SCHIP Stalled As Congress Goes To Recess

Reported by cigarcyclopedia.com:

Chris McCalla, legislative director of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) sent a note to the trade at the close of last week’s Congressional calendar:

“The House recessed Thursday night and the Senate will leave Friday until December 4, with no further progress on federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Legislators continue to wrangle over how much of an expansion should be included in the program’s renewal. The currently proposed legislation calls for increased federal tobacco excise taxes, including a new excise rate on cigars of 53.19% of the manufacturer’s price, with no one cigar being taxed more than $3.

“The bill, H.R. 3963, has passed both the House and Senate, but not by margins that make the bill veto-proof. President Bush remains adamant on his veto stance.

“Congress leaves SCHIP hanging, and according to reports the ‘final offer’ tendered by House Republican negotiators was deemed a disaster by Democrats, who said it would fall well short of covering the required 10 million children.

“They’ll try again in December, but Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said the chances for reaching a deal before the end of the year are substantially less following the failure of the pre-Thanksgiving push.

“The more likely outcome is an extension of current law benefits, and perhaps through September 2008. “

No agreement between Republicans and Democrats is good news for the cigar trade and for smokers. McCalla noted further that the lobbying efforts of the trade have made an impact and that legislators recognize the damage that will be done to the cigar industry if the cigar tax package as proposed does, in fact, ever become law.

That’s something to be thankful for at the start of the week.
~ Rich Perelman