Political Quotes

“yesterday, like every day in America, 3,000 more young Americans began the path on their addiction to nicotine. And three other significant things happened concerning the plague of nicotine addiction, the most significant cause of preventable death in this country. The first was a positive one. President Clinton called for a comprehensive strategy to address youth smoking as we evaluate this tobacco settlement. The second was also positive in a way. This House, which, along with the Senate, had snuck into the balanced budget agreement a $50 billion tax break for the tobacco industry under the claim of small business protection, quickly repealed that when it became known to the public at large. And the third thing that happened was that this House adjourned at the end of the day and a private jet from a U.S. tobacco company came over and took a plane-load of our colleagues to a Republican fund-raiser in New York. We need to address the campaign finance issue at the same time we address tobacco usage.”