[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCING THE VETERANS' TOBACCO TRUST FUND ACT

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the recent State of the Union Address 
recognizes the Nation's obligation to our men and women in uniform, but 
the President was silent about the debt we owe them as veterans. 
Nevertheless, he disclosed a plan in his speech which could affect 
them. Specifically, he announced an intention to bring suit against 
tobacco product manufacturers to recover costs incurred by government 
health care programs.
  Members may not be aware that the VA health care system is spending 
more than $3 billion annually caring for veterans' smoking-related 
illnesses. The administration is certainly aware of that fact, but it 
has yet to commit to providing any recoveries from this lawsuit for 
veterans' health care. Surely any recovery under a suit based at least 
in part on the veterans' medical system should be used to strengthen 
that system and improve veterans' care.
  For that reason I am introducing the Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund Act 
of 1999, and I urge all my colleagues to be cosponsors. This bill would 
set in place a requirement that any tobacco settlement from the lawsuit 
also include an allocation of funds for veterans' health care. I hope 
the executive branch will support my bill.

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