Bush: Tobacco-Quota System Works Well As is  

Source from:  Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch by MARY SHAFFREY AND PETER HARDIN 05/09/2004

Farmers, politicians in tobacco states strongly disagree MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER May 8, 2004 The quota system used by tobacco farmers is sufficient and does not need to be changed, President Bush said this week. "They've got the quota system in place - the allotment system - and I don't think that needs to be changed," The Cincinnati Post quoted the president as saying. Bush made his comments in a lengthy interview with regional reporters in Ohio during a campaign stop in the battleground state. They were in response to a broad question about the tobacco industry in general and the leaf's health effects on children. Repeated phone messages left with the White House communications office seeking clarification on the remark were not returned. The president's comments, however, are in sharp contrast to what tobacco-state lawmakers and tobacco farmers have been saying for months, as Congress weighs proposals for a buyout for quota owners. "We have written the president numerous times and described the desperate situation the farmers are in and urged him to take a stance on their behalf," said Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., the only tobacco farmer in Congress. "Unfortunately it's been met with silence and resistance, and by that statement it sounds like he's abandoned them." Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-5th, said that this time, it appears Bush was wrong. "I disagree with the president, or his implication, that the quota system was fine. I support a buyout for quota holders and producers," he said. But he emphasized that Bush had not responded to a direct question about proposals for a buyout. Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, said, "Taken at face value, this is an indication the White House is not interested in working to see a change in the quota system. If that's the case, we'll just have to work with that." Yet Sen. George Allen, R-Va., "doesn't feel like the president directly addressed the buyout," so "there's room for discussion," Allen's spokesman said. In this election year, farmers have warned lawmakers that if nothing changes, they will remember when it comes time to vote. Goode hesitated to say whether the president's statement could have an impact on Republican candidates in tobacco states. "The bigger question would be, what is John Kerry's position? If John Kerry came back and said he was for a buyout, I think that would hurt the president," he said. From previous contacts with White House staff, Goode said he had an impression the president wasn't going to take a stand now on a tobacco buyout. Enditem