DeLay Won't Commit to View on Tobacco Buyout

Source from:  Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch BY PETER HARDIN 05/20/2004

Issue grew after Bush said the quota system didn't need to change House Majority Leader Tom DeLay joined a recent flurry of talk about a federal buyout of farmers' license to grow tobacco, while not committing to a stance. At a weekly meeting with news reporters yesterday, the Texas Republican acknowledged efforts by some lawmakers to attach a buyout proposal to legislation to overhaul corporate taxes. "The tobacco buyout bill is discussed a lot," DeLay said, and it's "another one of these things people want to put on" the corporate tax overhaul bill that the House is likely to consider after its Memorial Day break. "We have to see if this . . . bill is strong enough to carry these kinds of things," DeLay added. DeLay mentioned efforts by lawmakers to find other ways to make up the money that a quota buyout would cost. The leading buyout bill in the House has been pegged to cost $9.6 billion. It would affect not only those who grow Virginia's No. 1 cash crop, but could be combined in the Senate with legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco manufacturing. Among leading advocates of a buyout is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate Republican whip. He has made clear his view that a buyout can pass only if linked with federal regulation of the cigarette industry. McConnell indicated yesterday that he was leaving his options open for advancing a buyout bill in the Senate. "We're not ruling out any particular tactics to get [a buyout] done," he said. "We continue to work on it." Since President Bush said two weeks ago in Ohio that the tobacco-quota system did not need to be changed - a view that upset tobacco farmers - the issue of a buyout has been elevated. Democrat John Kerry endorsed a buyout, and some Republican lawmakers from tobacco states have called on the White House to do likewise. The issue also has gained prominence in North Carolina's Senate race. The Senate passed its version of the corporate tax overhaul legislation May 11. About the House version, DeLay said yesterday, "Everybody is interested in this bill because everybody thinks it's a must-do bill." Tobacco quota is a license dictating how much tobacco a farmer can grow under the price-support system. Enditem