White House Rips GOP on Tobacco

The White House, trying to raise the political price of backing away from major legislation to combat teen smoking, accused the House Republican leadership Tuesday of being beholden to the tobacco companies.

Republicans, meanwhile, criticized the major anti-smoking bill as a liberal, big government and big tax initiative--a dramatic turnaround from just a few weeks ago when they seemed eager to join Democrats’ attack on big tobacco companies.

The high-stakes rhetoric from both sides seemed calculated to test the political viability of supporting either a tough package or a stripped-down bill that public health advocates say would do little to combat the teen smoking epidemic and that President Clinton has said he would reject.

Through all the flames and smoke, however, some Republicans and White House officials said strong anti-smoking legislation could still win congressional approval.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) fired his first salvo over the weekend, describing legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee as a “big government bill.” On Monday he said in a speech that teenage smoking “has nothing to do with Joe Camel,” the R.J. Reynolds Co. cartoon character that for years was used to advertise Camel cigarettes.

Gingrich continued on Tuesday to bash the bill, saying: “This is an issue about whether or not liberals deliberately used a passionate, powerful, emotional issue as an excuse for higher taxes, bigger government and more bureaucracy.”

At the same time, however, Gingrich indicated willingness to raise tobacco taxes if the money could be spent as some House GOP members want--for a tax cut. He also said he wants to tie the anti-smoking measure to legislation to fight illegal drug use among teens.

“If the president wants to raise the cost of cigarettes, I’ll join him tomorrow and we’ll do it, if he is willing to give the money back to the American people,” Gingrich added.

The bill Gingrich criticized was approved overwhelmingly by a key GOP-controlled committee and praised by Clinton. It would raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by $1.10 over five years, give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco much as it does other drugs and provide money for tobacco farmers if demand for their crop ebbed.

Clinton favors spending new tobacco revenue on an array of domestic priorities, including health care research, child care, education programs and sweeping anti-smoking programs.

Gingrich’s Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), said GOP senators are nervous that the Commerce Committee measure “grew very big” and therefore would be too intrusive in private industry. However, he was careful to say that GOP senators did not want to completely drop anti-tobacco efforts but might want to trim back the ambitious proposal.

The Gingrich offensive appeared to ignite the president’s anger. After months of trying to show a cooperative face in his dealings with GOP congressional leaders, Clinton turned up the heat in a statement in the White House Rose Garden, tying Gingrich to what some see as a pariah industry.

“Even as the [industry] executives denied they were targeting children, Joe Camel became as recognizable to them as Mickey Mouse,” Clinton said.

“Now, some in Congress say that teen smoking has nothing to do with Joe Camel,” he continued. “Medical science and common sense makes it plain: Teen smoking has everything to do with Joe Camel--with unscrupulous marketing campaigns that prey on the insecurities and dreams of our children.”

Vice President Al Gore lashed out even more pointedly, accusing Republican leaders of following the lead of the tobacco industry.

“For awhile there, the Republican leaders in the Congress talked as if they were going to fall in behind the president’s leadership and do the right thing. Is it a coincidence that immediately after the tobacco industry executives switched signals, called a new play and publicly announced their opposition to legislation . . . the Republican leaders switched their signals, adopted the new play, and announced their opposition to legislation? I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” he said.

The scaled-back GOP approach, White House advisor Bruce Reed said, “purports to do something about smoking but is really just about getting members [of Congress] off the hook.”

White House strategist Rahm Emanuel said he believes the Republicans’ shift can be attributed to decades of ample political contributions from cigarette manufacturers.

“I suppose after 10 million bucks of contributions you can see the world differently,” Emanuel said.

Despite all the rhetoric, senior White House officials and the chief architect of the anti-smoking legislation spoke optimistically about finding a workable compromise.

“I still remain confident that we will on a bipartisan basis reach a resolution,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after a meeting in the White House.

White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles said: “As long as some of us stay in the middle, we’ll get through.”