Republicans say White House open to tobacco buyout despite Bush comments

Source from:  DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent  06/04/2004

In an election-year switch, the Bush administration is willing to consider multibillion-dollar legislation to end the government's Depression-era tobacco program, congressional Republicans said Thursday. Only last month, President Bush said he does not believe the current system "needs to be changed." But Rep. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said in an interview that administration officials had "communicated very clearly" a willingness to consider signing a tobacco buyout bill that satisfies several conditions. Burr, who is locked in a competitive race for the Senate, said that among those conditions was a requirement that the buyout mark the end of the program and that the cost be limited and offset so the plan does not worsen federal deficits. In addition, he said the administration does not want the measure to give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the tobacco industry. Several other House Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said the White House has made it clear it is willing to consider the legislation as long as its conditions are met. They said administration officials are aware of possible plans to bring the issue to a vote in the House and have pointedly refrained from telling lawmakers the administration opposes a buyout. Under one recent version under discussion, tobacco farmers would be bought out at a cost to the government of $9.6 billion over several years. The White House did not respond to several requests for comment. The issue is politically sensitive in tobacco-growing states such as the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the administration has been under pressure from some Republican lawmakers to reverse course. In North Carolina, for example, Burr's Democratic opponent, Erskine Bowles, favors a buyout program and has tried to turn the issue to his advantage. "People in Washington need to quit playing politics with the buyout" and pass it, he said as word of the White House position spread. Bush is favored to carry all of these states against Democratic Sen. John Kerry this fall. Kerry favors a buyout coupled with giving the FDA authority to regulate the industry. "The White House has stood in the way of a tobacco buyout for years and is continuing to do so," Kerry campaign spokesman Anthony Coley said Thursday night. "Farmers and their families need a president who will fight for them, not someone who likes to play election-year games and fails to do the work needed to make a buyout a reality." Several tobacco states will hold elections this fall for seats in the House and Senate, both narrowly divided along party lines, and some Republicans were chagrined at the remarks Bush made last month in Ohio. "Well, they've got the quota system in place, the allotment system. And I don't think that needs to be changed," Bush said. Tobacco-state lawmakers in both parties long have sought buyout legislation, hoping to help financially pressed farmers. The growers would be paid to give up government-granted tobacco allotments that establish how much leaf they are allowed to sell each year. Their livelihood has suffered in recent years due to a decrease in smoking in this country and an increase in imports of cheaper tobacco. The legislation has gained fresh momentum in the House in recent days. Senior Republicans are considering whether to attach it to an unrelated tax measure in hopes it entices tobacco-state lawmakers of both parties to swing behind the plan. Several GOP officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Reps. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and Eric Cantor, R-Va., have held a series of meetings with Democrats as well as Republicans from tobacco-producing states. In addition, they have met with moderate GOP lawmakers who might balk at legislation that does not give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco. Competing legislation in the House as well as the Senate make the buyout and FDA regulation conditional on each other. Thomas is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the tax bill. In addition to representing part of a tobacco-growing state, Cantor is the deputy GOP whip, with responsibility for helping count votes. Some Democrats said that in addition to seeking votes for the tax measure, Republicans were angling for election-year gain. "There's politics in it obviously," said Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C. He said tobacco growers tend to be conservative voters, but that Republican inaction could prompt them to support Democrats in November. "They know who controls the House. They know who controls the Senate and they know who controls the White House," he said. All are under GOP command. Other Democrats acknowledged that the issue could wind up dividing their party, with some eager to vote in favor of the measure but lawmakers from urban and suburban areas unhappy it does not allow for government regulation of tobacco. Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., estimated that 10 Democrats would probably "have to vote for" the overall tax measure if the tobacco provision were included. He said that Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House Democratic whip, advised tobacco-state Democrats in a meeting during the day to examine the whole bill before deciding how to vote. Enditem