Ted Kennedy's Regs Will Hurt Virginia

Today the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Senator Kennedy plans to seek federal regulation of tobacco products. Kennedy believes, “Empowering the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products is long overdue.”

New federal tobacco regulation will hurt Virginia’s strong economy. While semiconductor production recently past cigarettes as the top manufactured export, cigarettes and soybeans remain Virginia’s largest cash crops. Tobacco pumps more than $161 million a year into the Commonwealth and we are the nation’s 4th largest tobacco producing state. Virginia’s tobacco cultivation has helped other industries in the state. For example, the Port of Hampton Roads exports more tobacco and tobacco products than any other port in America.

Government regulations place handcuffs on our market. As Attorney General Bob McDonnell said when announcing Virginia’s Regulatory Reform Commission, “Regulations affect our lives every day. . . . And excessive and burdensome regulation can be seen in increased costs borne by consumers.”

Experts believe that our tobacco production will improve with the growing economy. “[Virginia’s cigarette] exports could rebound as the price of U.S.-grown tobacco drops,” according to Darryl Jayson, vice president of the Tobacco Merchants Association.

However, there is a direct correlation between government regulation and consumer prices. As industry regulation increases, manufacturers bear greater compliance costs and they in turn pass those costs to the customers.

If Ted Kennedy gets his way, Washington bureaucrats will win and Virginians suffer the consequences.