WASHINGTON — It's no surprise that cigarette makers and anti-tobacco law firms are lobbying hard in Congress for the giant tobacco truce. The deal would give the former crucial legal protections and the latter fat fees.
But from the nooks and crannies of the economy, a hodgepodge of groups whose stake in the outcome is less apparent also is competing for lawmakers' attention--ranging from insurance giant Aetna and the hotel workers union to pint-sized cigarette marketer Single Stick.
Compared to industry foes, who oppose the peace accord as soft on Big Tobacco, the concerns of these groups are less ideological and narrowly focused on the deal's financial impact. Some of them support and others oppose the settlement, which would allow the industry to trade $368.5 billion and sweeping health concessions for protection from the most threatening types of lawsuits.
Still others merely want Congress to tweak the implementing language to ensure that what cigarette makers surrender does not come out of their hides or imperil their livelihoods.
That concern stems from the fact that although only the five top companies signed the deal, its terms also will apply to smaller tobacco firms, merchants and others if Congress passes it. Affected groups last week voiced some of their concerns about the deal at a hearing before a House Commerce subcommittee.
The sheer number and variety of groups that see some danger in the deal reflects its complexity and the difficulty of reaching a consensus. It also underscores the degree to which the U.S. economy and politics, along with 45 million smokers, are hooked on tobacco.
Veteran lobbyists say the settlement debate is shaping up as one of the biggest lobbying free-for-alls in history.
At least 21 former congressmen are involved themselves or through their lobbying firms--including former Senate Majority Leaders George J. Mitchell, Howard Baker and Bob Dole. Other political heavyweights--such as former GOP National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Charles T. Manatt, ex-Texas Gov. Ann Richards and Harry S. McPherson, who served as an aide to President Johnson--also have been tapped.
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To be sure, the tobacco giants who negotiated the deal with state attorneys general and anti-tobacco lawyers are busiest in this area. During the first half of 1997, they spent $15 million and employed more than 150 in-house and outside lobbyists, according to an analysis of disclosure reports by the consumer group Public Citizen.
