[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 691 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 691

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a portion of any 
 funds recovered by the United States in any future lawsuit brought by 
the United States against the tobacco industry to be made available for 
                       health care for veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 1999

Mr. Stearns (for himself, Mr. Stump, Mr. Evans, Mr. Shows, Mr. Rahall, 
 and Mrs. Kelly) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a portion of any 
 funds recovered by the United States in any future lawsuit brought by 
the United States against the tobacco industry to be made available for 
                       health care for veterans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Smoking related illnesses, including cancer, heart 
        disease, and emphysema, are highly prevalent among the more 
        than 3,000,000 veterans who use the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs health care system annually.
            (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that it 
        spent $3,600,000,000 in 1997 to treat smoking-related illnesses 
        and that over the next five years it will spend $20,000,000,000 
        on such care.
            (3) Congress established the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        in furtherance of its constitutional power to provide for the 
        national defense in order to provide benefits and services to 
        veterans of the uniformed services.
            (4) There is in the Department of Veterans Affairs a health 
        care system which has as its primary function to provide a 
        complete medical and hospital service for the medical care and 
        treatment of such veterans as can be served through available 
        appropriations.
            (5) The Federal Government, including the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs, has lacked the means to prevent the onset of 
        smoking-related illnesses among veterans and has had no 
        authority to deny needed treatment to any veteran on the basis 
        that an illness is or might be smoking-related.
            (6) With some 20 percent of its health care budget absorbed 
        in treating smoking-related illnesses, the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs health care system has lacked resources to 
        provide needed nursing home care, home care, community-based 
        ambulatory care, and other services to tens of thousands of 
        other veterans.
            (7) The network of academically affiliated medical centers 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs provides a unique system 
        within which outstanding medical research is conducted and 
        which has the potential to expand significantly ongoing 
        research on tobacco-related illnesses.
            (8) It is in the public interest for Congress to enact 
        legislation requiring that a portion of any amounts received 
        from manufacturers of tobacco products be used to meet the 
        costs of (A) treatment for diseases and adverse health effects 
        associated with the use of tobacco products by those who served 
        their country in uniform, and (B) medical and health services 
        research relating to prevention and treatment of, and 
        rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated 
        with tobacco use.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1729A the following new section:
``Sec. 1729B. Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund
    ``(a) There is established in the Treasury of the United States a 
trust fund to be known as the `Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund', consisting 
of such amounts as may be appropriated, credited, or donated to the 
trust fund.
    ``(b) If a lawsuit is brought by the United States against the 
tobacco manufacturers seeking recovery of costs incurred or to be 
incurred by the United States that are attributable to tobacco-related 
illnesses, there shall be credited to the trust fund from any amount 
recovered by the United States pursuant to that lawsuit, without 
further appropriation, the amount that bears the same ratio to the 
amount recovered as the amount of the Department's costs for health 
care attributable to tobacco-related illnesses for which recovery is 
sought in the suit bears to the total amount sought by the United 
States in the suit.
    ``(c) Amounts in the trust fund shall be available, without fiscal 
year limitation, to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the following 
purposes:
            ``(1) Furnishing medical care and services under this 
        chapter, to be available during any fiscal year for the same 
        purposes and subject to the same limitations (other than with 
        respect to the period of availability for obligation) as apply 
        to amounts appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury 
        for that fiscal year for medical care.
            ``(2) Conducting medical research, rehabilitation research, 
        and health systems research, with particular emphasis on 
        research relating to prevention and treatment of, and 
        rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated 
        with tobacco use.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.-- The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1729A the following new item:

``Sec. 1729B. Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund.''.
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