• Replace inflammatory rhetoric, stereotyping, and automatic enmity in favor of civil, problem solving dialogue;
• Understand each others' needs, values and concerns;
• Identify areas of common ground and even interdependence, while acknowledging areas of difference; and, finally,
• Work together to create realistic, sensible and sustainable options for communities and families facing pressures associated with transition.

Greetings! Our monthly STCP project conference call on Monday, May 4 confirmed continuing concern about whether and how national legislation may affect tobacco growing communities. A few highlights of the call were:

• The McCain bill, as amended and submitted on May 1, remains the legislation getting the greatest attention in Washington. Opinion is mixed about whether it will become enacted into legislation in its current or modified version. Some people have heard that it is dead, others think that it still has a good chance of being enacted. Discussion on the Senate floor is supposed to begin on May 18.

• The McCain bill includes an amended LEAF Act. Much of the LEAF Act has the support of both flue-cured and burley tobacco grower leadership; however, some technical components of the LEAF Act as written are still viewed as harmful to flue-cured interests and need to be changed. The public health community has not had an adequate chance to review the LEAF Act to see whether and how it might merit their support. The public health community as a whole is paying much more attention to other components of the legislation, including liability, penalties, and international issues, than to the farm portions of the bill.

• Sen. Lugar may not oppose the McCain bill, if it survives relatively intact. However, if it does not survive, he is likely to push once again to end the tobacco program. Some growers think that they need to see if they can find an acceptable compromise with him in order to avoid completely losing a program, should that be necessary.

• The draft tobacco community investment fund proposal supported by many of you will be difficult to insert into the LEAF Act, not because of any particular opposition, but because of the efforts to avoid making all but the most necessary changes in the legislation. Some people spoke of trying to get it introduced on the House side.

• Tobacco manufacturing labor unions are now entering the battle over the McCain bill, with concerns over potential job losses if export restrictions are enacted. It's been reported in Virginia papers that the unions are concerned about provisions in the McCain bill which may have $1 billion in annual licensing fees ($1/1000 cigarettes) charged for cigarettes produced for export to foreign markets, and possible restrictions on the export of cigarettes to countries that don't meet U.S. standards for marketing and sales to youth. Some growers argue that such restrictions may end up being counterproductive from a public health standpoint. Public health advocates indicated that they have had a major concern that the tobacco companies behave responsibly overseas for quite some time. They also stated that the language of the legislation merits a close look to see whether these goals will indeed be met, and whether language ought to be changed.

• A meeting of growers and health advocates is premature until the legislative situation is clearer. A follow-up telephone conference call will be made on Monday, May 11, to discuss the McCain legislation and other relevant issues. A decision about such a roundtable meeting may be made at that time. Some health advocates have already planned to meet on May 18, in Washington, DC, and that meeting is still scheduled. For more information about that meeting contact Margie Siegel, 804-979-9355.

The May 4 call produced several requests for information. Included in this mailing are the following:

• The portion of the McCain bill which concerns tobacco farming communities (the LEAF Act), as amended and submitted on May 1, 1998;
• The portions of the report which accompanies the legislative language which concern the LEAF Act;
• The portions of the McCain bill which concern international trade and marketing, with commentary from the accompanying report included;
• The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) which the Senate Commerce Committee has accompanying the legislation (dated April 22, 1998 - before the most recent revisions).