Political Quotes

“today I am introducing the Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act of 2004, and Representative Doggett of Texas is introducing identical legislation in the House of Representatives. As many of my colleagues know, I have long believed that we must do everything we can to help protect our children from becoming addicted to tobacco. Whether a child is in Bend, OR or in Bangladesh, that child should be able to grow up tobacco-free. Cigarettes are the world's most smuggled legal consumer product. Tobacco smuggling contributes to the availability of cheap cigarettes and not only deprives governments of needed revenue, but harms the health of our citizens and of people around the world. Last month the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that they have more than 300 open cases of illicit cigarette trafficking, up from only a handful five years ago. Some of those cases have been linked to the funding of terrorism. In our country traffickers buy a large volume of cigarettes in States where the cigarette tax is low, and take them to States with higher taxes and sell them at a discount without paying the higher cigarette tax in those States. That illegal activity deprives States and localities of funds needed for schools, policing, and roads. With better labeling, tracing, and record-keeping we believe we can end this illegal activity.”