Orrin Hatch: “The Finance Committee did not hear any testimony on the tobacco issue; the Commerce Committee heard from Secretary…”

“The Finance Committee did not hear any testimony on the tobacco issue; the Commerce Committee heard from Secretary Summers as well as Mr. Feldman. Is the Senator aware that the $1.10 price that is so widely reported in the media as the add-on to the current $1.95 or the $2-per-pack price at the manufacturer's level does not include a whole wide variety of factors, like the wholesale markups, the retail costs, the additional excise taxes added on by the States, litigations costs, the lookback, all factors that could be add-ons to the retail price under this bill? So it is pretty clear that it is a lot higher than what the media are reporting is $1.10. It is a lot higher, isn't it, than what the White House has indicated? And I would just ask the Senator this other question: Isn't it plausible to believe these Wall Street analysts, whose very livelihoods depend on trying to arrive at correct economic projections in order to advise clients about whether or not to invest money, who have used extensive models to make those projections rather than just a 5-line sheet of paper?”