Farmers Upset with President's Stance on Tobacco-Buyout Plan

Source from:  The Courier-Journal By JAMES R. CARROLL  05/19/2004

Bush: Quota system doesn't need to change A single sentence by President Bush earlier this month backing the current tobacco program without changes has focused new attention on congressional efforts to give growers a buyout and sparked warnings of political trouble if the White House doesn't change course. At issue is Bush's response to a question during a stop in Ohio. He was asked whether he saw any need for additional government regulation of tobacco and how trying to discourage the young from smoking should be balanced against the needs of tobacco farmers. "They've got the quota system in place — the allotment system — and I don't think that needs to be changed," the president said. Most tobacco growers have been arguing the opposite: that the value of their quota — their license to grow a set amount of tobacco — is dropping as cigarette makers buy more and cheaper tobacco from overseas and smoking rates among Americans decline. The tobacco buyout already is a potential issue in the presidential campaign: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in Louisville last week that he supports a tobacco buyout coupled with giving the federal Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products. Bush's remarks caught Republican backers of a buyout by surprise because his aides had met earlier this year in the White House with tobacco industry officials and representatives of public health groups to discuss a possible buyout. "OUR FARMERS and our quota holders need a buyout," said Rep. Virgil Goode, Jr., R-Va., one of the sponsors of a House buyout plan. "The president would serve himself well and his re-election chances if he jumped on the bandwagon and said, `I'm going to help out.' If we don't get a buyout, it will hurt him this fall — with a number of tobacco families, it will be a determining factor." A more muted response came from Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., another prime mover in trying to strike a buyout deal. Robert Steurer, spokesman for the senator, said McConnell contacted the White House last week. But Steurer declined to provide any details. "Obviously, the senator continues to support a buyout and remains hopeful that it is achievable," Steurer said. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who also supports a buyout, made a similar call to the White House, according to spokesman Mike Reynard. Gary Huddleston, spokesman for the Kentucky Farm Bureau, said late last week that Bush's comments "showed a lack of familiarity with the subject of tobacco in general and the buyout in particular. We continue to work on it..." Scott Ballin, a member of the steering committee of the Alliance for Health Economic and Agriculture Development, a coalition of tobacco growers and public health groups pushing for a buyout, said the president's remarks might have helped inadvertently, although his "facts were all wrong." "This was sort of on a back burner for a lot of people. (The president's comment) is forcing decisions to be made on some very important issues related to tobacco," he said. Daniel McKinney, chief executive officer of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association based in Lexington, Ky., agreed, saying, "At least it's brought (the buyout) up on the screen." THE WHITE HOUSE has yet to amplify on what Bush said, and officials did not return calls Friday and yesterday seeking further comment. Kerry told The Courier-Journal in an interview in Louisville last week that giving the FDA authority over tobacco would be "helpful in trying to get a resolution" to the buyout proposal. "I think the main thing is to try to find a compromise to get it done in a responsible way," Kerry said. McKinney said the White House's apparent reluctance to endorse a buyout might be a factor in some close races in tobacco states, notably the North Carolina U.S. Senate contest between Democrat Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff to President Clinton, and Republican Rep. Richard Burr. Bowles supports a buyout with FDA provisions, while Burr supports just the buyout. BUSH'S REMARK could be a disaster for him, said Larry Sabato, professor of politics and head of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "This is dangerous for Bush," he said. "He cannot afford to lose any votes in any state, including his Southern base and the tobacco states." House tobacco-state lawmakers have been working on a buyout plan that would be paid for through existing excise taxes on cigarettes but would not be tied to giving the FDA authority over tobacco. Mark Berlind, legislative counsel to Altria Group, parent company of the Philip Morris Cos. Inc., declined to speculate about the impact of the president's comments on prospects for a buyout and FDA regulation, both of which the cigarette maker supports. But, he said, "We believe there is a chance –– we certainly hope there is a chance." Billy Simmons, a tobacco farmer in Ekron in Kentucky's Meade County, said he and other farmers need a buyout, he said, and Bush should know that. "I think he ought to support it," Simmons said. Asked whether Bush's stance would determine his vote, the farmer said it would not, because he wouldn't vote for the president anyway. "He's not for the poor, he's for the rich," Simmons said. Staff writer Al Cross contributed to this story. Enditem