| Tobacco
Buyout Not Going To Happen In 2003 | |
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“Despite the dedicated work of farm group leaders and policymakers, Congress ultimately decided not to act on this controversial piece of legislation, which had major implications on the current and future agricultural economy in the Commonwealth.” Will Snell, UK tobacco policy specialist |
By Laura Skillman PRINCETON, Ky. (Nov. 26, 2003) – After months of wrangling in Congress, tobacco growers will not see a buyout in 2003. “As
Kentucky tobacco farmers wind down another season, there is much disappointment
that a tobacco quota buyout did not materialize in 2003,” said Will Snell,
tobacco policy specialist with the University of Kentucky College of
Agriculture. “Despite the dedicated work of farm group leaders and
policymakers, Congress ultimately decided not to act on this controversial piece
of legislation, which had major implications on the current and future
agricultural economy in the Commonwealth.” Since
2003 was the first year of the cycle, all buyout bills that were introduced this
past year remain alive. Undoubtedly,
tobacco-state lawmakers will continue their efforts to move a buyout bill early
next year, Snell said. However,
a successful buyout package probably hinges on some modifications to the funding
amounts, the funding mechanism, and the post-buyout tobacco policy.
In addition, efforts must continue to see if there is any common ground
among the major tobacco companies with respect to the FDA issue that
simultaneously will be supported by the health community. Several
factors came into play in recent weeks that derailed buyout efforts for this
year. First, it is important to remember that despite all the support among tobacco farmers in the southeast there are only seven main tobacco producing states, with many lawmakers from 43 other states not having a primary interest in the crop, Snell said. Second, while the tobacco farm groups agreed to the buyout components in principle, unity was never achieved among the major tobacco companies on the buyout package. Third,
after a lot of debate, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration components of the
buyout package probably came together too late in a session that was filled with
a lot of other major national issues, he said. FDA components in the provisions
outlined in October lost the support of health groups who said they were too
weak. A
buyout bill without ties to FDA regulations was unpopular with a number of
organizations and many members of Congress, and lost the backing of Philip
Morris, the only tobacco company supporting the combined FDA-buyout provisions. Finally,
while some congressional members were sympathetic to the plight of tobacco
farmers many were, in principle, against any type of legislative activity that
raised prices to consumers or resulted in more government regulations, Snell
said. These and other factors, such as compensation levels and a post buyout
program, ultimately resulted in the downfall of buyout legislation in 2003. In recent days, tobacco-state lawmakers tried to tack two measures to a spending bill that would have helped farmers – a buyout provision, or one that would have stopped the U.S. Department of Agriculture from cutting the amount farmers can grow in 2004. “While
the future of the program and the buyout remain uncertain, one thing for certain
is that policymakers and farm group leaders cannot stand still and do nothing to
address the downward spiral of tobacco quotas and the tobacco economy. Thus
efforts will continue into 2004,” he said. If
a legislative strategy does not work, farm group leaders will have to resort to
other more extreme, and probably less popular options including Congressional
action to make major changes to the existing tobacco program, which may or may
not include a scaled-down privatized buyout outside of Congress, he said. Writer: Laura Skillman 270-365-7541 ext. 278 Source: Will Snell 859-257-7288 Return to Main News page. |