On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 5934, the Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval.  The bill was introduced on June 8, 2012, by Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS) and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

H.R. 5934 would amend the federal criminal code to include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam in the definition of "state" for purposes of provisions prohibiting trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

According to the House Judiciary Committee, the bill would add three U.S. territories to the definition of state in the existing criminal tobacco smuggling statutes in order to make sure that these parts of the country are able to take advantage of the federal prohibitions on cigarette smuggling.

CBO did not have a cost estimate for H.R. 5934 at press time.