Clinton Urges FDA Role on Tobacco

President Clinton urged Congress on Saturday to give federal regulators “explicit authorization” to control tobacco while Republicans, in their response to his weekly radio speech, focused on another problem--more money to help local police clean up dangerous methamphetamine laboratories.

In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last week that federal officials exceeded their authority in imposing anti-smoking regulations, Clinton said Congress should step in to give such authority to the Food and Drug Administration.

Declaring that “this is not a partisan issue,” Clinton said Congress should show it understands “the danger to our young people” by giving the FDA the power to regulate tobacco advertising and make tobacco purchases illegal by children under 18.

Lott Remains as Major Opponent

Bipartisan legislation to accomplish this has been introduced in Congress, but Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has announced his objection to giving the FDA more control over cigarettes.

Clinton noted that despite the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling limiting the FDA’s anti-smoking authority, the majority opinion called cigarettes the “single most significant threat to public health.” He also called upon states to use money from the settlement of tobacco lawsuits to fund anti-smoking programs for children and young people.

“Every single day another 3,000 American children smoke their first cigarette,” he said. “Most of them will be hooked for life, and a third of them will die earlier as a result.”

The president recorded his weekly radio address on a trip to India. After a stopover in Switzerland, he returns to Washington today.

In the Republican radio address, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne urged the White House to devote more federal money to helping more states clean up dangerous methamphetamine labs shut down by local law enforcement authorities.

Not only has federal assistance dried up for the rest of this year, but the White House has largely ignored states like Idaho that are outside “high-intensity” drug zones, he said.

Kempthorne, citing cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement officials, said Idaho experienced a 74% increase in the number of meth labs shut down last year. But money for cleanup remains scarce, he said, forcing states to scramble for the necessary funds.

“Action must be taken now,” Kempthorne said. “When states can’t clean up meth labs, I’d say that constitutes an emergency.”

Federal officials do not dispute the dangers of meth or the necessity of cleaning up labs, but funding often has been a problem. The Drug Enforcement Administration told state and local agencies earlier this month that cleanup money supposed to last until the end of September has already been used up, Kempthorne noted.

People who produce meth leave behind poisonous and environmentally hazardous byproducts, including battery acid, Drano and lighter fluid, Kempthorne said. In one Idaho case, he said, a suspect was caught dumping chemicals out the window of a house next to a church preschool.

It can cost as much as $10,000 to dispose of chemicals and equipment left when an illegal lab is closed.

Over the last 10 years, the White House has created 31 “high-intensity” drug zones across the country, including Southern California, funneling more money, resources and attention to help those areas in the fight against drug trafficking. As a result, other areas like Idaho believe they are not getting their fair share of federal drug-fighting money.

Kempthorne said Congress should deal with the budget shortfall next week when it takes up an emergency appropriation bill for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Supporting Clinton’s tobacco remarks, Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, issued a statement saying the Supreme Court “made it clear that only Congress can protect our kids and families from the greatest public health menace of our time.”

The American Heart Assn. also applauded the president’s appeal for congressional action on FDA authority over tobacco products.

“The [Supreme] Court’s decision was a matter of law, not a matter of public health,” the association said. “Congress should act quickly, yet not in haste, to pass a strong law granting the FDA full authority over tobacco.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, while endorsing Clinton’s concern about the dangers of underage smoking, viewed the president’s message as chiefly “a get-rich-quick scheme for trial lawyers that leaves children behind.”

Watts Sees Need for Moral Leadership

Nicholson said trial lawyers--who rank as major contributors to the Democratic Party and many of its candidates--”are making untold tens of millions of dollars a lawsuit while not focusing on a single aspect of helping our children fight the temptation to begin smoking.”

Expanding on such comments was House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma, an indication that the bipartisan support for the FDA legislation Clinton seeks may be hard to achieve.

“The president can complain about the Supreme Court ruling on the FDA and tobacco all he wants, but perhaps moral leadership would work better than big government regulations to cut down on children smoking,” Watts said. “A leader who provides moral character and certitude, rather than empowering and enriching trial lawyers in a major tobacco settlement, is one who will be effective in helping our children.’