so what are we asking the f.d.a. to do? we're asking the f.d.a. to grandfather three categories of products and let all adults who choose to use a tobacco product choose from the most risky categories. and what are we saying to the 40 million americans that smoke today? if you're in in category of using cigarettes, we're not going to give you any options as to what you turn to as you realize that's the -- not the best thing for your health. we're going to lock you in and hope that it kills you fast so our health care costs goes down. any claim -- any claim -- that h.r. 1256 reduces the cost of health care is only because we have grandfathered in spokers that they will die sooner. not that we have allowed them a pathway through this bill to ever experience not only products that are currently on the marketplace that reduce the risk from 100% to as little as 1%, but we have completely eliminated any additional innovation in product in the future that would allow somebody to get from 100% to 1% and actually be a healthier american. mr. president, i'm

the f.d.a.'s ability to upkeep what it's responsible for anyway. so is it fair to say that they can perform what the administration will ask of them? guest: i've been covering the f.d.a. for fife years and i've seen a number of big headline issues. we saw vioxx, tainted spinach, heprin recall that was made with a tainted ingreed yunt, a number of issues that have plagued them for years. yesterday congressman waxman said that was part of the bush administration. other people said they are chronically underfunded that they don't have enough staff and resources. but certainly we heard a caller saying we want the food safe, people want their drugs safe. yesterday, the new commissioner said they're ready, they're commite about doing this, they're going to meet the delines in the bill and get this new tobacco center going. >> did she talk about does that mean an increase in staff drug experts and so on. which makes sense there are experts in that center. but we don't know how that's going to be set up. caller: this is one issue that's got me ticked off and i'm disappointed the democrats have done this. i've been smoking for quite a why an

h.r. 1256 uses kwraours fees to fund the f.d.a. -- user fees to fund the f.d.a., about $700 million over three years. we asked the secretary of health and human services, how much do you need to stand up a complete new agency that is only focused on tobacco regulation. $100 million a year. because these fees that we charge tobacco companies are passed on to the consumers, the people least likely to fund it, the ones who are already funding a children's health insurance program, funding a majority of the state medicaid programs. let's give these folks a break. let's not put this entire thing on their backs, especially if it's not going to do any good. mr. president, it's not just mr. basham. as a matter of fact, brad rodu wrote march 26 -- and brad rodu is the endowed share tobacco harm reduction research school of medicine, university of louisville. i'll read a couple of excerpts. according to the public health physicians, the bill will do more harm than good in terms of the future tobacco-related illness and death. while the aaphd favors effective regulation of the tobacco industry, this bill does not meet t

the f.d.a. is. and when we asked the secretary of h.h.s. how much does it take to fund that? they gave us a number of $100 million a year. $700 million for the base bill, 1256, $100 million for this new center of harm reduction. overseen by the same secretary of health and human services. now, granted, i'll be the first to say if we're creating a new agency, the agency for harm reduction, it has not got the experience or expertise or the resources yet of the but it can search within the global marketplace to find the individuals and the secretary of h.h.s. said that $100 million will allow that. so the first complaint, hopefully i disposed of that. second complaint for the campaign for tobacco-free kids for why they will not support the amendment. the burr-hagan bill does not give meaningful authority to change tobacco products. well, mr. president, i do hope somebody from campaign-free kids is watching. because what the base bill, h.r. 1256, does is it locks in these products, nonfiltered and filtered cigarettes, and legislatively says to the f.d.a., you can't do anything wi