Tobacco Bliley

GVA - Tobacco, electric utilities are focus - 11/20/97 http://www.gateway-va.com/pages/news/tobac/1997/1120toba.hm News Index Richmond Feedback Times-Dispatch Gateway Virginia Thursday, November 20, 1997 Tobacco, electric utilities are focus Bliley says his first duty is to children BY GREG EDWARDS Times-Dispatch Staff Writer Tobacco- U.S. Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr. said yesterday that his first Bliley responsibility as a Virginian is to protect children as Congress begins to examine the proposed settlement state attorneys general and trial lawyers have reached with Philip Morris and other major tobacco companies. He spoke yesterday at Southern States Cooperative's annual meeting at the Fairgrounds on Strawberry Hill in Henrico County. Bliley is chairman of the House Commerce Committee, which began holding hearings on the proposed $368.5 billion tobacco settlement last week. The settlement, which must be approved by Congress and the president, would pay for some of the medical costs of smoking and for efforts to combat youth smoking, while giving tobacco companies some protection from future lawsuits. Of all the bills to formalize the settlement that he's read so far, one introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, appears to be the best, although it's not without problems, Bliley said in response to a reporter's question. The Hatch bill would increase the cost of the settlement by about $30 billion, set tougher penalties on the industry than the original settlement if companies fail to meet targets for reducing youth smoking and set aside $95 billion for research on smoking-related diseases. Because Bliley is from a major tobacco state and is chairman of the Commerce Committee, his support could give the Hatch bill a big advantage over other congressional proposals to finalize the tobacco settlement. "I am going to make sure we do what's right for America's children," Bliley told farmers and others attending the Southern States meeting. But while the focus is on tobacco, the risks of alcohol and drugs for children shouldn't be ignored, he said. The settlement, he said, also should address the interests of tobacco farmers and others who make their living from tobacco. He said that a final settlement should ensure the right of adults to choose whether they want to smoke or not. Bliley, a longtime defender of the tobacco industry, surprised many last week when he demanded that the tobacco companies turn over documents sought by a Minnesota court. Supporters of the 1 of 2 11/20/97 11:19:35