After months of discussion and negotiations, Congress has passed the tobacco buyout package and sent it to President Bush for approval.
Though the buyout is a great boon for tobacco farmers in North Carolina and across the South, some important elements were left out in the conference bill that emerged. The new Congress should address these omissions when it convenes in January.
Democrats and Republicans alike came together to create a program that will provide money to help tobacco farmers transition to new crops or to bow out of farming entirely. The government will be doling out $3.9 billion dollars to North Carolina's tobacco farmers over the next 10 years. That is sure to help the state's lagging rural economy.
Although legislators from both parties deserve a pat on the back for the tobacco buyout, many also deserve a swift kick to the rear. The conference committee that had to create a compromise from the differing House and Senate bills left out several important measures and reforms.
The original Senate version of the tobacco buyout gave more money to tobacco farmers, funded the buyout at the expense of cigarette manufacturers and placed regulation of the crop under the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration.
The only element of the Senate proposal to survive the conference committee was the requirement that the buyout be paid for by tobacco manufacturers.
The compromise version will bring $790 million less to North Carolina's farmers than the one passed by the Senate. It's questionable why the FDA has the authority to maintain at least some level of oversight of ibuprofen and cosmetics while tobacco remains unregulated.
Given the history of the cigarette industry, it's obvious that some additional regulation is necessary.
The buyout's time has come, and the bill will obviously benefit farmers - not just in North Carolina but across the Southeast.
