legislation, significant tobacco legislation, that will be the single item they will point to as a substantial and major accomplishment by this Congress. So the time we are spending on this tobacco bill is time well spent. I firmly believe that since I have been here in the Senate--and I have been here now nearly 16 years--during that time there has been a dramatic change in public opinion on the issue of smoking and tobacco use in this country, particularly on the issue of young people beginning to smoke. What I see this legislation as is an effort to bring our public policy into line with our public opinion, because public opinion has changed dramatically. Our public policy has not changed to the same extent, and we need to get on with the business of changing public policy to mirror and reflect what the American people want to see done. That is why the legislation is so important.”