THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110607
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Congressional scrutiny of the tobacco industry probably will be snuffed out once Republicans take control of the House.
Rep. Thomas Bliley, R-Va., said that he will halt the congressional investigation of the industry and fight the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to regulate tobacco if he becomes chairman of the Health and Environment subcommittee.
Bliley received $93,790 from tobacco-related interests from 1987 to 1992.
``I don't think we need any more legislation regulating tobacco,'' he said Wednesday.
As senior Republican on the subcommittee, Bliley is in line to take the chairman job from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Waxman, who was re-elected and could remain on the subcommittee, has waged an anti-smoking crusade since 1979. He led hearings this year that revealed industry efforts to conceal the dangers of smoking. Top tobacco company executives denied that smoking is addictive when they were grilled by Waxman.
Bliley, meanwhile, has been among the tobacco industry's staunchest supporters, and with good reason: Philip Morris USA is the largest private employer in his district and he represents thousands of local tobacco workers.
His rise to the top of the major oversight committee of tobacco-related health issues would mark a dramatic shift for the industry. Waxman and other Democrats on the subcommittee were leading proponents of raising the federal tax on cigarettes as part of President Clinton's health care reform plan.
Anti-smoking activists fumed over Bliley's rise to power.
``That he should now be chairing a health subcommittee is not good news for anyone who likes to breathe,'' said Anne Morrow Donley, director of Virginia GASP, an anti-smoking group.
``It's safe to say we've got our work more than cut out for us,'' American Cancer Society spokesman Tom Brandt said.
Philip Morris officials wouldn't comment on the election.
But Tom Lauria, spokesman for The Tobacco Institute, said Bliley's rise to power - and the Republican takeover of Congress - was good news not only for the tobacco industry, but also for American business.
``We were glad to hear that Rep. Bliley pronounced the Waxman vendetta to be over,'' Lauria said. ``In general, we think this new Congress will be much more fair-minded about business issues.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Rep. Thomas Bliley, R-Va.
by CNB