Congress returns to work this week with a long to-do list and only a short amount of time before members leave Washington for the campaign trail.

Buried in deliberations around a bloated and wasteful corporate tax bill is an opportunity for real progress on public health and the regulation of tobacco.

Language attached to the Senate version of the tax bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products, including cigarettes. The bill would also end the antiquated quota system imposed on tobacco farmers and buy many of them out of the business altogether.

The bill is supported by public health advocates, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Philip Morris, which holds the largest share of the cigarette market in the United States.

Tobacco companies could be required to disclose all the ingredients in their products, which are currently secret, and the FDA could force the makers to alter the recipes to reduce the inherent danger. (The FDA couldn’t eliminate nicotine, however.)

The FDA would also be able to limit the types of new products that can be introduced and prevent tobacco companies from developing and marketing cigarettes to appeal to kids.

The legislation sits now in conference committee, where representatives from the House and Senate must hash out differences. The House bill contains the buyout for tobacco farmers – funded by taxpayer dollars – but does not contain the language that would give the FDA oversight of tobacco.

The Senate version of the tax bill contains an industry-funded buyout program and the expansion of FDA authority. It’s important that the Senate version of the law survives. Otherwise, cigarettes could escape proper monitoring for years to come.

There’s plenty in the legislation that’s good for Philip Morris, and other tobacco companies. They could not be forced to remove nicotine from their products and only Congress could outlaw cigarettes, which is unimaginable. Additionally, ending the quota system likely would make domestic tobacco cheaper. Philip Morris, which buys about 50 percent of the entire U.S. crop, could see big savings in the cost of production.

But there’s also plenty in the bill for public health advocates. The tobacco industry peddles addiction and death to countless numbers of U.S. citizens. For the first time, it would face tough, scientific regulation. That’s a major step forward.

Sen. Olympia Snowe sits on the conference committee for the legislation. She has supported the tobacco regulations and buyout, but now she must be a steadfast advocate to make sure the provision survives.

If the country misses this opportunity, it might not come around again for a long time.