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SCHIP Veto Override Vote

just received the email as well, one little victory!

"Veto Override Vote Fails

Finally, this critical vote failed to pass the House of Representatives in a floor vote today. The final vote was 273-156, short of the two-thirds majority necessary.

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your perseverance, tenacity, vigilance, and persistence in contacting your U.S. congressmen and congresswomen, and your senators through phone calls, emails, faxes, and personal visits to their district and Capital Hill offices. Without your support and direct action we simply would not have made the noise we did in Congress, gaining the attention of influential members that now understand our niche community-industry cannot absorb a massive tax increase and continue to exist.

This is only the first round in what will most likely be a continuing battle for the next several months. As SCHIP expansion and extension of the current program will be sought by congressional democrats. We have already begun communicating and working with congressional leaders and their states, taking the position that if a tax increase in cigars must exist, that a realistic, manageable increase must be a part of the overall proposal.

A special thank you goes out to the manufacturers within our industry for their efforts throughout the United States and Latin America in mobilizing support against this tax increase. Through their coordinated efforts between the Latin American governments, and their counterparts in the United States, they illustrated and successfully conveyed the ramifications of this tax increase on the Latin American citizens and artisans who rely on the handmade cigar industry for a viable, living income. Key legislators now understand it is more than just a pleasure for consumers, but a way of life for those artisans who produced handmade cigars. Because of the handmade cigar industry, many of these citizens would not have reasonable access to medical and dental care, education, and other social services provided by manufacturers based in these small countries.

Thank you again for your efforts and direct action, for if we are to succeed, we must all hang together, or we will hang separately.

Chris McCalla

Legislative Director
 
The only bad thing is I've been using the looming increase to justify some of my recent purchases. Maybe TheWife[sup]©[/sup] won't see this... :whistling:
 
FINALLY!!!

upyours2.jpg
 
Don't relax


Exactly.


Our Pres. set aside resources to 'talk' to congress about the S-CHIP law.
It's not going away...we can hope for no new or current tax increase....
...and I hope it doesn't get expanded to adults, as well.(personal view).
 
If you do not support this version of a children's health care bill, you support clubbing baby seals.

That is how it works, right?

-Mark
 
That's exactly the spin my local news station put on the story when I just heard it.
 
That's exactly the spin my local news station put on the story when I just heard it.

It's amazing how many people I've spoken to in the last month about this that didn't actually understand anything about the bill. It was just so "taboo" if you will, to say that a child health care bill SHOULDN'T be passed. That's all some needed to hear. There was no knowledge of how it was funded or the future implications if you want to go that far.

All in all, it was worse than clubbing baby seals, it was Swift's Modest Proposal.
 
Now is not the time to let up on the politicians, election time is right around the corner, don't be suprised to see some flip flopping. This bill will be revived in another incantation, we should be trying to separate cigars from cigarettes or we will go down in defeat. :cool:
 
That's exactly the spin my local news station put on the story when I just heard it.

It's amazing how many people I've spoken to in the last month about this that didn't actually understand anything about the bill. It was just so "taboo" if you will, to say that a child health care bill SHOULDN'T be passed. That's all some needed to hear. There was no knowledge of how it was funded or the future implications if you want to go that far.

All in all, it was worse than clubbing baby seals, it was Swift's Modest Proposal.


Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, babies. The other other white meat.

-Mark
 
Sixty billion dollars for ....whatever. Nice. Politics at the expense of needy children. Letters and phone calls aren't going to help anymore (if ever). Democrats have shown where they stand and Republicans will support it if some changes are made. Public opinion: "Tobacco tax supporters say higher prices for cigarettes deter smoking and save lives."

Sooooo, when are we going to stop bitching about the tobacco tax and start working together to rearrange the tobacco umbrella? We either differentiate cigarettes from tobacco, or find new hobbies.
 
[sarcasm][dripping]

If these people don't start smoking cigarettes, get lung cancer and die, they're going to get old! We all know Social Security isn't set up to handle that.

[/sarcasm][/dripping]
 
[sarcasm][dripping]

If these people don't start smoking cigarettes, get lung cancer and die, they're going to get old! We all know Social Security isn't set up to handle that.

[/sarcasm][/dripping]

Pure Sarcasm - Give it another 30-40 years and it will fix itself...why worry about it now....just leave it for the kids that are little right now.
 
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