AWMA Distributors Prepare to Hit the Hill

AWMA’s annual “Day on the Hill” program kicks off this week with a reception and dinner Wednesday and a full day of meetings Thursday when distributor members descend on Capitol Hill to meet with their elected officials and key congressional staff.  “There is no substitute for one-on-one meetings between legislators and their constituents from back home,” says AWMA Vice President of Government Affairs Anne Holloway.  “They hear from lobbyists every day, but it is the citizen activists from their home district who stand out.”

This week, three key issues are being addressed:

AWMA Opposes Efforts to Increase the Federal Excise Tax on Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

  • AWMA opposes efforts to increase the federal excise tax on tobacco – including the most recent initiative expanding the SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) through a 61 cent increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes and significant increases in the federal excise tax on all other tobacco products.
  • AWMA opposes any increase in cigarette excise taxes because of the unintended consequences of such action.  Increases in these taxes provide additional incentives for smokers to find alternative avenues to purchase cigarettes – many of which are illegal such as over the Internet where taxes are avoided. 
  • Excessive excise taxes can lead to increased traffic in other forms of illegal cigarette activity.
  • This proposed increase in the cigarette tax is regressive – it impacts low-income and working-class families the hardest.
  • Tobacco products are already very heavily taxed in the U.S. and this legislation would adversely impact the wholesale distribution industry while providing no real benefit.

AWMA Opposes Legislation (S. 625 & HR 1108) Giving Regulatory Authority over Tobacco Products to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

  • AWMA opposes S. 625 introduced by Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) and HR 1108 introduced by Rep. Waxman (D-CA) because the bill gives unprecedented authority to the FDA to regulate the sale, marketing, distribution and manufacture of tobacco products in the U.S.
  • These bills give overly broad authority to the FDA and even the chief of the FDA has expressed his opposition to this measure indicating that that agency is ill-suited to police the already heavily regulated tobacco industry.
  • AWMA is concerned over the seeming rush to adopt legislation on this issue that is extremely complicated and deserves careful, objective deliberation – not just political posturing.
  • Our members understand they have a very serious responsibility to ensure this age-restricted product stays out of the hands of minors.  And, our members employ a variety of effective methods – including firm company policies, employee training and signage – to ensure this product does not get into the hands of minors.
  • The impact of this legislation would severely curtail the livelihoods of many law-abiding, small business owners across the country by imposing costly layers of regulation and significantly curtailing the availability of a legal product that is important to the economic viability of these companies.

AWMA Opposes Food Safety Legislation Requiring An Assessment of a $2,000 Tax On All Food Facilities

  • The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health recently held a hearing on a “Discussion Draft” of the “Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act” legislation.
  • While AWMA supports efforts aimed at ensuring food safety, we are concerned over a provision of this “Discussion Draft” that requires an assessment of a $2,000 tax on all food facilities to increase the budget for the U.S. FDA.
  • All food manufacturers and distributors would be subject to this tax which would be assessed on each facility rather than each company.
  • AWMA believes that any increase in the FDA budget aimed at promoting food safety should come from congressional appropriations or from general tax revenue – not from tax revenue imposed on our food facilities.