*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Cigar Rights of America and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Blind Man's Puff. This text comes directly from Cigar Rights of America.
Election Day 2016
November 10, 2016 – Election Day 2016 was indeed an historic night for the country.
Cigar Rights of America would like to congratulate Donald J. Trump and Governor Mike Pence for their victory on election night.
It is significant to note that Governor Pence, as a member of the U.S. House of Representative, was a co-sponsor of H.R. 1639 to protect the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation.
Regulation is the number one threat facing the premium cigar industry. CRA is pleased that the Trump-Pence Administration has already made the following statement regarding regulatory reform:
“Regulatory reform is the cornerstone of the Trump Administration, and the effort will include a temporary moratorium on all new regulation… and a thorough review to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations that kill jobs and bloat government.
Federal regulators have issued 20,642 regulations since 2009, which have increased regulatory compliance costs by more than $100 billion annually. Independent estimates total regulatory costs as exceeding $2 trillion annually and small businesses, the driver of job creation, disproportionally face higher annual regulatory costs of $10,585 per employee per year - 36 percent above the regulatory cost facing large firm.
The regulatory bureaucracy is enormous and its impact on our economy, communities and individual Americans from coast to coast is even larger. While reasonable regulations are needed to address issues ranging from ensuring public safety to ensuring proper stewardship of our National Parks' crown jewels, this can be accomplished without the profound damage to our economy and our freedoms that is currently inflicted by the regulatory bureaucracy. The Trump Administration is committed to regulatory reform that will produce sensible regulations that allow America to be great.”
While it is expected that the new Administration will be inundated with affairs regarding assembling a new government and legislative priorities for the opening of the 115th Congress, CRA is pleased to see the commitment that Donald Trump and Mike Pence have already made to regulatory reform. We look forward to working with the Administration to address issues concerning regulation and the premium cigar industry.
115th Congress Will Have Strong Support for Premium Cigars
January 3, 2017 will be the first day of the 115th Congress and premium cigars will have strong support from returning legislators.
When the hammer gavels down to open the new congress, 145 of the 169 co-sponsors of H.R. 662 will be returning to the House of Representatives and 20 of the 21 Senators who co-sponsored S. 441 will be returning as well.
CRA looks forward to working with our allies and champions in Congress during the 115th Congress.
3 Anti Premium Cigar Ballot Initiatives Defeated
On Election Day, 3 ballot measures that would have raised the taxes on premium cigars in Colorado, Missouri, and North Dakota were roundly rejected by the electorate.
Colorado Amendment 72 was defeated 53.7 – 46.3, Missouri Amendment A was defeated 55.3 – 44.7, and North Dakota Measure 4 was defeated 61.5 – 38.5.
CRA would like to congratulate and commend the Cigar Voters in each of these states for their efforts in helping to organize and defeat these anti-premium cigar referendums.