Orrin Hatch: “I have sought to facilitate a thorough examination of public discussion of the Treasury model so policymakers can better…”

“I have sought to facilitate a thorough examination of public discussion of the Treasury model so policymakers can better understand why there is so much disparity between Wall Street and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on critical items like the estimates of the retail price per pack of cigarettes under the Commerce Committee bill. Is the Senator aware that we have heard the official estimate is that the Commerce Committee bill will increase the cost of a pack of cigarettes by $1.10 per pack over 5 years? Many in the press simply report that the price, not cost, will go up by just $1.10 a pack. As I understand it, and I ask the Senator to help me to know if she understands it the same way I do, the Treasury Department and the proponents of the Commerce Committee bill believe that when you take into account all other factors, you arrive at a real price in year 5 of $3.19 per pack. Although it is not a number that many of the bill's proponents seem anxious to get into public discussion, and the press is not widely reporting it in nominal terms, this is how much money you actually have to pull out of your wallet. This $3.19 per pack figure translates at the cash register price of $3.57 in the year 2003 under the White House and Treasury Department's estimates.”