Wendell Ford

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 705, As Modified, As Amended

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 765

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Delaware [Mr. Biden], the Senator from Louisiana [Ms. Landrieu], and the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] and the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye], are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] and the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] and the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] and the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina. [Mr. Hollings] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I would like to add to the thoughtful remarks of my distinguished colleagues. We started the debate over how to fund the FAA last Congress when we first proposed a fee system. Senator McCain and I worked very hard on the bill and the entire committee agreed that we needed a Commission to provide a blueprint for how to fund the FAA. The FAA bill last year restructured the agency and gave the FAA the ability to do some creative things. Now the Commission must give us their best advice on how to meet the needs of the FAA, or how to cut spending. Those are the dilemmas facing the Commission. I know all of us share a desire to ensure that the work of the Commission is debated and fully aired.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Ms. Moseley- Braun] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] and the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] are necessarily absent. I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] would vote ``aye.'' I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hollings] would vote ``no.''

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, let's be fair. We had a negotiated agreement. It wasn't good enough. That may be the floor. So here we come with 20 cents more, and then 11 cents more. I have 65,000 farm families that this legislation will put out of business. Oh, we are going to take care of them. Well, you take care of them, then I will talk about taxes. You take care of my farmers and I will talk about taxes after that. I will talk about how much you get from the tobacco industry. I will talk about how much you are going to do for this group or that group. So take care of my farmers, take care of my people. I have stood by and watched these people be run over long enough. Oh, you can come out here with crocodile tears. I can tell you all the sad stories. But small businessmen are small businessmen, and a small farmer is still a small farmer. And 69 percent of my farmers have another job. It becomes a husband, wife, and family occupation. You want to put them out of work. I understand smoking. I have been smoking for 54 years and I am still here, thank God. I understand smoking. My grandchildren don't smoke, and I understand all of that. But then, a while ago, we didn't put a little deductible, or eliminate the deductible on the distilled spirits industry--beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Here we have tobacco and you pile on and pile on and pile on. Mr. President, I hope my colleagues will do the best they can to help in this case. It is an additional tax. It is putting my people out of work. It is saying to children on the farm--children on the farm--that you are going to have less income next year. You are going to have less next year. Substitute another crop. That indicates that you don't know what tobacco brings, you don't know what corn brings, or what soybeans brings--$1,844 net profit for an acre of tobacco, and $100 from soybeans. You have to plant acres and acres and acres of soybeans and one acre of tobacco.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, since it has been laid on me--and I do not mind that at all. I have always heard when you tear the hide off it comes back--you are tougher. And I will agree to the 20 minutes. I do not want to, but I will agree to it. All I hear for the last week is banging my State and my farmers and my tobacco. And I think I ought to have an opportunity to defend myself and my people. If I am going to be limited to 10 minutes, you know, I am not sure that my colleague and I, with 5 minutes each, can do it adequately. We can do as well as anybody else in 5 minutes. But I hope they would give some consideration to it. Mr. President, I will agree to the 20 minutes equally divided, since I have used 5.

Mr. FORD. Are we on 20?

Mr. FORD. My other colleague will need some time, too. I thank the chairman. You know, Mr. President, this has been an interesting week. We had a negotiation with the attorneys general around the country, and the tobacco industry is stuck for almost $370 billion. The price of cigarettes go up. How much more do you want? And then the Finance Committee puts on 20 cents more, and that raises the price of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. And now we want to put on 11 cents more. Why? To help the small businessman get a deductible on his health insurance? At the same time, you are putting 65,000 farm families out of work in my State. You say you are going to help. You may never get the bill to help. I think it is time to stop it. It is time we quit. My farmers have to survive. And we hear all the States have an excise tax. Well, we had a good many here in the past that would vote against any excise tax because they thought it all should go to the States. It is their prerogative. But when you add 20 cents onto the State, and you add another 11 cents onto the State, then you add 75 cents on, if you get the negotiated agreement out there, the income to the community and to the Federal Government are going to go straight down. They are playing with funny money, because the more you increase it, the less income you are going to have. When you increase the tax, the less income you are going to have. So now you say you have all this income coming in--you are playing with funny money. One other point, Mr. President. You talk about low income--59.5 percent of this tax will come out of those who make less than $30,000 a year--$30,000 a year--and 34 percent of the money the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from Missouri want will come from those that make less than $15,000. Talk about the little man--you are talking away from the man that makes $15,000 and a man with a family that makes less than $30,000. You are going to take 60, 65 percent of that money from that group. What do they benefit? You put them out of business. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the Tax Foundation's analysis on where the cigarette tax and smokeless tax would come from and how many States would lose what money, and how many individuals of what financial income category would have to pay for this.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.