Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/1113

 124 STAT. 1087 PUBLIC LAW 111–154—MAR. 31, 2010 Public Law 111–154 111th Congress An Act To prevent tobacco smuggling, to ensure the collection of all tobacco taxes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSES. (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009’’ or ‘‘PACT Act’’. (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— (1) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products significantly reduces Federal, State, and local govern- ment revenues, with Internet sales alone accounting for billions of dollars of lost Federal, State, and local tobacco tax revenue each year; (2) Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations have profited from trafficking in illegal cigarettes or counterfeit cigarette tax stamps; (3) terrorist involvement in illicit cigarette trafficking will continue to grow because of the large profits such organizations can earn; (4) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless tobacco over the Internet, and through mail, fax, or phone orders, makes it cheaper and easier for children to obtain tobacco products; (5) the majority of Internet and other remote sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are being made without ade- quate precautions to protect against sales to children, without the payment of applicable taxes, and without complying with the nominal registration and reporting requirements in existing Federal law; (6) unfair competition from illegal sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is taking billions of dollars of sales away from law-abiding retailers throughout the United States; (7) with rising State and local tobacco tax rates, the incen- tives for the illegal sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco have increased; (8) the number of active tobacco investigations being con- ducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explo- sives rose to 452 in 2005; (9) the number of Internet vendors in the United States and in foreign countries that sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to buyers in the United States increased from only about 40 in 2000 to more than 500 in 2005; and 15 USC 375 note. 15 USC 375 note. Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009. Mar. 31, 2010 [S. 1147]