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Senators Say Tobacco Votes Based On Regulations, Not Campaign Contributions

WASHINGTON — The 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate online cigarettes included some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from tobacco manufacturers.

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is the third highest recipient of the group.

The historic anti-smoking cigarettes legislation that the Senate passed Thursday sped to final congressional passage on Friday. Lawmakers and the White House quickly declared that it would save the lives of thousands of smokers of all ages. Even more important, they said, the measure could keep countless young people from starting in the first place.

Specifically, the measure for the first time will give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate what goes into tobacco products, demand changes or elimination of toxic substances and block the introduction of new products.

The Senate passed the FDA bill on Thursday by a 79-17 vote and the House followed suit on Friday, with a 307-97 vote.

Tobacco contributions

Over the course of his more than 20-year career in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from the tobacco-rich state of Kentucky, has received $419,025 from the tobacco industry — more than any other member of Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that analyzes the influence of money on politics and policy.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who led the opposition to the bill, is the second highest recipient. Burr netted $359,100 from tobacco-related political action committees and individual contributions. His state is the nation’s largest tobacco grower and is home to R.J. Reynolds, the nation’s second largest tobacco manufacturing company, which contributed $196,850 to Burr’s campaigns.

Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, received $228,700. Kentucky Republicans Rep. Ed Whitfield and Sen. Jim Bunning rank fifth and eighth, with $218,935 and $194,166, respectively.

All oppose giving additional tobacco regulatory duties to the FDA, an agency they said they think does not have adequate resources for the task. The senators say cigarette companies’ campaign contributions did not color positions on the legislation.

“I voted against the FDA tobacco bill because I’m opposed to the overregulation of an industry that’s already highly regulated, from farmer to manufacturer,” Chambliss said. “The bill saddles the already overburdened FDA with even more oversight duties, and does nothing to reduce the rate of smoking cigarettes among Americans — cheap cigarettes already on the shelves will remain on the market.”

Bunning, whose campaigns received $42,500 from R.J. Reynolds, says his vote reflects his state’s interests. According to 2007 figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kentucky ranks second in overall tobacco exports, and the crop pumps $386.4 million into the state’s economy.

The state is also home to the nation’s highest percentage of adult smokers, according to 2007 figures for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Whatever the opponents of tobacco say, there is no denying that this bill will place unnecessary mandates and expenses on our farmers in an effort to punish the big tobacco companies,” Bunning said after the Senate approved the measure. “This sweeping legislation would drastically increase the FDA’s regulatory authority outside of the scope of original congressional intent. It is nothing more than an attempt to eliminate our national tobacco industry.”

Burr, who has received $196,850 from R.J. Reynolds, worked with Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., for a week to stymie the FDA regulation bill. Their amendment, which was blocked 60-36, would have created a new agency to regulate tobacco with fewer restrictions than the underlying bill.

Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb supported the measure; positions that are in line with Altria, the Virginia-based tobacco heavyweight that owns Philip Morris. Altria contributed $78,418 to Warner’s campaigns.

“We think it’s important to stay active in the political process,” Altria spokesman William Phelps said. “We’re proud of our commitment to the political process on behalf of our employees and shareholders.”

Critics say the measure gives Altria an advantage in using its deep coffers to meet FDA requirements.

McConnell staffers point out that though Altria contributed $79,650 to his campaigns, the senator’s opposition to the measure differed from the company’s stance.

“Mandating the FDA to regulate and approve the use of tobacco would be a distortion of the agency’s mission and a tremendous misuse of its overstretched priorities,” McConnell said. “We should focus FDA resources on protecting the public health, not burdening it with an impossible assignment.”

Contributions to federal candidates, committees and parties from the industry have fallen dramatically since the late 1990s, when companies gave almost $10 million each year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2006, the tobacco industry donated $3.5 million, with Altria Group, Reynolds American and UST Inc. contributing the most.



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